socialist countries

Socialist countries are nations whose governments exercise substantial control over economic production and distribution, typically featuring state ownership of major industries, central planning, and policies aimed at reducing class distinctions.

The term most often refers to states governed by communist parties—the Soviet Union, Cuba, China—though these governments usually called themselves socialist rather than communist.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, few socialist countries remained.

The designation is politically contested; some apply it to any country with robust social programs, while others reserve it for single-party states with command economies.