There are and were a very large number of republics in the world. A republican form of government can be combined with many different kinds of economy and democracy. Some examples for certain forms of republic are:

Contents

1 Antiquity 2 Middle Ages and Renaissance 3 Enlightenment and later 3.1 Federal republics 3.2 Confederations 3.3 Islamic Republics 3.4 Democratic Republics 3.5 People's Republics 3.6 Socialist Republics 3.7 Soviet and related (former) Communist Republics 3.8 Arab Republics 3.9 Other

Antiquity

• Athens (...-...)
• Carthage (...-...)
• Roman Republic (509 BC-c. 27 BC)
• Sparta (...-...)

Middle Ages and Renaissance

• Venice (...-...)
• ...

Enlightenment and later

Federal republics

Republics governed by representative democracy, in which the states play a crucial role:

• Brazil
• Ethiopia
• Germany (since ...)
• Nigeria
• USA (since ...)

Confederations

Confederal republics are usually governed by a combination of representative democracy and direct democracy:

• Switzerland (since ....)

Islamic Republics

Republics governed in accordance with Islamic law:

• Afghanistan (....)
• Pakistan (....)
• Iran (since Iranian Revolution)
• Mauritania

Democratic Republics

• Algeria
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• East Timor
• Laos
• North Korea (....)
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Sri Lanka

People's Republics

Meant to be governed by the people, this name is generally used by far-east communist states:

• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• China (....)
• Laos
• North Korea (....)

Socialist Republics

• Libya
• Sri Lanka
• Vietnam

Soviet and related (former) Communist Republics

In the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, some associated countries, and/or their successors would use the name "republic", while not completely corresponding with a "western" view on the essential characteristics of a republic:

• GDR (....-....)

Arab Republics

• Egypt
• Syria is the "Arab Republic" reflecting its theoretically pan-Arab Ba'athist government.

Other

A wide array of other adjectives are used: democratic is common but in most cases meaningless and/or redundant. Other modifiers are rooted in tradition and history, equally only with a limited practical and/or political meaning:

• San Marino qualifies itself as the "Most Serene Republic"
• Uruguay is the "Eastern Republic".
• Guyana is a "Co-operative Republic"

Many republics, however, did not seek to add such qualifiers to their name:

• French Republic (1st: 1792-1799; 2nd: 1848-1852; 3rd: 1870-1940; 4th: 1945-1958 and 5th since 1958)