Intermediate

15 min read

List of Legislatures of the World

Comprehensive list of world legislatures and parliament names (Diet, Knesset, Duma, Congress). Includes Unicameral vs Bicameral classification and comparative polity notes for UPSC & SSC exams.

New

In any democratic form of government, the supreme legislative body is called the Legislature. It is responsible for making laws and holding the executive accountable. While "Parliament" is a common term, different countries use specific native terms (like Diet, Knesset, Duma) which are important for General Knowledge and International Relations questions.

Legislatures are primarily of two types:

Unicameral: Having only one house or chamber (e.g., China, Bangladesh).
Bicameral: Having two houses - typically a Lower House (representing people) and an Upper House (representing states/regions/elders) (e.g., India, USA, UK).

1. Major Global Powers

United States 🇺🇸

Name: Congress

Type: Bicameral

Lower House: House of Representatives
Upper House: Senate

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Name: Parliament

Type: Bicameral (The "Mother of Parliaments")

Lower House: House of Commons
Upper House: House of Lords

Russia 🇷🇺

Name: Federal Assembly

Type: Bicameral

Lower House: State Duma (Frequently asked in exams)
Upper House: Federation Council

China 🇨🇳

Name: National People's Congress (NPC)

Type: Unicameral

It is the largest parliamentary body in the world by number of members (approx. 3,000).

Japan 🇯🇵

Name: The Diet

Type: Bicameral

Lower House: House of Representatives
Upper House: House of Councillors

2. India's Neighborhood

Pakistan 🇵🇰

Name: Majlis-e-Shoora

Type: Bicameral

Lower House: National Assembly
Upper House: Senate

Bangladesh 🇧🇩

Name: Jatiya Sangsad

Type: Unicameral

Nepal 🇳🇵

Name: Federal Parliament

Type: Bicameral (Replaced the old Rashtriya Panchayat)

Lower House: Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives)
Upper House: Rastriya Sabha (National Assembly)

Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Name: National Assembly (Shora)

Type: Bicameral (Wolesi Jirga & Meshrano Jirga)

Note: The parliament has been dissolved following the 2021 political changes, but the term "Shora" remains important for static GK.

Bhutan 🇧🇹

Name: Parliament of Bhutan

Type: Bicameral

Lower House: National Assembly (Tshogdu)
Upper House: National Council

Maldives 🇲🇻

Name: People's Majlis

Type: Unicameral

3. Unique Parliament Names (High Value for Exams)

Europe & Middle East

Israel: Knesset (Unicameral)
Germany: Bundestag (Lower) & Bundesrat (Upper)
Spain: Cortes Generales
Norway: Storting
Denmark: Folketing
Sweden: Riksdag
Netherlands: States General
Switzerland: Federal Assembly
Poland: Sejm (Lower House)
Iceland: Althing (Oldest parliament in the world)

Asia & Others

Iran: Majlis
Mongolia: State Great Khural
Turkey: Grand National Assembly
Indonesia: People's Consultative Assembly

UPSC Strategy: Comparative Constitution

For GS Paper II (Polity), focus on comparing the Indian Parliament with others:

USA vs India: In USA, the Upper House (Senate) is more powerful than the Lower House in many aspects. In India, Lok Sabha (Lower House) is generally more powerful.
UK vs India: In UK, Parliament is sovereign ("Can make or unmake any law"). In India, Parliament is not sovereign; it is limited by the written Constitution and Judicial Review.
Japan: Like India, follows the Parliamentary system.

Practice Questions

Q1: 'Knesset' is the legislature of which country?

Answer: Israel.

Q2: Which country's parliament is known as the 'Diet'?

Answer: Japan.

Q3: What is the name of the Lower House of the Russian Parliament?

Answer: State Duma.

Q4: Which of the following countries has a Unicameral legislature: India, USA, China, or UK?

Answer: China (National People's Congress).

Q5: What is the name of the Parliament of Bangladesh?

Answer: Jatiya Sangsad.

Related Study Material

More General studies Notes More Static Gk Notes All Miscellaneous Topics

Practice Questions

General studies Practice Miscellaneous Questions

Topic Information

DifficultyIntermediate

Est. Read Time15 minutes

CategoryMiscellaneous

Quick Actions

Track Your Learning

Study Tips

Take notes of key points while reading

Practice related questions after studying

Review topics marked as "Learning" regularly

Test your knowledge with practice questions

Edvaya Target

Edvaya Aspire

Take a Free Mock Test

Target Subjects

Aspire Subjects

Subject Mastery

List of Legislatures of the World

1. Major Global Powers

United States 🇺🇸

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

Russia 🇷🇺

China 🇨🇳

Japan 🇯🇵

2. India's Neighborhood

Pakistan 🇵🇰

Bangladesh 🇧🇩

Nepal 🇳🇵

Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Bhutan 🇧🇹

Maldives 🇲🇻

3. Unique Parliament Names (High Value for Exams)

Europe & Middle East

Asia & Others

Practice Questions

Related Study Material

Practice Questions

Topic Information

Quick Actions

Track Your Learning

Study Tips

We Value Your Privacy