List of socialist states

This is a combined map of all countries that declared themselves socialist states under any definition, at some point in their history, color-coded for the number of years they claimed they were socialist:

  Over 70 years

  60–70 years

  50–60 years

  40–50 years

  30–40 years

  20–30 years

  Under 20 years

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The following is a list of self-declared socialist states—that is to say, past and present states that have declared themselves socialist or in the process of building socialism. Self-identification is the only criterion used by the list. Therefore, all countries that claimed to be socialist are included, even if their claims are disputed. All countries that did not claim to be socialist are excluded, even in cases where those countries were considered socialist by certain outside observers.

The majority of self-declared socialist countries have been Marxist–Leninist states inspired by the example of the Soviet Union. They share a common definition of "socialism" and they refer to themselves as socialist states on the road to communism. For this reason, they are generally called "communist states" by Western sources (although they do not use that name for themselves). Meanwhile, the countries in the Non-Marxist–Leninist category represent a wide variety of different interpretations of the word "socialism." In many cases, they do not define what they mean by it.

A sovereign state is a different entity from the political party that rules that state at any given time. Thus, a country may be ruled by a socialist political party but without the country itself claiming to be socialist. This has occurred in both single-party and multi-party political systems. In particular, there are numerous cases of democratic socialist political parties winning elections in liberal democratic states and ruling for a number of terms until a different party wins the elections. For example, the Swedish Social Democratic Party has won most elections in Sweden since 1945, but the country never adopted socialism as its official ideology. This article does not list countries that do not have constitutional references to socialism, even in cases where those countries happen to be governed by socialist parties for a certain period of time. On the other hand, countries that do maintain constitutional references to socialism are always listed, even when those countries are ruled by non-socialist political parties. For example, India is a liberal democracy that has been ruled by non-socialist parties on some occasions, but it is listed here because the Indian constitution interprets socialism and declares it a Socialist Democratic Nation.

Marxist–Leninist

Current

Country	Since	Party	Head of party	Head of state	Head of government
People's Republic of China	1 October 1949	Communist Party of China	Xi Jinping (since 2012)		Li Keqiang (since 2012)
Republic of Cuba	1 July 1961	Communist Party of Cuba	Raúl Castro (since 2006)
Lao People's Democratic Republic	2 December 1975	Lao People's Revolutionary Party	Choummaly Sayasone (since 2006)		Thongsing Thammavong (since 2010)
Socialist Republic of Vietnam	2 July 1976	Communist Party of Vietnam	Nguyen Phu Trong (since 2011)	Truong Tan Sang (since 2011)	Nguyen Tan Dung (since 2006)

Former

Country	Full name	From	Until	Constitutional statement
Afghanistan	Democratic Republic of Afghanistan	27 April 1978	30 November 1987	Preamble: "In the present stage, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, as the initiator and coordinator of the policy of National Reconciliation, actively carries forward together with other political, national and democratic forces this humanitarian policy."[1]
	Republic of Afghanistan	30 November 1987	28 April 1992
Albania	Democratic Government of Albania	29 November 1944	11 January 1946	Section 1, Article 1: "The People's Socialist Republic of Albania is a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which expresses and defends the interests of all the working people.[2]
	People's Republic of Albania	11 January 1946	28 December 1976
	People's Socialist Republic of Albania	28 December 1976	22 March 1992
Angola	People's Republic of Angola	11 November 1975	27 August 1992	Section 1, Article 2: "All sovergenity is vested in the Angolan people. The MPLA, their legitimate representative constituted from a broad front including all patriotic forces engaged in the anti-imperialist struggle, is responsible for the political, economic, and social leadership of the nation."[3]
Benin	People's Republic of Benin	30 November 1975	1 March 1990	Legally a socialist state
Bulgaria	People's Republic of Bulgaria	15 September 1946	7 December 1990	Section 1, Article 1: ""The People's Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state of the working people from town and village, headed by the working class."[4]
Cambodia	Democratic Kampuchea	17 April 1975	10 January 1979	Legally a socialist state from 1979 to 1989, ruled by a communist party from 1975 to 1989
	People's Republic of Kampuchea	10 January 1979	1 May 1989
Congo-Brazzaville	People's Republic of the Congo	3 January 1970	15 March 1992	Presidential oath: "I swear allegiance to the Congolese people, to the Revolution and to the Congolese Labor Party. I Shall undertake, while guided by Marxist–Leninist principles, [...] to devote all my strength to the triumph of the proletarian ideals"[5]
Czechoslovakia	Czechoslovak Republic	9 June 1948	11 July 1960	Section 1, Article 1: "The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic is a socialist state founded on the firm alliance of the workers, farmers and intelligentsia, with the working class as its head."[6]
	Czechoslovak Socialist Republic	11 July 1960	29 March 1990
Ethiopia	Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia	28 June 1974	22 February 1987	Country declared Marxist–Leninist in 1974, the Workers' Party of Ethiopia becoming "the formulator of the country's development process and the leading force of the state and in society" in 1987.[7]
	People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	22 February 1987	27 May 1991
East Germany	German Democratic Republic	7 October 1949	3 October 1990	Section 1, Article 1: "The German Democratic Republic is a socialist state of workers and peasants. It is the political organization of the working people of town and country under the leadership of the working class and its Marxist–Leninist party."[8]
Hungary	Hungarian People's Republic	20 August 1949	23 October 1989	Section 1, Article 2: "The Hungarian People's Republic is a socialist state."[9]
North Korea	Democratic People's Republic of Korea	9 September 1948	19 February 1992[10]	Section 1, Article 1: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is an independent socialist state representing the interests of all the Korean people."[11]
Mongolia	Mongolian People's Republic	24 November 1924	12 February 1992	Section 1, Article 2: "The Mongolian People's Republic is state which exists and is developing in the form of people's democracy."[12]
Mozambique	People's Republic of Mozambique	25 June 1975	1 December 1990	Section 1, Article 2: "power belongs to the workers and peasants united and led by FRELIMO and organs of people's power."[13]
Poland	Polish People's Republic	28 June 1945	19 July 1989	Section 1, Article 1: "The Polish People's Republic is a socialist state."[14]
Romania	Romanian People's Republic	30 December 1947	21 August 1965	Section 1, Article 3: "The leading force of society in the Socialist Republic of Romania is the Romanian Communist Party."[15]
	Socialist Republic of Romania	21 August 1965	21 December 1989
Somalia	Somali Democratic Republic	21 October 1969	26 January 1991	Section 1, Article 1: "The Somali Democratic Republic is a socialist state led by the working class, and is an integral part of the Arab and African entities."[16]
Soviet Union	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	30 December 1922	26 December 1991	Section 1, Article 1: "The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is a socialist state of the whole people, expressing the will and interests of the workers, peasants, and intelligentsia, the working people of all the nations and nationalities of the country."[17]
North Vietnam	Democratic Republic of Vietnam	2 September 1945	30 April 1975	Section 2, Article 9: "The Democratic Republic of Vietnam is advancing step by step from people's democracy to socialism by developing and transforming the national economy along socialist lines, transforming its backward economy into a socialist economy with modern industry and agriculture and an advanced science and technology."[18]
South Yemen	People's Democratic Republic of Yemen	30 November 1967	22 May 1990	Section 1, Article 3: "The Yemeni Socialist Party, armed with the Scientific Socialism theory, is the leader and guide of society and state."[19]
Yugoslavia	Democratic Federal Yugoslavia	29 November 1943	29 November 1945	Section 1, Article 2: "The socialist system in Yugoslavia is based on relations between people acting as free and equal producers and creators, whose work serves exclusively to satisfy their personal and common needs."[20]
	Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia	29 November 1943	7 April 1963
	Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	7 April 1963	27 April 1992

Non-Marxist–Leninist

Current countries with constitutional references to socialism

Country	Since	Form of government	Constitutional statement
People's Republic of Bangladesh	11 April 1971	Multi-party system	Preamble: "Further pledging that it shall be a fundamental aim of the State to realise through the democratic process, a socialist society free from exploitation, a society in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedoms, equality and justice, political, economic and social, will be secured for all citizens;"[21]
Cooperative Republic of Guyana	6 October 1980	Multi-party system	Preamble: "Convinced that the organisation of the State and society on socialist principles is the only means of ensuring social and economic justice for all of the people of Guyana; and, therefore, being motivated and guided by the principles of socialism"[22]
Republic of India	18 December 1976 [23]	Multi-party system	Preamble: "We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a one Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens:"[24]
Democratic People's Republic of Korea	19 February 1992	One-party system	Preamble: "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the socialist motherland of Juche, which has applied the idea and leadership of Kim Il-sung."[25]
Portuguese Republic	2 April 1976	Multi-party system	Preamble: "The Constituent Assembly affirms the Portuguese people's decision to [...] ensure the primacy of a democratic state based on the rule of law and open up a path towards a socialist society,"[26]
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka	7 September 1978	Multi-party system	Preamble: "[...] to constitute Sri Lanka into a democratic socialist republic whilst ratifying the immutable republican principles of representative democracy, and assuring to all peoples freedom, equality, justice, fundamental human rights and the independence of the judiciary"[27]
United Republic of Tanzania	26 April 1964	Multi-party system	Section 1, Article 3: "The United Republic is a democratic, secular and socialist state which adheres to multi-party democracy".[28]

Former

Country	Full name	From	Until	Constitutional statement
Algeria	People's Democratic Republic of Algeria	8 September 1963	23 February 1989	Preamble: "the democratic and popular Algerian Republic will direct its activities toward the construction of the country in accordance with the principles of socialism"[29]
Burma	Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma	2 March 1962	23 September 1988	Chapter XVI General Provisions: "In order to overcome this deterioration and to build Socialism, the Revolutionary Council of the Union of Burma assumed responsibility as a historical mission, adopted the Burmese Way to Socialism, and also formed the Burma Socialist Programme Party."[30]
Egypt	Republic of Egypt	22 July 1957	22 February 1958	Preamble: "The Arab Republic of Egypt is a democratic, socialist state based on the alliance of the working forces of the people."[31]
	United Arab Republic	22 February 1958	2 September 1971
	Arab Republic of Egypt	2 September 1971	26 March 2007
Iraq	Republic of Iraq	17 July 1968	9 April 2003	Chapter 1, Article 1: "Its [the country's] basic objective is the realization of one Arab State and the build-up of the socialist system."[32]
Libya	Libyan Arab Republic	1 September 1969	2 March 1977	Section 1, Article 6: "The aim of the state is the realization of socialism through the application of social justice which forbids any form of exploitation."[33]
	Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	2 March 1977	23 October 2011
Sudan	Democratic Republic of Sudan	8 May 1973	10 October 1985	Preamble: "In the belief of our pursuit of freedom, socialism and democracy to achieve the society of sufficiency, justice and equality,"[34]
Syria	Syrian Arab Republic	8 March 1963	27 February 2012	Section 1, Article 8: "The leading party in the society and the state is the Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party. It leads a patriotic and progressive front seeking to unify the resources of the people's masses and place them at the service of the Arab nation's goals."[35]

Ephemeral

These are short-lived political entities that emerged during wars or revolutions (mostly in the aftermath of World War I) and declared themselves socialist under some interpretation of the term, but did not survive long enough to create a stable government or achieve international recognition.

• Alsace Soviet Republic (November 9–22, 1918)
• Asturian Socialist Republic (October 5–18, 1934)
• Azerbaijan People's Government (November 1945 – December 1946)
• Bavarian Council Republic (April 6 – May 3, 1919)
• Saxony Soviet (November, 1918 – March 14, 1919) ^[36]
• Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic (May – September 1919)
• Socialist Republic of Chile (4 June – 2 October 1932)
•  Chinese Soviet Republic (November 7, 1931 – September 22, 1937)
• People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China (November 22, 1933 – January 13, 1934)
• Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic (February 12 – May 1918)
• Commune of the Working People of Estonia (November 29, 1918 – June 5, 1919)
• Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (January 28 – April 29, 1918)
• Finnish Democratic Republic (December 1939 - March 1940)
• Galician Soviet Socialist Republic (July 8 – September 21, 1920)
• National Revolutionary Council of Gambia (July 30, 1981 – August 5, 1981)
• Free Socialist Republic of Germany (November 9, 1918 – August 11, 1919)
• Hunan Soviet (1927)
• Hungarian Soviet Republic (March 21 – August 6, 1919)
• People's Republic of Korea (September 6, 1945 – February, 1946)
• Provisional People's Committee for North Korea (February, 1946 – September 9, 1948)
• Limerick Soviet (April 15–27, 1919)
• Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (December 17, 1918 – January 13, 1920)
• Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (February 27 – August 25, 1919)
• Republic of Mahabad (January 22 – December 15, 1946)
• Mughan Soviet Republic (March – June 1919)
• Soviet Republic of Naissaar (December 1917 – February 26, 1918)
• Odessa Soviet Republic (January 31 – March 13, 1918)
• Paris Commune (March 18 – May 28, 1871, first socialist republic in history)
• Persian Socialist Soviet Republic (June 9, 1920 – September 1921)
• Political Committee of National Liberation of Greece (March 10, 1944 – August 28, 1949)
• Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (June 8, 1969 – June 2, 1976)
• Slovak Soviet Republic (June 16 – July 7, 1919)
• Democratic Republic of Yemen (May 21 – July 7, 1994)
• Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviet (1930–1931)

See also

• People's Republic
• Socialism in One Country
• Communist state

References