The following are lists of current and former communist states.
Current communist states
The following countries are one-party states in which the institutions of the ruling communist party and the state have become intertwined. They are adherents of Marxism–Leninism. They are listed here together with the year of their founding and their respective ruling parties.
Multi-party states with governing communist parties
There are multi-party states with communist parties leading the government. Such states are not considered to be communist states because the countries themselves allow for multiple parties and do not provide a constitutional role for their communist parties. Nepal was previously ruled by the Nepal Communist Party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) between 1994 and 1998 and then again between 2008 and 2018 while states formerly ruled by one or more communist parties include San Marino (1945–1957), Nicaragua (1984–1990), Moldova (2001–2009), Cyprus (2008–2013), and Guyana (1992–2015).
Venezuela is currently ruled by Nicolás Maduro, who has been President since 2013 (disputed since 2019). Maduro is the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which is considered far-left and Marxist.
During the socialist Free Peru party's rule over Peru, many international observers described the party as being somewhat Marxist or even Marxist–Leninist.