Lower/Single House Elections
in the World's Democracies
(two million+ inhabitants)

 
This chart lists the different voting systems used by full-fledged democracies defined as nations with a Freedom House Average Freedom score of 1 or 2 and a population of at least two million. Full representation systems are by far the most common.  Of the eight nations that do not use full representation for their most powerful national legislative body, three (Australia, France and the United Kingdom) use it for at least one national election. 

Country

Full/Proportional Representation (FR)

Single-Member Districts

Mixed SMD - FR

Argentina

FR

    

Australia

-

SMD (irv)

-

Austria

FR

-

-

Belgium

FR

-

-

Benin

FR

    

Bulgaria

FR

-

-

Canada

-

SMD

-

Chile

FR

-

-

Costa Rica

FR

-

-

Croatia

FR

-

-

Czech Republic

FR

-

-

Denmark

FR

-

-

Dominican Republic

FR

-

-

Finland

FR

-

-

France

-

SMD (mr)

-

Germany

FR (mmfr)

-

-

Ghana

 

SMD

  

Greece

FR

-

-

Hungary

-

-

Mixed (fr)

Ireland

FR (choice)

-

-

Israel

FR

-

-

Italy

-

-

Mixed (smd)

Japan

-

-

Mixed (smd)

Korea, South

-

-

Mixed (smd)

Lativa

FR

-

-

Lithuania

-

-

Mixed (equal)

Mali

 

SMD (mr)

  

Mexico

-

-

Mixed (smd)

Mongolia

-

SMD

-

Netherlands

FR

-

-

New Zealand

FR (mmfr)

-

-

Norway

FR

-

-

Panama

FR

-

-

Poland

FR

-

-

Portugal

FR

-

-

Slovakia

FR

-

-

Slovenia

FR

-

-

South Africa

FR

-

-

Spain

FR

-

-

Sweden

FR

-

-

Switzerland

FR

-

-

Taiwan

-

-

One Vote (w/fr)

United Kingdom

-

SMD

-

United States

-

SMD

-

Uruguay

FR

-

-

 

 

 

 

Total

30

8

7

 

Democracy = A 2005 Freedom House Average Freedom score of 2 or less.
Includes only countries with more than two million inhabitants.

IRV: Instant Runoff Voting (also called "alternative vote")
MMFR: Mixed-Member Full Representation
MR: Majority Runoff
FR: Full Representation