A form of government is a term that refers to the set of political institutions by which a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a political community. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government". This definition holds valid even if the government is illegitimate or if it is unsuccessful in exerting its power. Regardless of its qualities, a failed government is still a form of government. Churches, corporations, clubs, and other sub-national entities also have "government" forms, but in this article only the organization of states is discussed.
Eighteen nations in the World do not explicitly name their government forms in their official names (the official name of Jamaica, for instance, is simply "Jamaica"), but most have an official name which identifies their form of government, or at least the form of government toward which they are striving:
The invocation of democracy is common in the official names of republics - North Korea is a Democratic People's Republic, four states are simply Democratic Republics, and Sri Lanka is a Democratic Socialist Republic. States which wish to emphasize that their provinces have a fair amount of autonomy from the central government may specifically state this: Germany and Nigeria are each a Federal Republic, Ethiopia is a Federal Democratic Republic, the Comoros is a Federal Islamic Republic, and Brazil is a Federative Republic. The sometimes utilized name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia emphasizes this nation's separateness from the neighboring Greek region of the same name. Government ideology is also a common signifier appended to "republic". Besides the Comoros, four other nations specifically dictate that they are Islamic Republics. Asian nations influenced by Maoism may emphasize their belief system by specifying the People as a whole in their official names: Laos is a People's Democratic Republic, and Bangladesh and China are People's Republics. Vietnam is a Socialist Republic. Finally, Tanzania emphasizes the cohesion of its state as a United Republic.