Top Ten Most Socialist Countries

The Top Ten
1 Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign and unitary monarchy in Northern Europe whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the island Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. Oslo is the capital of Norway. Norwegian is the official language of Norway.

I lived in Norway for 12 years. I left because I was taxed so harshly. As a single guy with no dependants, the vast majority of my earnings went to the state. I paid an income tax close to 40%, a sales tax of 25%, and countless other taxes or hidden fees. There is a T.V. tax; of somewhere around 2500kr per year - if you have a T.V. you must pay it. There is a road tax. There are road tolls. Alcohol is taxed something extreme and is mostly only available through government alcohol shops. Vehicles are often cost double or more than what you would pay elsewhere, because of various vehicle taxes. If you are healthy and motivated then Norway is a horrible place to live - as you will get no benefit from their "free" healthcare. If you are sick, lazy, a single parent etc - then move to Norway, you can continue living off the hard work of others (or a sovereign wealth fund paid for by oil)

They're like the other Scandinavian countries but with a practically collectivized oil industry. I'm a social democrat, but that's close to pure socialism.

Disgustingly high taxes. Many Norwegian conservatives often refer to the country as "the last Soviet state".

It's actually one of the richest countries keep in mind.

2 Denmark Denmark is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the most populous and politically central constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic Ocean. European Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, lying southwest of Sweden, south of Norway, and north of Germany. ...read more.

I also read some comparative survey reports indicating that since about 2-3 decades Danes have been showing the highest degree of happiness and satisfaction with life in the world.

One of the strongest welfare states in the world, also said to be the happiest country on earth.

3 Sweden Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund. At 450,295 square kilometers (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10 million.

How about "Sweden isn't for the swedes? " Or "Rape capital of Europe" The government cares nothing for its native people; only Muslims and blacks from Africa matter. Highest taxes and all money and programs are for those invaders. The government lies about crimes, brainwashed our youth. Being"islamaphobic" is a crime but Muslims raping swedes is ok as they are seldomly punished. Sweden is by far the worst on any list. Money for rapists but nothing for the victims.

Basically they think all the Nordic countries are the socialist countries, I think that is true.

Everyone's favorite to point to.

4 Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 ...read more.

RE visitor comment: "how you're defining that", objective/subjective criteria, etc. I am not defining anything - these things are defined and measured by experts that know more than you and me. I just love reading.
These ARE objective criteria, each one having empirically measurable sub-criteria/indicators. Indicators are measured by credible international organizations.

A small country (5.5 million people), known for 2 things:
1) Finland usually tops many of the world's best-of charts, such as the best country to live in, based on objective criteria: health, economic dynamism, education, political environment, quality of life, and so on.
2) Finland is the country with the biggest number of metal bands per capita in the world (3,400 bands).

5 Netherlands The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country located in north-western Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces, and borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coast-line to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium in the North Sea. The country's official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish are recognised regional languages, while Dutch Sign Language, Sinte Romani, and Yiddish are recognised ...read more.

Comments based on assumptions and not on facts are always wrong. Shorter work hours was their policy to increase employment and social inclusion. If a person works 25 and not 50 hours a week there will be 25 hours left for somebody else and one more person will be employed. This type of thinking was part of their social agreement and in literature it's called "social intelligence".
Lower workforce participation (US) doesn't always mean better productivity but it always means that more people are long-term unemployed and hence, excluded from the workforce, I.e. more poverty.

Of course the "visitor" was "exaggerating." He was taking a poke at the way the uninformed exaggerate life in the mythical Utopian paradise. While the per-capita GDP of the Netherlands is roughly comparable to that of the U.S., workforce participation in the U.S. is below 50 percent, meaning the U.S. is FAR more productive on a per-capita basis. Further, the Netherlands' personal income tax rate is 52 percent, and its social security tax rate is over 28 percent, for a combined tax rate of over EIGHTY PERCENT. This is orders of magnitude above the average tax burden in America. The Dutch can get away with this because they are a tiny nation with a relatively homogenous demographic (which has little appreciation of true liberty), relatively little infrastructure, relatively low unemployment rate, and this is key-- they needn't spend many hundreds of billions maintaining that mighty Dutch military. NATO-- meaning the U.S.-- guarantees their security. And NO NATO country pays its "fair ...more

"Comments based on assumptions and not on facts are always wrong." You're right, which is why you're wrong... again. I gave you the facts re GDP and its relation to productivity, as well as Holland's much smaller infrastructural, security and social burdens of crime and other dysfunction, as well as the glaring facts re an individual tax burden of more than EIGHTY percent PLUS a TWENTY-FIVE percent national sales tax, and its need for the subsidy collective of the EU. Someday, presumably, when you have to work for a living, all this will have meaning.

The role of drugs and prostitution in their economic growth was extremely exaggerated by the visitor. Drugs and prostitution are mostly for tourists. Dutch people have been the healthiest European nation for long time according to many data sources (stats).
Their slogan is: "Don't work hard, work smart". Which they do - for about 20-30 years they have had the shortest working hours in the world. This is a middle class country - there's no visible and significant poverty there.

6 Canada Canada is a country in North America that is next to the United States, and it's the 2nd largest country in the world by area (size is 9.985 million km²). This country has 10 provinces, and 3 territories. Canada became a dominion on July 1, 1867. Its 10 provinces are: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Its 3 territories are: Yukon, Northwest territories, and Nunavut. Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, St. John's, and Fredericton are major cities in the country. Canada's capital city, Ottawa, is in the southeastern province of Ontario, near the city of Montreal ...read more.

Canada, specifically Ontario is undeniably under socialist control. Our alcohol is sold only in province owned stores and distributed to restaurants and bars with heavy regulation and tax. Our citizens are highly taxed well beyond the amount needed in a country with such a small population. These taxes serve the government's model of wealth re-distribution and fund the endless stream of liberal voting immigrants that keep the left in power. Canada is also home to many government supported monopolies, with some of the highest costs in the world for TV, internet and cellular services among many others. Canada even has its own TV network, the CBC, owned and paid for by the Canadian government used to dispense it's propaganda!

If you are sick or lazy, move to Canada and let the hard working people pay your wage. It's become a fascist state where conservatism is labeled as racist, homophobic, and greedy. Unfortunately, most of the population is brainwashed by government funded schools that continues to let people believe cheap money is what will save our sluggish oil-based ecnonomy.

I live here it is a free and great place to work and live. We look after each other. We work hard we play hard and we love peace.

Ridiculous list, Canada is allies with the US for a reason.

7 France France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to ...read more.

France has the highest level of public expenses and taxes in all Europe, with the highest rate of social expenses in the world (as compared to its GDP : 34%) and then, should be considered as the most socialist country of all Europe...

8 New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is situated 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Possibly the poorest, but as wealth poors in faster, the economy improves.

9 Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America.

The most corrupt on the list.

10 Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a sovereign state comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos.

The highest actual socialist country on this list. How is this below the nordic countries and other european countries, those are at best social democracies which is just more moderate capitalism.

Cuba is a poor country but have better universal healthcare than United States. This is one of the salient advantages of socialism.

Practices communism, which is graduated socialism. The Nordic countries are not socialist.

Most government ownership that any other country in the world.

The Contenders
11 Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island.

Poor due to lack of money and rain forest bulldozing, but functions better than the rest of Central America in economic prosperity terms.

12 North Korea The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea, is a country in Eastern Asia. Its capital is Pyongyang. It is currently ruled by the Juche leader Kim Jong-Un, after inheriting the title from his father, Kim Jong-Il, who in turn inherited it from his father, Kim Il-Sung. ...read more.

Literally a dictatorship run by the government.

One of the few socialist countries on this list.

13 Soviet Union

While ex-socialist, it is one of the few countries on this list that were actually socialist.

Union of Soviet Socialists Republics. Again, in the name.

14 China China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geographical time zones and borders 14 countries, the second most of any country in the world after Russia. Covering an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third or fourth largest country. The country consists of 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Chinese (Mandarin) is the only official ...read more.

This article is entirely propaganda trying to get you to think these awful socialist countries aren't actually socialist so you feel better about yourselves.

Largest socialist country in the world, though tendency in national capitalism.

15 National Socialist Germany

"England is a capitalist democracy. Germany is a socialist people's state. And it is not the case that we think England is the richest land on earth. There are lords and City men in England who are in fact the richest men on earth. The broad masses, however, see little of this wealth. We see in England an army of millions of impoverished, socially enslaved, and oppressed people. Child labor is still a matter of course there. They have only heard about social welfare programs. Parliament occasionally discusses social legislation. Nowhere else is there such terrible and horrifying inequality as in the English slums. Those with good breeding take no notice of it. Should anyone speak of it in public, the press, which serves plutocratic democracy, quickly brands him the worst kind of rascal. They do not hesitate to make major changes in the Constitution if they are necessary to preserve capitalist democracy." - Joseph Goebbels

16 United States The United States of America, or the U.S.A. for short, is a federal republic composed of 50 states, 48 of them are contiguous states. There are two other states, Alaska and Hawaii, which are north and south of the contiguous states, respectively. The United States declared its independence from the British Empire in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. They won their independence in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris. Its capital, Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) is defined by imposing neoclassical monuments and buildings including the iconic ones that house the federal government's 3 branches: the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court. Though it has no official language, English and ...read more.

So many taxes (aka wealth redistribution) and so many Americans on government assistance. I'm surprised USA is not the number 1 most socialist country in the world.

I wish America was socialist. Who made this list?

17 Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.
18 Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus.

"There was a conviction that the socialist cause was a just one, and so wherever there were struggles against colonialism, imperialism and neocolonialism, the Soviet Union would support those struggles and those causes, in the form of economic and military help. The economic assistance that the Soviet Union gave Nicaragua was invaluable." - Daniel Ortega

19 Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), or commonly referred to its colloquial name of Muang Lao is a landlocked country in the heart of the Indochinese peninsula of Mainland Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to ...read more.
20 Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

What a lot of crock! Nothing could be further from the truth. Australia is NOT a socialist country, and the government does NOT own all enterprise. Furthermore, privatisation is NOT outlawed. I don't know where you got all this utter nonsense from but it's certainly NOT from living in Australia which is a FREE COUNTRY! I live there so I know first-hand what Australia is like.

Unfortunately, the government is slowly taking over Australia. If not already socialist, it is quickly heading down that road.

Our government may own SOME of the schools and hospitals, and we may get free healthcare. But, we are a capitalist nation and a lot of kids only care about money. Also, Australians would tell you to shut up if you're a socialist.

EXTREMELY AUthoritarian! Government owns ALL enterprise. Privatization is OUTLAWED IN ALL FORMS! However, our government generally has our best interests at heart, although General Cossgrove did also spend a lot of needless stuff such as statues of himself, which, since 2018, a lot of these have been toppled in West Australia by nato-backed Geurilla forces. But generally, we still like our government.

21 Eritrea Eritrea officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in East Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast.

Since 1991, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, based on socialism and left-wing nationalism, has been the sole legal political party in Eritrea.

22 Germany Germany was formally united in 1871 under the initiative of Bismarck with King Wilhelm of Prussia as emperor. The previous 'Holy Roman Empire', basically a continuation of the empire of Charlemagne/Karl der Grosse was dissolved in 1806. ...read more.
23 Angola
24 Portugal Portugal (est.1152), officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Portuguese is its official language and is the birthplace of it and Mirandese is considered a co-official language spoken only in a small northeastern section of the country. The most predominant religion is Christianity, mainly Roman Catholism. ...read more.

Portugal is one of the most socialist countries in Europe, and consequently one of the poorest and corrupt as well.

25 Algeria Algeria, is a sovereign Arab & Amazigh country located in North Africa. Algerian peoples Speaks Arab and Tamzigh and some of them speaks French.Algiers is capital and most populous city in Algeria, located in the far north of the country. With an area of 2,381 741 square kilometres, Algeria is the tenth ...read more.
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