page_title: Democracy
section_title: Types of government
hierarchical_section_title: Democracy / Types of government
caption_attribution_description: English: Country ratings from Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2016 survey, concerning the state of world freedom in 2015.[1] &#160;&#160; Free (86) &#160;&#160; Partly Free (59) &#160;&#160; Not Free (50) See also: File:2015 Freedom House world map.png, File:2013_Freedom_House_world_map.svg
context_page_description: A democracy means rule by the people. The name is used for different forms of government, where the people can take part in the decisions that affect the way their community is run. In modern times, there are different ways this can be done:
  The people meet to decide about new laws, and changes to existing ones. This is usually called direct democracy.
  The people elect their leaders. These leaders take this decision about laws. This is commonly called representative democracy. The process of choosing is called election. Elections are either held periodically, or when an officeholder dies.
  Sometimes people can propose new laws or changes to existing laws. Usually, this is done using a referendum, which needs a certain number of supporters.
  The people who make the decisions are chosen more or less at random. This is common, for example when choosing a jury for a trial. This method is known as sortition or allotment. In a trial, the jury will have to decide the question whether the person is guilty or not. In Europe, trials with a jury are only used for serious crimes, such as murder, hostage taking or arson.
context_section_description: After people hold an election, the candidates that won are determined. The way this is done can be simple: The candidate with the most votes gets elected. Very often, the politicians being elected belong to a political party. Instead of choosing a person, people vote for a party. The party with the most votes then picks the candidates. 
  Usually, the people being elected need to meet certain conditions: They need to have a certain age or a government body needs to determine that they are suitably qualified to perform the job. 
  Not everyone can vote in an election. Suffrage is only given to people who are citizens. Some groups may be excluded, for example prisoners. 
  For some elections, a country may make voting compulsory. Someone who does not vote, and who does not give a good reason usually has to pay a fine
caption: This map shows the findings of Freedom House's survey Freedom in the World 2016. The survey reports how much freedom countries had. Just because countries are the same color does not mean they are exactly the same.[3]   Free (86)   Partly Free (59)   Not Free (50)
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