What Are Some of the Types of Government in Asia?

The countries of Asia feature a number of different types of government, the majority being republics of one type or another. These include democratic, theocratic and federal republics. In addition, there are countries with single-party governments, constitutional monarchies and absolute monarchies in the continent.

Asia is the largest and most populous continent on Earth and has more than four billion people living in over 50 sovereign states and dependent territories. China, the most populous country in the continent, is a single political movement state where the law concentrates power within one political party, the Communist Party. North Korea, Vietnam and Laos have similar governments.

India, the second most populous county in Asia has a federal government, as do Iraq, Nepal and Pakistan. A number of Asian countries, including Brunei, Qatar and Oman are absolute monarchies where the monarch’s power is not constrained by constitutional law. In other countries such as Bahrain and Bhutan, the monarch’s political powers are second to those of the prime minister. Iran is the continent’s sole theocracy and the country’s leader is appointed by the Assembly of Experts. Islam is the continent’s largest religion and a number of countries are Islamic republics. However several countries with Islam as the state religion, such as Malaysia, are secular, and home to people of different faiths.