what is the largest remaining socialist country in the world? course hero

by Madilyn Bergstrom 4 min read

Is China the most socialist country in the world?

China grabs the spot for two reasons: the speed with which it has climbed the economic ladder, becoming the 2nd largest economy in the world and its proximity to textbook socialism. The People's Republic of China was almost entirely socialist until it opened its economy to the rest of the world in the late 70s.

How many ‘socialist’ countries have succeeded?

Below, we outline a list of 15 ‘socialist’ countries that have succeeded and also analyze the extent of socialism in their economic models. For our list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded, we define 4 metrics: innovation index, social progress index, Global Competitiveness and Gini Coefficient index.

What makes a successful socialist country?

So for successful socialist oriented countries, there needs to be a high innovation score meaning unimpeded innovation, a high social progress score, a good score on global competitiveness and a low Gini Coefficient score. These scores are scaled from 0 to 100. For innovation, we’d be using The Global Economy scores for different countries.

Why has no country ever experimented with pure socialism?

No country has ever experimented with pure socialism because of structural and practical reasons. The only state that had come the closest to socialism was Soviet Union and it had both dramatic successes and dramatic failures in terms of economic growth, technological advancement and welfare. In the end however, the state collapsed.

Which state came closest to socialism?

The only state that had come the closest to socialism was Soviet Union and it had both dramatic successes and dramatic failures in terms of economic growth, technological advancement and welfare. In the end however, the state collapsed. Other experimenters like Cuba improved only in very narrow areas like healthcare.

What is the economic theory of socialism?

Socialism is an economic theory that stresses the ownership of means of production by society instead of private individuals. The core essence or principle in socialism is to shape society based on cooperation and welfare rather than on free market capitalist competition and “exploitation”.

What do capitalists believe?

Capitalists believe that western advancements in technology and other sophisticated services are primarily a result of capitalism. However, people in some western countries, especially the US, are becoming alienated with this predominant economic philosophy.

Which former Soviet republic has the Gini coefficient of 30.4?

Gini Coefficient: 30.4. Another former soviet republic to make it to the list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded is Croatia. Croatia was slow in economic reform following the Soviet collapse. It liberalized its economy following Soviet collapse.

Who developed the Gini coefficient?

This Coefficient was developed by Italian Statistician Corrado Gini. So for successful socialist oriented countries, there needs to be a high innovation score meaning unimpeded innovation, a high social progress score, a good score on global competitiveness and a low Gini Coefficient score.

Is Belgium a socialist country?

Belgium is a country in western Europe. It is a democratic socialist country with a very high level of development. It ranks at the 22 spot in Global Competitiveness, has a decent innovation index score of 49.10 and a social progress score of 89.46. Belgium’s economy centers around a number of key factors.

Is Spain a developed country?

Spain is located in southwestern Europe and is a developed country. Spain is a democratic socialist state. Left wing politics is popular in the country. Spain has an innovation index score of 45.60, a global competitive index score of 75.3 and a social progress score of 88.71.

Moldova

Armenia

  • Gini Coefficient: 25.7 Armenia is another former Soviet Republic on the list. The country became independent in the wake of Soviet collapse and followed the path of other former Soviet republics that were part of the Warsaw Pact. It started liberalizing the market and started the privatization process. However, generally the economy still remains somewhat centrally planned. Armenia ha…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Croatia

  • Gini Coefficient: 30.4 Another former soviet republic to make it to the list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded is Croatia. Croatia was slow in economic reform following the Soviet collapse. It liberalized its economy following Soviet collapse. However, the transition to market economy was only to a certain extent and a significant portion of the economy is still planned fo…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Slovenia

  • Gini Coefficient: 24.2 Slovenia is another country in Eastern Europe. It was a part of Yugoslavia and gained independence in 1991 after Yugoslavia dissolved in its constituent states. Slovenia has one of the lowest Gini Coefficient scores signifying one of the lowest inequality levels in the world. Slovenia’s economy is only moderately free according to Heritageand retains socialist ele…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Portugal

  • Gini Coefficient: 33.8 Portugal is a country located in southern Europe famous for its seafood. It is a democratic socialist country. Portugal is known for center-left economic policies regardless of whoever is in the government. The right wing is relatively unpopular in the country when compared to the left wing due to their alliance with the organized working class. As of today, the socialist p…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Spain

  • Gini Coefficient: 34.7 Spain is located in southwestern Europe and is a developed country. Spain is a democratic socialist state. Left wing politics is popular in the country. Spain has an innovation index score of 45.60, a global competitive index score of 75.3 and a social progress score of 88.71.Some of Spain’s largest publicly traded companies ...
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Belgium

  • Gini Coefficient: 27.4 Belgium is a country in western Europe. It is a democratic socialist country with a very high level of development. It ranks at the 22 spot in Global Competitiveness, has a decent innovation index score of 49.10 and a social progress score of 89.46. Belgium’s economy centers around a number of key factors. The market is free but the tax burden is relatively high d…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Ireland

  • Gini Coefficient: 32.8 The Republic of Ireland is a Baltic state located in Northwestern Europe. It grabs the 8th ranking on our list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded. It is a democratic socialist country with an innovation score of 53, Global Competitiveness rank of 24 and a social progress score of 90.35. The economy is mixed with a free market and huge government spendi…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

Netherlands

  • Gini Coefficient: 28.5 Netherlands is located in northwestern Europe. It has a significant amount of socialist frameworks in place. The economy is mixed and the market enjoys significant levels of freedom but there are regulations in place that are socialist in orientation. For instance, young people get paid less than older people according to etuc.org. There’s a robust healthcare syste…
See more on finance.yahoo.com

China

  • Gini Coefficient: 38.5 China undoubtedly grabs one of the best spots on the list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded for a lot of reasons despite a relatively higher Gini Coefficient, lower innovation and social progress than some other countries on the list of 15 socialist countries that have succeeded. China grabs the spot for two reasons: the speed with which it ha…
See more on finance.yahoo.com