List of current monarchies

  Absolute monarchy

  Semi-constitutional monarchy

  Constitutional monarchy

This is an list of current monarchies. As of 2016, there are 43 sovereign states in the world with a monarch as Head of state. They fall roughly into the following categories:

• Commonwealth realms. Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of sixteen Commonwealth realms (Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). They have evolved out of the British Empire into fully independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations that retain the Queen as head of state, unlike other Commonwealth countries that are either dependencies, republics or have a different royal house. All sixteen realms are constitutional monarchies and full democracies where the Queen has limited powers or a largely ceremonial role. The Queen is head of the established Protestant Christian Church of England in the United Kingdom, while the other 15 realms do not have an established church.
• Other European constitutional monarchies.
  • The Principality of Andorra, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Sweden are fully democratic states in which the monarch has a limited or largely ceremonial role.
  • There is generally a Christian religion established as the official church in each of these countries. This is the Lutheran form of Protestantism in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, while Belgium and Andorra are Roman Catholic countries. Spain and the Netherlands have no official State religion. Luxembourg, which is very predominantly Roman Catholic, has five so-called officially recognized cults of national importance (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Greek Orthodoxy, Judaism and Islam), a status which gives to those religions some privileges like the payment of a state salary to their priests.
  • Andorra is unique among all existing monarchies, as it is, by definition, a diarchy, with the Co-Princeship being shared by the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell. This situation, based on historic precedence, has created a peculiar situation among monarchies, as a) both Co-Princes are not of Andorran descent, b) one is elected by common citizens of a foreign country (France), but not by Andorrans as they cannot vote in the French Presidential Elections, c) the other, the bishop of Urgel, is appointed by a foreign head of state, the Pope.
• European constitutional/absolute monarchies. Liechtenstein and Monaco are constitutional monarchies in which the Prince retains many powers of an absolute monarch. For example, the 2003 Constitution referendum which gives the Prince of Liechtenstein the power to veto any law that the Landtag (parliament) proposes and the Landtag can veto any law that the Prince tries to pass. The Prince can hire or dismiss any elective member or government employee from his or her post. However, what makes him not an absolute monarch is that the people can call for a referendum to end the monarchy's reign. The Prince of Monaco has simpler powers but cannot hire or dismiss any elective member or government employee from his or her post, but he can elect the minister of state, government council and judges. Both Albert II and Hans-Adam II have quite a bit of political power, but they also own huge tracts of land and are shareholders in many companies.
• Islamic monarchies. These Islamic monarchs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates generally retain far more powers than their European or Commonwealth counterparts. The Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remain absolute monarchies; the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and United Arab Emirates are classified as mixed, meaning there are representative bodies of some kind, but the monarch retains most of his powers. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Malaysia and the Kingdom of Morocco are constitutional monarchies, but their monarchs still retain more substantial powers than European equivalents.
• East Asian constitutional monarchies. The Kingdom of Bhutan, the Kingdom of Cambodia, Japan, the Kingdom of Thailand have constitutional monarchies where the monarch has a limited or ceremonial role. The Kingdom of Bhutan, Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand are countries that were never colonized by European powers, but Japan and the Kingdom of Thailand have changed from traditional absolute monarchies into constitutional ones during the twentieth century, while the Kingdom of Bhutan changed in 2008. The Kingdom of Cambodia had its own monarchy after independence from the French Colonial Empire, which was deposed after the Khmer Rouge came into power and the subsequent invasion by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The monarchy was subsequently restored in the peace agreement of 1993.
• Other monarchies. Four monarchies do not fit into one of the above groups by virtue of geography or class of monarchy: the Kingdom of Tonga in Polynesia; the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Kingdom of Lesotho in Africa; and the Vatican City State in Europe. Of these, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Tonga are constitutional monarchies, while the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Vatican City State are absolute monarchies. The Kingdom of Swaziland is also unique among these monarchies, often being considered a diarchy. The King, or Ngwenyama, rules alongside his mother, the Ndlovukati, as dual heads of state originally designed to be checks on political power. The Ngwenyama, however, is considered the administrative head of state, while the Ndlovukati is considered the spiritual and national head of state, a position which more or less has become symbolic in recent years. The Pope is the absolute monarch of the Vatican City State (different entity from the Holy See) by virtue of his position as head of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome; he is an elected rather than hereditary ruler and has not to be a citizen of the territory prior to his election by the cardinals.

Current monarchies

Monarchy	Official local name	Title of Head of State	Title of Head of Government	Type of Monarcy	Succession	Current constitution
Principality of Andorra [1]	Principat d'Andorra	Co-Princes	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Ex officio	1993
Antigua and Barbuda[2]	Antigua and Barbuda	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1981
Commonwealth of Australia[3]	Commonwealth of Australia	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1901
Commonwealth of the Bahamas[4]	Commonwealth of the Bahamas	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1973
Barbados[5]	Barbados	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1966
Kingdom of Bahrain[6]	Mamlakat al- Baḥrayn	King	Prime Minister	Mixed	Hereditary	2002
Kingdom of Belgium[7]	Koninkrijk België Royaume de Belgique Königreich Belgien	King ^1	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary ^1	1831
Belize[8]	Belize	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1981
Kingdom of Bhutan[9]	Druk gyal khap	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	2007
Brunei Darussalam[10]	Negara Brunei Darussalam	Sultan		Absolute	Hereditary	1959
Kingdom of Cambodia[11]	Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa	King	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary and elective	1993
Canada[12]	Canada	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1867
Kingdom of Denmark[13]	Kongeriget Danmark	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1849
Grenada[14]	Grenada	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1974
Jamaica[15]	Jamaica	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1962
Japan[16]	Nippon-koku/Nihon-koku	Emperor	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1947
State of Kuwait[17]	Dawlat al-Kuwait	Emir	Prime Minister		Hereditary and elective	1962
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan[18]	al-Mamlakah al-Urdunīyah al-Hāshimīyah	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary and elective	1952
Kingdom of Lesotho[19]	Muso oa Lesotho Kingdom of Lesotho	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary and elective	1993
Principality of Liechtenstein[20]	Fürstentum Liechtenstein	Sovereign Prince	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1862
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg[21]	Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg Grousherzogdem Lëtzebuerg	Grand Duke	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1868
Malaysia[22]	Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Prime Minister		Elective	1957
Principality of Monaco[23]	Principauté de Monaco Principatu de Múnegu	Sovereign Prince	Minister of State		Elective	1911
Kingdom of Morocco[24]	al-Mamlaka al-Maghribiyya	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	2011
Kingdom of the Netherlands[25]	Koninkrijk der Nederlanden	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1815
New Zealand [26]	New Zealand Aotearoa	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1907
Kingdom of Norway[27]	Kongeriket Norge Kongeriket Noreg	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1814
Sultanate of Oman[28]	Salṭanat ‘Umān	Sultan		Absolute	Hereditary	1996
Independent State of Papua New Guinea[29]	Independent State of Papua New Guinea Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini Papua Niu Gini	Queen	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary	1975
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis[30]	Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1983
Saint Lucia[31]	Saint Lucia	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1979
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[32]	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1979
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia[33]	Al-Mamlakah al-Arabiyah as-Sa'ūdiyah	King		Absolute	Hereditary and elective	1992^2
Solomon Islands[34]	Solomon Islands	Queen	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary	1978
Kingdom of Spain[35]	Reino de España	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1978
Kingdom of Swaziland[36]	Umbuso weSwatini Kingdom of Swaziland	King	Prime Minister	Absolute	Hereditary and elective	1968
Kingdom of Sweden[37]	Konungariket Sverige	King	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary	1974
State of Qatar[38]	Dawlat Qaṭar	Emir	Prime Minister	Mixed	Hereditary	2004
Kingdom of Thailand[39]	Ratcha Anachak Thai	King	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary	2014
Kingdom of Tonga[40]	Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga Kingdom of Tonga	King	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1970
Tuvalu[41]	Tuvalu	Queen	Prime Minister		Hereditary	1978
United Arab Emirates[42]	Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabiyyah al-Muttaḥidah	President	Prime Minister	Mixed	Hereditary and elective	1971
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[43]	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Queen	Prime Minister	Constitutional	Hereditary	1701
Vatican City State[44]	Status Civitatis Vaticanae Stato della Città del Vaticano	Pope	President of the Pontifical Commission	Absolute	Elective	1920

Footnote

• ¹ Belgium is the only existing popular monarchy — a system in which the monarch's title is linked to the people rather than a state. The title of Belgian kings is not King of Belgium, but instead King of the Belgians. Another unique feature of the Belgian system is that the new monarch does not automatically assume the throne at the death or abdication of his predecessor; he only becomes monarch upon taking a constitutional oath
• ² Basic Law of Saudi Arabia^[45][46][47]

References

1. "Europe :: Andorra". CIA The World Factbook.
2. "Central America and Caribbean :: Antigua and Barbuda". CIA The World Factbook.
3. "Australia-Oceania :: Australia". CIA The World Factbook.
4. "Central America and Caribbean :: The Bahamas". CIA The World Factbook.
5. "Central America and Caribbean :: Barbados". CIA The World Factbook.
6. "Central America and Caribbean :: Bahrain". CIA The World Factbook.
7. "Europe :: Belgium". CIA The World Factbook.
8. "Central America and Caribbean :: Belize". CIA The World Factbook.
9. "Asia ::Bhutan". CIA The World Factbook.
10. "Asia ::Brunei Darussalam". CIA The World Factbook.
11. "Asia ::Cambodia". CIA The World Factbook.
12. "North America::Canada". CIA The World Factbook.
13. "Europe::Denmark". CIA The World Factbook.
14. "Central America and Caribbean :: Grenada". CIA The World Factbook.
15. "Central America and Caribbean :: Jamaica". CIA The World Factbook.
16. "Asia :: Japan". CIA The World Factbook.
17. "Asia :: Kuwait". CIA The World Factbook.
18. "Asia :: Jordan". CIA The World Factbook.
19. "Africa :: Lesotho". CIA The World Factbook.
20. "Europe:: Liechtenstein". CIA The World Factbook.
21. "Europe:: Luxembourg". CIA The World Factbook.
22. "Asia:: Malaysia". CIA The World Factbook.
23. "Europe:: Monaco". CIA The World Factbook.
24. "Africa:: Morocco". CIA The World Factbook.
25. "Europe:: Netherlands". CIA The World Factbook.
26. "Australia-Oceania :: New Zealand". CIA The World Factbook.
27. "Europe :: Norway". CIA The World Factbook.
28. "Asia:: Oman". CIA The World Factbook.
29. "Asia :: Papua New Guinea". CIA The World Factbook.
30. "Central America and Caribbean :: Saint Kitts and Nevis". CIA The World Factbook.
31. "Central America and Caribbean :: Saint Lucia". CIA The World Factbook.
32. "Central America and Caribbean :: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". CIA The World Factbook.
33. "Asia :: Saudi Arabia". CIA The World Factbook.
34. "Australia-Oceania :: Solomon Islands". CIA The World Factbook.
35. "Europe :: Spain". CIA The World Factbook.
36. "Africa:: Swaziland". CIA The World Factbook.
37. "Europe:: Sweden". CIA The World Factbook.
38. "Asia:: Qatar". CIA The World Factbook.
39. "Europe:: Thailand". CIA The World Factbook.
40. "Australia-Oceania :: Tonga". CIA The World Factbook.
41. "Australia-Oceania :: Tuvalu". CIA The World Factbook.
42. "Asia:: United Arab Emirates". CIA The World Factbook.
43. "Europe:: United Kingdom". CIA The World Factbook.
44. "Europe:: Holy See". CIA The World Factbook.
45. Saudi Arabia - Constitution
46. Empty Reforms: Saudi Arabia's New Basic Laws May 1992
47. The Basic Law - Saudi Arabia Information