How Many Parties in Each Country's Legislatures
The 50 most populous countries tells how many parties are represented in that nation’s legislative lower house. Many countries on the list have unicameral systems, so for those countries, the chart simply refers to the single chamber.
The United States and Nigeria are the only nations on the list with two parties in the lower house. This shows that such "two-party systems" are rare indeed, and unnatural.
Further evidence that it is unnatural to have only two parties in office is the fact that between 1828 and 1948, even the United States had more than two parties represented in the House, for all but 9 of the 71 congressional elections. The third parties held the balance of power in the House in 1848, 1854, 1858, 1862, 1878, 1916, and 1930.
This chart lists the 50 most populous countries, in order of population. It shows how many parties are represented in each country’s lower legislative chamber, as of April 10, 2015.
Nation |
Name of Body |
Term |
Size of Body |
No. of Parties |
China |
National Peoples Congress |
5 years |
2,987 |
1 |
India |
House of the People |
5 years |
545 |
35 |
United States |
House of Representatives |
2 years |
435 |
2 |
Indonesia |
People’s Representative Council |
5 years |
550 |
10 |
Brazil |
Chamber of Deputies |
4 years |
513 |
22 |
Pakistan |
National Assembly |
5 years |
342 |
17 |
Nigeria |
House of Representatives |
4 years |
360 |
2 |
Bangladesh |
National Parliament |
5 years |
350 |
5 |
Russia |
State Duma |
4 years |
450 |
4 |
Japan |
House of Representatives |
4 years |
475 |
8 |
Mexico |
Chamber of Deputies |
3 years |
500 |
7 |
Philippines |
House of Representatives |
3 years |
292 |
15 |
Vietnam |
National Assembly |
5 years |
500 |
1 |
Ethiopia |
Council of People’s Representatives |
5 years |
547 |
8 |
Egypt |
House of Representatives |
5 years |
567 |
16 |
Germany |
Bundestag |
4 years |
598 |
5 |
Iran |
Consultative Assembly |
4 years |
290 |
0 |
Turkey |
Grand National Assembly |
4 years |
550 |
3 |
Dem Rep of Congo |
National Assembly |
5 years |
500 |
90 |
Thailand |
House of Representatives |
4 years |
500 |
11 |
France |
National Assembly |
5 years |
577 |
11 |
United Kingdom |
House of Commons |
5 years |
650 |
12 |
Italy |
Chamber of Deputies |
5 years |
630 |
12 |
South Africa |
National Assembly |
5 years |
400 |
13 |
Burma |
House of Representatives |
5 years |
440 |
22 |
South Korea |
National Assembly |
4 years |
300 |
3 |
Colombia |
Chamber of Representatives |
4 years |
166 |
9 |
Tanzania |
National Assembly |
5 years |
324 |
6 |
Kenya |
National Assembly |
5 years |
349 |
22 |
Spain |
Congress of Deputies |
4 years |
350 |
16 |
Argentina |
Chamber of Deputies |
4 years |
257 |
7 |
Ukraine |
Supreme Council |
5 years |
450 |
8 |
Algeria |
Peoples National Assembly |
5 years |
462 |
27 |
Poland |
Sejm |
4 years |
460 |
6 |
Sudan |
National Assembly |
6 years |
354 |
12 |
Iraq |
Council of Representatives |
4 years |
328 |
18 |
Canada |
House of Commons |
4 years |
338 |
6 |
Uganda |
Parliament |
5 years |
385 |
7 |
Morocco |
House of Representatives |
5 years |
325 |
18 |
Saudi Arabia |
- - - |
- - |
- - |
- - |
Peru |
Congress |
5 years |
130 |
6 |
Venezuela |
National Assembly |
5 years |
165 |
13 |
Uzbekistan |
Legislative Chamber |
5 years |
150 |
4 |
Malaysia |
House of Representatives |
5 years |
222 |
16 |
Nepal |
Constituent Assembly |
4 years? |
575 |
30 |
Ghana |
Parliament |
4 years |
200 |
4 |
Afghanistan |
House of the People |
5 years |
250 |
19 |
Yemen |
House of Representatives |
6 years |
301 |
5 |
Mozambique |
Assembly of the Republic |
5 years |
250 |
3 |
North Korea |
Supreme People’s Assembly |
5 years |
687 |
3 |
From May 2015 Ballot Access News