Types of governments

State – independent unit that occupies a certain area Nation – group of people with a common culture living in an area with a strong sense of unity Nation-state – when a nation and a state occupy the same territory Landlocked – surrounded by land with no access to water Boundaries can be artificial (man-made) or natural (rivers and mountains)

Democracy Power to the people The citizens hold power through the exercise of voting The United States is a representative democracy 123 out of 196 countries in the world

Monarchy A ruling family headed by a king or queen that holds political power and may or may not share that power with the citizens United Kingdom (Great Britain, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), Canada, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Japan, some African countries 27 countries have monarchies today

Dictatorship Individual or group holds complete political power Still about 25 in the world today Many countries in Africa, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Madagascar

Socialism Government controls most of the country’s economy, including the production and distribution of goods and services Other areas controlled by a market economy Individual needs are met by a collective capital > put in what you produce, and it is distributed evenly Tanzania, People’s Republic of China, Laos, North Korea

Communism The government holds all political power, makes all economic decisions, and determines all distribution of goods Everyone contributes and then takes away what they need Ideally, there is no government and everything is done to benefit the community North Korea and People’s Republic of China partially practice communism