Apart from monarchies and military regimes, most governments in the world operate in a presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary form.
Executive authority is delegated to an individual commonly known by the title of president in countries with presidential systems of government (such as congress or parliament).
There are several methods by which a person might become president, including via an electoral college or a direct vote from citizens.
However, the term president isn’t usually used in association with a presidential or semi-presidential style of administration. Presidential and semi-presidential systems may be used differently in countries that call their head of state.
Under presidential or semi-presidential systems, several parliamentarian nations refer to their head of state as president. There is no guarantee that a country’s administration is free of corruption just because it has a president.
Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Vladimir Putin of Russia are examples of one-party presidents that utilize the title.
Top 10 Countries with the Most Presidents (by Population):
Rank | Country | 2022 population | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | China | 1,448,471,400 | Socialist government is led by general secretary, who also holds office of president. |
2 | India | 1,406,631,776 | President has limited power. |
3 | United States | 334,805,269 | President has significant power. |
4 | Indonesia | 279,134,505 | President has significant power. |
5 | Pakistan | 229,488,994 | President has limited power. |
6 | Nigeria | 216,746,934 | President has significant power. |
7 | Brazil | 215,353,593 | President has significant power. |
8 | Bangladesh | 167,885,689 | President has limited power. |
9 | Russia | 145,805,947 | President also functions as supreme ruler of Russia. |
10 | Mexico | 131,562,772 | President has significant power. |
Presidential vs. parliamentary system
Presidential systems may be traced back to a Constitutional amendment drafted in 1787 by the Founding Fathers: the Constitution of the United States of America. The executive and legislative branches are separated under presidential regimes.
Even in administrations where the president is both the head of state and the head of government (the legislative branch), the two branches are nonetheless independent and equally powerful even in this common arrangement.
As a result, there is less probability that any individual or government agency will gain too much authority.
In a parliamentary system, power is distributed uniquely. When it comes to a parliamentary system, the head of state, generally known as the president, is mostly ceremonial and has little real authority.
Instead, the legislative branch and its leader, the head of government, generally referred to as the prime minister, hold the majority of the authority in the country.
The mechanisms used to pick a new head of government and the relationship of such heads to the legislature are also significant contrasts between a presidential and a parliamentary system.
In a presidential system, the president is chosen by the people, serves a set term, and cannot be removed by the legislature unless in severe cases.
Prime ministers are normally appointed by parliament and serve at the pleasure of that body, which has considerable power to dismiss them if it desires.
In a similar vein, rather than having the people vote for a president on a series of ballots, the legislature usually appoints the president outright or nominates the presidential contenders who the people pick from.
Presidential vs. semi-presidential systems
In the end, semi-presidential systems fall somewhere in the midway between presidential and parliamentary regimes. An elected president and a prime minister lead the government under a semi-presidential system.
However, the president maintains considerable authority and, as a result, does not fall within the legislature’s purview. President-parliamentary and premier-presidential semi-presidential systems are the two most common forms of semi-presidential systems, depending on whether the prime minister and cabinet are answerable to the legislative or executive branches.
Regarding political systems, France has a semi-presidential system with aspects of both the legislative and the executive branches. The French constitution of 1958 created a premier-presidential system, with both a president and prime minister, to better serve the nation.
Also See: Countries With Open Borders 2022
The people choose France’s president, but he or she can’t remove the prime minister or advisory cabinet from office (although parliament can).
When it comes to military matters, such as selecting government officials, presidents have considerable authority, but they bear little in the way of political accountability. The prime minister is usually held responsible when government initiatives go awry.
Younger, newly founded governments are more likely to have presidential or semi-presidential systems. The presidential system, for example, is used in practically every nation in the Americas and several African countries.
European and Asian nations seldom use presidential systems, though. Because of this, most nations in those areas operate under parliamentary or monarchical rule.
Presidential systems vs. semi-presidential systems vs. parliamentary systems

Country | Type | 2022 Population |
---|---|---|
United States | presidential | 338289.8570 |
Indonesia | presidential | 275501.3390 |
Nigeria | presidential | 218541.2120 |
Brazil | presidential | 215313.4980 |
Mexico | presidential | 127504.1250 |
Philippines | presidential | 115559.0090 |
Iran | presidential | 88550.5700 |
Turkey | presidential | 85341.2410 |
Tanzania | presidential | 65497.7480 |
Kenya | presidential | 54027.4870 |
Colombia | presidential | 51874.0240 |
South Korea | presidential | 51815.8100 |
Argentina | presidential | 45510.3180 |
Afghanistan | presidential | 41128.7710 |
Angola | presidential | 35588.9870 |
Uzbekistan | presidential | 34627.6520 |
Peru | presidential | 34049.5880 |
Ghana | presidential | 33475.8700 |
Venezuela | presidential | 28301.6960 |
Ivory Coast | presidential | 28160.5420 |
Cameroon | presidential | 27914.5360 |
Malawi | presidential | 20405.3170 |
Zambia | presidential | 20017.6750 |
Chile | presidential | 19603.7330 |
Kazakhstan | presidential | 19397.9980 |
Ecuador | presidential | 18001 |
Guatemala | presidential | 17843.9080 |
Chad | presidential | 17723.3150 |
Senegal | presidential | 17316.4490 |
Zimbabwe | presidential | 16320.5370 |
Guinea | presidential | 13859.3410 |
Rwanda | presidential | 13776.6980 |
Benin | presidential | 13352.8640 |
Burundi | presidential | 12889.5760 |
Bolivia | presidential | 12224.1100 |
Dominican Republic | presidential | 11228.8210 |
South Sudan | presidential | 10913.1640 |
Tajikistan | presidential | 9952.7870 |
Belarus | presidential | 9534.9540 |
Togo | presidential | 8848.6990 |
Sierra Leone | presidential | 8605.7180 |
Nicaragua | presidential | 6948.3920 |
Paraguay | presidential | 6780.7440 |
Turkmenistan | presidential | 6430.7700 |
El Salvador | presidential | 6336.3920 |
Central African Republic | presidential | 5579.1440 |
Liberia | presidential | 5302.6810 |
Costa Rica | presidential | 5180.8290 |
Uruguay | presidential | 3422.7940 |
Gambia | presidential | 2705.9920 |
Gabon | presidential | 2388.9920 |
Equatorial Guinea | presidential | 1674.9080 |
Cyprus | presidential | 1251.4880 |
Djibouti | presidential | 1120.8490 |
Guyana | presidential | 808.7260 |
Maldives | presidential | 523.7870 |
Seychelles | presidential | 107.1180 |
Palau | presidential | 18.0550 |
Russia | semi-presidential | 144713.3140 |
Egypt | semi-presidential | 110990.1030 |
DR Congo | semi-presidential | 99010.2120 |
France | semi-presidential | 64626.6280 |
Algeria | semi-presidential | 44903.2250 |
Poland | semi-presidential | 39857.1450 |
Ukraine | semi-presidential | 39701.7390 |
Mozambique | semi-presidential | 32969.5180 |
Madagascar | semi-presidential | 29611.7140 |
Niger | semi-presidential | 26207.9770 |
Burkina Faso | semi-presidential | 22673.7620 |
Mali | semi-presidential | 22593.5900 |
Sri Lanka | semi-presidential | 21832.1430 |
Romania | semi-presidential | 19659.2670 |
Tunisia | semi-presidential | 12356.1170 |
Haiti | semi-presidential | 11584.9960 |
Azerbaijan | semi-presidential | 10358.0740 |
Portugal | semi-presidential | 10270.8650 |
Republic of the Congo | semi-presidential | 5970.4240 |
Palestine | semi-presidential | 5250.0720 |
Mauritania | semi-presidential | 4736.1390 |
Mongolia | semi-presidential | 3398.3660 |
Lithuania | semi-presidential | 2750.0550 |
Namibia | semi-presidential | 2567.0120 |
Guinea-Bissau | semi-presidential | 2105.5660 |
Timor-Leste | semi-presidential | 1341.2960 |
Cape Verde | semi-presidential | 593.1490 |