Communism states
Executive summary
As of 2025, five countries are widely identified as constitutionally one‑party socialist states led by communist parties: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam (commonly listed as the world’s remaining “communist” countries) [1] [2] [3]. Reporting agrees these states call themselves socialist or are governed by communist parties, but sources note important differences in practice—especially economic liberalization in China and Vietnam and North Korea’s unusual constitutional language—so “communist” is partly a political label, not a single uniform system [4] [5] [3].
1. Why five countries? A short accounting
Most mainstream overviews and academic lists converge on the same five names: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam [2] [3] [5]. World Population Review, Britannica, ThoughtCo., and other compendia list those five as the remaining states where a communist or Marxist–Leninist party holds constitutional primacy or where the state officially identifies as socialist [1] [2] [5].
2. What “communist” means here — constitutional wording vs. practice
The label “communist country” is used in two different ways in reporting: one is constitutional/party status (single-party states led by communist parties), and the other is ideological completeness (having actually achieved communism as defined by Marxist theory). Sources stress that these countries typically describe themselves as “building toward” communism or as socialist states rather than claiming to have reached full communism [4] [6]. Britannica explicitly notes that these five countries are in transitional stages and that their commitment to abolishing capitalism is debatable [2].
3. Not all five look the same on the ground
Reporting emphasizes divergent models. China and Vietnam have introduced market reforms and significant private-sector activity while retaining one‑party rule, making their systems hybrids of party control and market economics [5] [6]. Cuba and Laos retain stronger central control in many sectors but have also allowed varying degrees of market mechanisms in recent years [1] [6]. North Korea is treated as an outlier: many sources note it does not self-identify strictly as Marxist‑Leninist since constitutional revisions removed some Marxist references after the Soviet era, and it refers to its system using terms like “people’s democracy” or juche/national ideology [1] [4].
4. Historical context: why so few remain
The dramatic decline from mid‑20th‑century highs to five states today reflects the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union around 1989–1991 and subsequent political transformations, a history summarised in lists of communist states and historical accounts [4]. Many countries that were once communist transitioned to pluralist or different authoritarian systems in the post‑Cold War decades [4].
5. Areas of disagreement and definitional pitfalls
Sources disagree in emphasis rather than in raw lists: some choose the term “socialist one‑party states” to underline constitutional language, while others label them “communist countries” for simplicity [3] [7]. Analysts caution against equating the label with a precise set of institutions or economic arrangements because constitutions, party documents, and actual economic policies vary widely [3] [6]. WorldPopulationReview and YoungPioneerTours highlight political and geopolitical frames—Western criticism of communism’s human‑rights and economic effects and the contemporary geopolitical role of China and other authoritarian states—but these descriptions carry normative judgments that reflect particular perspectives [1] [8].
6. Practical implications: what this means for observers
For readers, the practical takeaway is twofold: first, the five‑country list is the consensus shorthand in 2025 used by reference works and educational sites [5] [2] [3]; second, treating all five as a single “type” of state overlooks key differences—especially economic reform, governance style, and rhetorical self‑identification—so analysts should specify whether they mean “ruled by a communist party” or “fully communist in theory and practice” [4] [6].
7. Limitations and what the sources do not say
Available sources do not claim that any of these five countries have achieved full communism as envisaged by Marx; rather, they generally describe them as socialist states run by communist parties or as states “building toward” communism [4] [6]. Sources also vary in nuance about North Korea’s self‑labeling: some note constitutional changes that remove classical Marxist‑Leninist wording [1] [4].
8. Bottom line for readers
Authoritative reference sources in 2025 list five countries—China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam—as the remaining states commonly described as communist or as one‑party socialist states [2] [3] [5]. Use that list as a starting point, but when discussing policy, human rights, or economics, specify which dimension of “communism” you mean because each country’s institutions and practices diverge substantially [5] [6].