Electoral Systems of the World

In most countries, representatives are chosen in very different ways than in the United States.

Around the world, most countries (more than 150) use districts to elect some members of the lower house of their national legislature. Around 120, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States use only districts. As noted in the Intro to Electoral Systems 101, districts emphasize the connection between legislators and constituents and facilitate the representation of geographically distinct or concentrated constituencies, like neighborhoods, regions with a local identity, or ethnic or language groups living in particualr place. 

About 65 countries elect some members of the lower house of their national legislature at-large and around 30 elect all their lower house legislators at large (across the nation or, in federations, at the state or provincial level).  Countries that elect all their lower house members in a national at-large electorate include Armenia, Fiji, and Georgia. Federations that elect their lower house members at-large in states or provinces include Argentina, Brazil, and Switzerland.  At-large election almost always requires the use of multi-winner districts, and can facilitate the use of proportional representation.  

About 100 countries elect some members of the lower house in single-winner contests, with almost 50 electing all their lower house legislators that way.  Almost all of the countries that use only single-winner contests also use district representation, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Most countries in the world (about 135) elect at least some of their lower house members in multi-winner contests. Around 80, including Israel, the Netherlands, and Serbia use only multi-winner districts. 

Proportionality—the idea that seats in the legislature should be allocated in proportion to the aggregate number of votes for each party or candidate— is the most common logic of representation used around the world. In ~85 countries, the dominant logic guiding election to their national lower houses is proportionality, with another ~30 countries electing some seats using a proportional system.  

Plurality and majority logics are less common, but around half the world's elected national lower legislative chambers are elected using some plurality or majority seats. 

For explanations of the electoral systems terms used in this section, please refer to our Electoral Systems Glossary.   

Plurality Representation

The idea that whoever gets the most votes wins the majority of representation, irrespective of whether they have the support of a majority of the people, is embodied in the electoral systems of more than 90  countries. 

The most common form of plurality representation is First-past-the-post, used in ~80 countries.  First-past-the-post is the only way ~35 countries use to elect their national lower houses (including Canada, India, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom). In the remaining countries, it is used in combination with other electoral systems in mixed systems (like Mixed-Member Majoritarian or Mixed-Member Proportional) or as the way to elect representatives in a small set of single-member districts (eg. in low-population provinces or electorates of expatriates) in an otherwise proportional electoral system.  

Majoritarian Representation

Majoritarian logic, that winners must have more than half of all voters' support, is embodied in the electoral systems of 20 to 25 countries. 

The most common form of majority representation is Majority Runoff, used in ~15 countries.  Majority Runoff is the only way ~10 countries use to elect their national lower houses. In the remaining countries, it is used in combination with other electoral systems, like in the United States, where some states (Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana) use Majority Runoff to elect Members of Congress.  Other majoritarian systems in use include Approval Voting (though the only countries using versions of Approval Voting are the one party authoritarian states of Cuba and North Korea), a party runoff system in Bhutan, and a variation of Borda Count in Nauru. 

Note: The numbers in this page are sourced from DODO's Electoral Systems of the World database. We have not removed countries that may be classified as authoritarian or undemocratic by various observers. Every country uses a slightly different implementation of their electoral system and categorization decisions are sometimes subjective. If you notice an error or omission, or just disagree with us, feel free to reach out at info@doctorsofdemocracy.org.