The term socialist has been thrown around quite a bit in the past few years. Not since the cold war has the term garnered so much attention in the press and from politicians. But when you look at countries who actually have a socialist economic structure, you can see some similarities to the United States – but there are some really stark differences.
Below, you will see some of the most socialistic nations in the world today:
- China
- Denmark
- Finland
- Netherlands
- Canada
- Sweden
- Norway
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Belgium
Despite popular myths, there is very little connection between economic performance and welfare expenditure. Many of the countries on this list are proof of that, such as Denmark and Finland. Even though both countries are more socialistic than America, the workforce remains stronger.
China
In China the government manages and controls the economy. Many of the domestic companies are owned and run by the government. Recently, the Chinese economy has become more geared towards capitalism, but is still officially socialist. Life in China remains relatively less stressful and more relaxed than life in capitalist countries like America.
Denmark
Denmark has a wide range of welfare benefits that they offer their citizens. As a result, they also have the highest taxes in the world. Equality is considered the most important value in Denmark. Small businesses thrive, with over 70 percent of companies having 50 employees or less
Finland
Finland has one of the world’s best education systems, with no tuition fees and also giving free meals to their students. The literacy rate in Finland is 100 percent. Finland has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Like Denmark and other European countries, equality is considered one of the most important values in society. Whereas in the Netherlands, government control over the economy remains at a minimum, but a socialist welfare system remains. The lifestyle in the Netherlands is very egalitarian and organized, where even bosses do not discipline or treat their subordinates rudely.
Canada
Like the Netherlands, Canada also has mostly a free market economy, but has a very extensive welfare system that includes free health and medical care. Canadians remain more open-minded and liberal than Americans, and Canada is ranked as one of the best top five countries to live in by the United Nations and the Human Development Index (HDI) rankings.
Sweden
Sweden has a large welfare system, but due to a high national debt, required much government intervention in the economy. In Norway, the government controls certain key aspects of the national economy, and they also have one of the best welfare systems in the world, with Norway having one of the highest standards of living in all of Europe. Norway is not a member of the European Union.
Ireland
Ireland has arguably one of the best welfare systems in the world, with unemployment checks higher on average than Denmark or Switzerland’s average. Around 25 percent of Ireland’s GDP goes towards paying for the welfare system, as compared to 15 percent of America’ GDP towards America’s social support programs.
New Zealand
New Zealand may not be a socialist country, but the welfare system in the country is very wide ranging, offering support for housing, unemployment, health, child care, and education as well. Therefore, New Zealand has many of the characteristics of a socialist country, even while remaining officially free market.
Belgium
Lastly, Belgium has most of the same social security benefits that New Zealand offers, including invalid and old age pensions. The welfare system causes much of the country’s budget deficit though, and so is considered by some to be a burden on society.
New Zealnd
New Zealand? I thought NZ’s recent free-market reforms allowed far more foreign investment, and the World Bank in 2005 said New Zealand was the most business-friendly country in the world, just after Singapore. Or did you really mean “New Lealnd”
the most open free markets are in the most extensively socialzed countries. Graft and corruption is the true enemy of free markets, not governments doing their jobs- ensuring conditions which foster the well being of the people they govern- think Finland and Norway. Graft and corruption thrive in countries with no social satiety net and poor education opportunity. This creates a climate in which there can be no free market based on competition, and instead we see a market based on elevation of the most corrupt- think USA and its financial institutions.
Sorry Andrew but I don’t believe you understand the system of what a free market is. The free-market is exactly what it sounds like. Sure corruption definitely hurts the free markets system but most corruption is done through government. While corruption in the short run might hurt, in the long run it does not survive in a free market system. Example: the financial institutions/ Wall street in the USA like you mentioned.
Sorry Tyler, the reason that corruption is attributed to gov’t institutions is because they actually have to answer to the law set up by a social contract. In a power vacuum, and lawless world, there would technically be no corruption, because all ill-doings would be open to “interpretation”. Hence, 99 % of “free market” business corruption is passed off as “optimization”, “derivatives”, etc. Greed and corruption is institutionalized in the free market system.
You are crazy with this assumption!!!!!
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Don’t know why they call universal healthcare a socialism. Then why do we have universal primary & secondary education? That’s socialism too. So is Social Security. These are just a good system that Government implements to keep minimum level of living. How it is fair that our tax money is going toward criminial’s healthcare where as small business owner cannot afford to go to a hospital.
I read that this guy could not get on an organ transplant list because he did not have enough deposit to be on the list when a prisoner got his organ just because he commited a crime and was in jail.
Then there was a smarter guy who “robbed” a jewelry store just so that he can get arrested since he didn’t have money for his transplant.
Eventually anyone who needs something will have to commit a crime just to see a doctor. When I was visiting Korea, which has universal healthcare, my son got sick so we went to a doctor who had much higher technological equipments than in the States only chaged around 7 bucks for examination & cleaned his earwax since we had no Korean insurance. People who had insurance were paying around 2-3 bucks per visit. Reason…administrative overhead. Meaning high and mighty people up there needs 100 thousands and millions of dollars in their pocket to buy their mercedes and porsches. Most doctors will not get affected universal or privatized insurance except for those who’re on the board or admin somewhere.
So people may say socialism or communism, but having universal healthcare run by government just make sense…if not, I’d say we take it away from the convicts and all the politician. Let politicians buy their own medical insurance out of their pocket, we know they can afford to.
It’s still socialism. Pure capitalism provides no support. If you’re poor you get sick and die.
how can anyone compare these top 10 socialist countries,or any countries to the united states. the u.s.a is a melting pot of EVERYONE.! you can come here legally or illegally. and you get treated with the same rights as a natural born citizen. if socialism really works,then let’s bring back the great thinkers of the past,for they lay the foundations of true socialism, i.e stalin, lenin,trotski,marks,engles.there are more people in some of the states, alone, in the u.s.a then in some of the countries mentioned here. also,let’s not forget how many people were killed and tortured under,SOCIALISM. free health care is not free! somebody has to pay.!
I think you’re confusing socialism with communism. And yes “somebody has to pay” WE pay. They are called taxes and healthcare/education are the kind of things taxes are SUPPOSED to pay for. Instead it goes to paying off the federal reserve. Oh, and politicians salaries (who have free healthcare for life, btw.)
“Life in China remains relatively less stressful and more relaxed than life in capitalist countries like America.” Go to China and speak out about human rights and freedom of the press then tell me how less stressful and relaxed life is.
Should we forget how many people were tortured and killed by capitalist countries?
You are really really really dumb
Do you even know what socialism means? First thing first capitalism, socialism an communism are economic theories that were not fully incorporated in real life. They called Soviet Union ‘Communist” when in fact it wasn’t.. the idea was there but it led to corruption due to the fact that the full power was given to idiotic Stalin and not to the people as a whole. Now, dictatorship and communism are completely different terms. Soviet Union was under DICTATORSHIP and not under communism since this theory couldn’t be introduced to a society as a WHOLE. DO some readings on economic theories…
Socialism is a “mixed economy”. The government doesnt necessaryly control everything; the people make decisions as well. I think the U.S. may lean more towards Capitalism but it does have many factors of socialism. SO you cant just say that Socialism is “death”. No matter how you look at it, The U.S. is completely a mixed kind of economy even with another lable.
first off, the taxes in denmark are not 70%
as some of my family members lives there.
I live in norway with my mother and father, we have high taxes and are a socialist nation, socialism and communism are TWO entirely different things. for example norway is socialist but we are far from communist’s and we don’t have crime at high rate, it is actually the lowest in the WORLD!
secondly
China is a communist state not a socialist nation.
No offense, but I think that you might have misread the Denmark listing. It says that Denmark has some of the highest taxes in the world. And that 70% of BUSINESSES have 50 employees or less.
Henrik is correct. China is not a socialist nation, it is politically communist and economically capitalist. Most people in the US who desire socialism don’t necessarily want America to become a socialist nation politically. We want to maintain democracy, but to use socialism in order to create a welfare state – like in Canada, Finland, and Denmark – while still embracing a free market economy.
This is so typical. “Oh, our taxes are not 70%”. Nope. They ARE 60%. Who wants to give a government more than half of their pay??? This is your argument for capitalism?? Your country is known for drugs and giving the government more than half of their money. You are mindless sheep and this is why the government allows you to be high all the time.
Our (Danish) taxes are 48.9% (and that includes moms (VAT)) … not 60/70.
We are not “known for drugs” (are you confusing us with the Dutch?)
If our system makes you think that we are sheep – well then i will happily Baah all day long, if it staves off most other systems in the world
Do look us up (Denmark), we are at the top of most lists of great things: Welfare, Economic freedom, Ease of doing business, Happiness etc etc.
Have a nice day
This resembles some bulls#&% I have heard from biased media in the past. When the blind in America finally wake up it will probably be too late.
Hey,Where is the big boss Russia?
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Guess we can add United States on there now. Since apparently we are almost there and our constitution means pretty much nothinganymore
Hahahahaha. Stupid people make me laugh.
wow dude….. you obviously have no idea AT ALL what your talking about….
China is communist, not socialist am life is more relaxed? Really? Have you ever even been to china? The government control everything, no one owns property and most live in poverty making just enought to survive. The government pimps out people to greedy companies and pollution is horrible. Also last time I checked didn’t the USA save most of these countries listed from nazi germany? We may not be perfect but who do they cry to when someone is picking in them? The USA. And good or bad we are often more willing to help. One last thing, how is Greece and its socialist economy working out?
So is that why America is starting to bully Syberia, your latest failed attempt and also i get this weird feeling in my gut that America have been making excuses for war since 2000 to help out their debt issue. As war is the most profitable factor in the world still.
So yet here I am every day waiting for some news saying OMGWTF America declared war. As you guys are still the biggest economic bullies in the world, trying to dictate the movement of newly reformed countries left right and center. The first real failure your country faced was Iran in this regard when you realized they have plenty juicy oil that your government just had to capitalize for their own gain instead of a global gain.
My key is globalization of freedom of movement on a global level is what will actually make changes in how humanity as a whole run ourselves. All these walls and divides are just a dead end road to create hatred and complex corruptible ideas easily masked from society. I believe in transparency and also the ability for YOU to admit to your mistakes and then figure out a solution that more then one country can work on at a time without any hidden agenda’s to profiteer one country above another. America has the highest debt ceiling in the world and it is only growing, this makes for a desperate and volatile environment. As a country i am not surprised America is seeking ever more sly or direct ways to save themselves at the expense of many. It is the nature of it all. It is not right or wrong, but i’ll be damned hoping that your country chooses a social way to change the current problems, because both Dictatorship or Capitalist strategies will point at war. This includes leaving decisions to the reserve or federation, who only want to line their on pockets no matter which country we are talking about
This was written by some nutjob who was trying to make socialism seem wonderful. Who deems what is less stressful living? China less stressful than the USA? Is that a result of culture or government? The workers at Foxconn aren’t living stress free lives and the majority of China live in poverty by US standards. Heck, most of the world lives in poverty when compared to the USA.
Yes, according to USA standards not China’s standards!!!
Inequality and salary gaps is like a culture in most countries where there is an open economy. The monied people do not care about others.
This list is wrong, the writer obviously is confused between socialism and social-democracy.
Socialism is a self-government workers. Self-management!
The means of production are reguled by workers .
These are basic principles of Socialism.
So, there is no socialism in any country of the world. Even China, North Korea and Cuba aren’t real Socialists, cause workers dont control anything.
Thanks for writing on this subject. It would be more helpful and illuminating, however, if you made a distinction between socialism and communism. That would explain a great deal of the difference, aside from language and culture, between China and the European socialist countries. Socialist countries do not need centralized control. The advantages of socialism for everyday working people are maintained by cultural mores and the laws created by people with such mores, not centralized control of commercial activities. China is a communist country.. and will become either capitalist or socialist, depending on how well the population understands and promotes such universal values.
Doesn’t China also have a flag?
I’d have to ask what these nations’ defense expenditures are as part of their overall budget. While China has a large defense budget, their R&D relies mostly on stealing technology, not original R&D. Most of the others rely on US treaty involvements, such as NATO
You must be kidding about Ireland. They have a far more conservative government very little in the way of universal healthcare. The UK, In particular Scotland is a far more socialist country that offers free healthcare, transportation for the elderly and free higher education.
I think South Africa and other countries that are currently using the “Free Market” economy can learn a lot from these mentiont top 10 Socialistic countries in therms of education, healthy and other ways of promoting or strenghteening the economy.
This article contradicts itself.. The title is misleading.. It says “…10 Most Socialist Countries in the World”, and then it says, “the most socialistic.”
“Socialist” and “socialistic” are not the same things.
what abou the netherlands? i couldnt find any information about it on this website…
Idiot propaganda.
Its strange that in the US they confuse socialism (collective ownership of means of production) with the normal obligation of a civilized developed country to provide education, healthcare and welfare.
And yet, millions of Europeans immigrated here in the 20th century and made this the greatest economy in the history of the world within 50 years, operating under those very rules you find strange.
The reason Americans “confuse” socialism with the “normal obligations” you describe is because those two things go hand in hand. That’s why Left Wingers constantly harp on the injustices of their favorite villain in the world: free market capitalism.
This article only holds if your definition of socialism is “welfare state”, which is a ridiculous definition.
http://www.marxists.org/subject/china/peking-review/1975/PR1975-15a.htm
Thank you for the injection of sanity.
Not a one of these countries, with the exception of China, is socialist.
Otherwise, how do you explain the alignment of the world during the Cold War? Hello?
Why would NATO align itself against Marxism if it were comprised of a majority of Marxist countries?
A welfare state isn’t socialism. Read some books for crying out loud. How much welfare do you think there was in Soviet Russia? In Maoist China?
The newly inaugurated King of the Netherlands in September 2013 heralded the decline of the welfare state in his country, referencing changing demographics and an aging population that will necessitate civil solutions to issues like retiree welfare.
This is an opening salvo in the decline of the welfare state in Europe. A system propped up largely by international Bernie Madoff style ponzi schemes and state oil revenues used to BUY POPULIST LOYALTY for ideologies that couldn’t possibly make such redistribution work under ordinary circumstances.
Socialism works great as long as you have the huge pot of money or credit available to finance it. But when the credit card runs out, you’re in trouble.
Hello world
I’m from South Africa
Now after apartheid ended and our future was looking bright we had the great injustice of being tempted by a loan from America during 1995, after accepting this great injustice America now had a hold on decisions we made on our economy. So the blueprint for our economic infrastructure bends viciously towards Americanism. Yes, Americanism, i said it and the way our country was inducted into the “free” world mirrors itself closely to an economic enslavement using the bottleneck strategy of injecting funds into an economy and then saying that the trickle-down effect will sustain great future growth, but yet any money that may potentially trickle down is absorbed into repaying the country in question (America) and also allowed for adverse corruptible methods to be implemented with this trickle-down “solution” we were forcefully given by the holiest of corruptible methods. Fiat Currency
Also, America has never been the greatest of fastest growing country in the history of the world. Those titles go the Egyptian Dynasties and the Mongols respectively
You are the most ignorant person i have ever met