Democracy is highly prevalent in governments all over the world today, however, as our list of the 10 biggest countries ruled by dictators will reveal, some regimes still exert authoritarian grips over their citizens.
Contrary to popular belief, a dictatorship doesn’t have to include only one person that makes all the important decisions that affect the country, as the most powerful executive in one state can also be a political entity. Some of the most famous dictators in history include, of course, Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Nazi Germany from 1933-1945, Benito Mussolini, ruler of fascist Italy from 1922-1945, and Joseph Stalin, Communist Leader of Russia from 1922-1953. The term itself has been used for such people so frequently that it has emotional connotations with it, which is why a dictator is automatically assumed to be evil and inhumane. However, the reality is that numerous governments give negligible power to the people, but face little or no protest, and are accepted by their citizens. The real issues with dictatorship arise because of arbitrary arrests by the government, outrageous and absurd laws, crippling economies and a stubborn refusal to relinquish power.
Some of the de facto dictatorships in the world today are unusual in the sense that certain unexpected positions have the greatest hold over the country, especially Communist one-party states, where the General Secretary is considered the head of state. Another surprising political system of governance followed today in several countries is a monarchy, a method considered obsolete by most of the world, but held dear by some. Don’t believe it? Take a look at our list of 10 countries that have a king or queen.
Perhaps the worst aspect of dictatorship is the fact that once in control, the dictator alters the constitution to consolidate and maximize their authority, if it isn’t already, which makes them virtually impossible to depose by legal means. As a result, people start protesting on the streets, thrusting the country into a state of political turmoil, which is difficult to be rescued from.
The countries that we have listed are not de jure dictatorships, i.e. technically they claim to have systems of government that involve the people in some way or the other, but in reality, most of the decisions are made by one person, making it a de facto one-man rule. We have sorted them according to population, which we have taken from the report issued by the United Nations, “World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision”.
Now that we’ve thoroughly gone over the literal meaning of dictatorship and how it’s interpreted in the modern day era, let’s move on to our actual list of 10 biggest countries ruled by dictators.
10. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Population: 31.54 million
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the name implies, is built upon a system of government, which bequeaths sweeping executive powers in the al-Saud royal family, and primarily, the King. The King simultaneously holds the position of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the office is currently occupied by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The country’s unwavering attitude towards opposition can be demonstrated by the fact that Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was executed amongst others for pro-democracy, anti-government protests, although the official death sentence was for alleged “terrorist activities”.
9. People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Population: 39.67 million
Contrary to the state’s official title, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria that ranks 9th in our list of biggest countries ruled by dictators is anything but democratic. Head of state Abdelaziz Bouteflika is also Commander-in-chief of the Algerian army and has wide-spread executive powers. He took power in 1999 and has emerged successful in multiple elections since then, all of which are highly controversial. He also amended the legislation, changing the limit to the number of times one can be President to indefinite. Although there is a Parliament, most power resides with the President, leaving the former with little control.
8. Republic of the Sudan
Population: 40.24 million
The current ruler of Sudan that ranks 8th in our list of biggest countries ruled by dictators, is President Omar al-Bashir, who seized power in the military coup in 1989 and has retained the seat of President for an astounding 27 years till present. He is the first incumbent President to be accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for his arrest. Both the recent elections he has won, held in 2010 and 2015 respectively, have been hit with a multitude of allegations of rigging and are a source of much debate. Additionally, major opposition parties chose to boycott the election of 2015, which were accused of not being held in an impartial manner.
7. Kingdom of Thailand
Population: 67.96 million
Prayut Chan-o-cha, the incumbent Prime Minister of Thailand, that ranks 7th in our list of biggest countries ruled by dictators, secured his position via a military coup in 2014, which ousted the then elected leader Yingluck Shinawatra, who was declared unfit for office by the Constitutional Court of Thailand. Mr. Chan-o-cha, however, after seizing power, took to drafting a constitution, which gave him absolute control and immunity from prosecution for his coup. He harbors a hardline stance when it comes to press freedom, takes harsh measures against the opposition, and is known for enforcing 12 moral values in schools crafted by himself. His authoritarian government has even taken to altering history textbooks as he sees fit.
6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
Population: 77.27 million
Joseph Kabila, the Congolese President, took office a mere 10 days after the assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila in 2001. Since then, he has won the elections of 2006 and 2011; however, the latter were full of irregularities, and the results were rejected by the then M23 rebels in Congo. Although Mr. Kabila’s term is set to end in 2016, elections have been delayed to early 2018, criticized by many as an attempt by him to extend his term.
5. Islamic Republic of Iran
Population: 79.11 million
The Supreme Leader of Iran, surprisingly, is not the President Hassan Rouhani but the Commander-in-chief and Grand Ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, who took up the post in 1989. The Guardian Council of Iran is handpicked by the Grand Ayatollah, and he has extensive powers with regard to the economy, foreign relations, and practically everything else in the country. The actions taken against Ayatollah Montazeri, a political protester, included house arrest and the closing of his school, and this serves to demonstrate the approach towards dissidents in general.
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4. The Arab Republic of Egypt
Population: 91.51 million
Although Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, a retired field marshal and current President of Egypt came to power via democratic elections in 2014 that were lauded by the international community, his approach to governance greatly changed when in power, and his government became increasingly authoritarian as his regime progressed, which is what earns Egypt a spot on our list of the 10 biggest countries ruled by dictators. One example of this can be the fact that thousands of protestors have been jailed and hundreds killed, as this BBC article from late last year shows.
3. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Population: 93.45 million
The de facto head of state in Vietnam is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who heads the Politburo, the party’s Secretariat and the Central Military Commission. It is currently headed by Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who is incumbent since January 2011. He was reelected in 2016 by the Communist Party, being the only candidate for the post. Additionally, he is highly conservative and therefore unwilling to abandon Vietnam’s current system of government which grants him absurd amounts of power. Political protesters are clamped down upon by the communist authorities, as shown recently in July when a few dozen people took to the streets in an anti-China rally. And now, let’s see the top two in our list of biggest countries ruled by dictators.
2. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Population: 99.39 million
The current de facto ruler of Ethiopia that ranks second in our list of biggest countries ruled by dictators, is Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, elected in 2012. However, continued outrageous restrictions on press freedom and jailing of political dissidents and journalists have wiped out any ideas of it being a democracy; especially considering that no opposition to the ruling coalition of parties is allowed to form. In fact, protests against the authoritarian government have reached such a high that a state of emergency has been declared.
1. People’s Republic of China
Population: 1.38 billion
The President, General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China is Xi Jinping, also known as the “Paramount Leader”. The post of President is merely ceremonial; the powerful position in the country is considered the post of General Secretary of the sole political party in the communist state. As such, this post has widespread executive powers, and since Mr. Jinping’s ascension to power, has only accumulated greater hold over the country. A number of reasons, such as the fact that press freedom is heavily restricted, opponents of the one-party system are punished outright, make it infinitely clear that China carves its own spot on our list of the 10 biggest countries ruled by dictators.
