Unicameralism

Unicameralism (from uni- "one" & Latin camera "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism makes up nearly 60% of all national legislatures and an even greater share of subnational legislatures.

Sometimes, as in New Zealand and Denmark, unicameralism comes from the abolition of one of two bicameral chambers , or, as in Sweden, through the merger of the two chambers into a single one, while in others a second chamber has never existed from the beginning.

Rationale for unicameralism and criticism

The principal advantage of a unicameral system is more efficient lawmaking, as the legislative process is simpler and there is no possibility of deadlock between two chambers. Proponents of unicameralism have also argued that it reduces costs, even if the number of legislators stays the same, since there are fewer institutions to maintain and support financially. Popular among 20th-century democratic countries, unicameral, proportional legislatures were seen by nascent nations as both more democratic and effective. However, at the tail end of the 20th century, the trend in favour of unicameral legislatures over bicameral legislatures started to reverse, with a trend of countries starting to either restore or create Upper houses with the objectives of achieving greater checks and balances, representation, and/or legislative oversight, causing the number of bicameral parliaments to rise from some 45 countries at the beginning of the 1970s to more than 80 in 2024.

Proponents of bicameral legislatures say that having two legislative chambers offers an additional restraint on the majority, though critics note that there are other ways to restrain majorities, such as through non-partisan courts and a robust constitution.

List of unicameral legislatures

  Countries with a bicameral legislature
  Countries with a unicameral legislature
  Countries with a unicameral legislature and an advisory body
  Countries with no legislature

Approximately half of the world's sovereign states are currently unicameral. The People's Republic of China is somewhat in-between, with a legislature and a formal advisory body. China has a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which meets alongside the National People's Congress, in many respects an advisory "upper house".

Many subnational entities have unicameral legislatures. These include the state of Nebraska and territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands in the United States, the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the Australian state of Queensland as well as the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, a majority of the provinces of Argentina, all of the provinces and territories in Canada, all of the Communities, Regions and Community Commissions of Belgium, all of the regions of Italy and France, all of the provinces of Nepal, all of the Spanish autonomous communities, both of the autonomous regions of Portugal, most of the states and union territories of India, and all of the states of Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Austria, and Germany. In the United Kingdom, the devolved Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the London Assembly are also unicameral.

National (UN member states and observers)

Federal

Country Unicameral body Seats Notes
Comoros Assembly of the Union 33
Germany Bundestag 630 The Bundestag is technically the unicameral parliament of Germany, since the Basic Law (German constitution) defines the Bundesrat not as a chamber of the legislature, but as a completely separate legislative institution.
Iraq Council of Representatives 329 A provision exists for the founding of a "Council of Union", but no move to this effect has been initiated by the existing Council
Micronesia Congress 14
Saint Kitts and Nevis National Assembly 15
United Arab Emirates Federal National Council 40
Venezuela National Assembly 285

Unitary

Country Unicameral body Seats Notes
Afghanistan Leadership Council 30 Purely advisory, powers reside in the Supreme Leader
Albania Kuvendi 140
Andorra General Council of Andorra 28
Angola National Assembly 220
Armenia National Assembly 105
Azerbaijan National Assembly 125
Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad 350
Botswana National Assembly 69
Brunei Legislative Council 34 Purely advisory, powers reside in the Sultan
Bulgaria National Assembly 240
Burkina Faso National Assembly 127
Cape Verde National Assembly 72
Central African Republic National Assembly 140
China National People's Congress 2878
Costa Rica Legislative Assembly 57
Croatia Sabor 151
Cuba National Assembly of People's Power 470
Cyprus House of Representatives 56
Denmark Folketing 179
Djibouti National Assembly 65
Dominica House of Assembly 32
East Timor National Parliament 65
Ecuador National Assembly 151
El Salvador Legislative Assembly 60
Eritrea National Assembly 150
Estonia Riigikogu 101
Fiji Parliament 55
Finland Parliament 200
Gambia National Assembly 58
Georgia Parliament 150
Ghana Parliament 276
Greece Parliament 300
Guatemala Congress 160
Guinea-Bissau National People's Assembly 102
Guyana National Assembly 65
Honduras National Congress 128
Hungary National Assembly 199
Iceland Althing 63
Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly 290
Israel Knesset 120
Kazakhstan Kurultai 145
Kiribati House of Assembly 45
North Korea Supreme People's Assembly 687
South Korea National Assembly 300
Kuwait National Assembly 65
Kyrgyzstan Supreme Council 90
Laos National Assembly 175
Latvia Saeima 100
Lebanon Parliament 128
Libya House of Representatives 200
Liechtenstein Landtag 25
Lithuania Seimas 141
Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 60
Madagascar National Assembly 163 Senate suspended due to 2025 coup
Malawi National Assembly 229
Maldives Majlis 93
Mali National Assembly 147
Malta Parliament 79
Marshall Islands Legislature 33
Mauritania Parliament 176
Mauritius National Assembly 66
Moldova Parliament 101
Monaco National Council 24
Mongolia State Great Khural 126
Montenegro Parliament 81
Mozambique Assembly of the Republic 250
Nauru Parliament 19
New Zealand Parliament 123
Nicaragua National Assembly 90
Niger National Assembly 171
North Macedonia Assembly 120
Norway Storting 169
Palestine Legislative Council 132
Panama National Assembly 71
Papua New Guinea National Parliament 118
Portugal Assembly of the Republic 230
Qatar Consultative Assembly 45
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines House of Assembly 23
Samoa Legislative Assembly 51
Saudi Arabia Consultative Assembly 150 Purely advisory, powers reside in the King
San Marino Grand and General Council 60
São Tomé and Príncipe National Assembly 55
Senegal National Assembly 165
Serbia National Assembly 250
Seychelles National Assembly 34
Sierra Leone Parliament 149
Singapore Parliament 108
Slovakia National Council 150
Solomon Islands National Parliament 50
Sri Lanka Parliament 225
Suriname National Assembly 51
Sweden Riksdag 349
Syria People's Assembly 210
Tanzania National Assembly 403
Tonga Legislative Assembly 26
Turkey Grand National Assembly 600
Turkmenistan Assembly 125
Tuvalu Parliament 16
Uganda Parliament 529
Ukraine Verkhovna Rada 450
Vanuatu Parliament 52
Vatican City Pontifical Commission 8 All powers delegated by the sovereign
Vietnam National Assembly 500
Zambia National Assembly 280

Territorial

Country Unicameral body Seats Notes
Åland Islands Parliament 30
Anguilla House of Assembly 13
Aruba Parliament 21
Azores Legislative Assembly 57
Bougainville House of Representatives 41 Autonomous region of Papua New Guinea
British Virgin Islands House of Assembly 15
Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly 21
Cherokee Nation Tribal Council 17 Indian reservation of the United States
Choctaw Nation Tribal Council 12 Indian reservation of the United States
Cook Islands Parliament 24
Curaçao Parliament 21
Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly 11
Faroe Islands Løgting 33
French Polynesia Assembly 57
Gibraltar Parliament 17
Greenland Inatsisartut 31 Autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark
Guam Lehislaturan 15 Unincorporated territory of the United States
Guernsey States 40
Hong Kong Legislative Council 90
Jersey States Assembly 54
Madeira Legislative Assembly 47
Macao Legislative Assembly 33
Montserrat Legislative Assembly 11
Navajo Nation Tribal Council 24 Indian reservation of the United States
New Caledonia Congress 54
Niue Assembly 20
Pitcairn Islands Island Council 10
Saint Barthélemy Territorial Council 19
Saint Helena Legislative Council 15
Saint Martin Collectivity of Saint Martin 23
Saint Pierre and Miquelon Territorial Council 19
Sint Maarten Parliament 15
Tobago House of Assembly 15
Tokelau General Fono 20
Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly 21
U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature 15
Wallis and Futuna Territorial Assembly 20

State parliaments with limited recognition

Country Unicameral body Seats Notes
Abkhazia People's Assembly 35
Kosovo Assembly 120
Northern Cyprus Assembly of the Republic 50
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic National Council 53
South Ossetia Parliament 34
Taiwan Legislative Yuan 113 The original constitution is partially superseded by the additional articles only on Taiwan which replaced the tricameral parliament into a unicameral one. A sunset clause in the additional articles will terminate them in the event of a hypothetical resumption of ROC rule in mainland China.
Transnistria Supreme Council 33

Subnational

Federations

Provincial legislatures in Argentina

Devolved governments

Others

List of historical unicameral legislatures

National

Subnational

Other

Unicameralism in the Philippines

Though the current Congress of the Philippines is bicameral, the country experienced unicameralism in 1898 and 1899 (during the First Philippine Republic), from 1935 to 1941 (the Commonwealth era) and from 1943 to 1944 (during the Japanese occupation). Under the 1973 Constitution, the legislative body was called Batasang Pambansa, which functioned also a unicameral legislature within a parliamentary system (1973–1981) and a semi-presidential system (1981–1986) form of government.

The ongoing process of amending or revising the current Constitution and form of government is popularly known as Charter Change. A shift to a unicameral parliament was included in the proposals of the constitutional commission created by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Unlike in the United States, senators in the Senate of the Philippines are elected not per district and state but nationally; the Philippines is a unitary state. The Philippine government's decision-making process, relative to the United States, is more rigid, highly centralised, much slower and susceptible to political gridlock. As a result, the trend for unicameralism as well as other political system reforms are more contentious in the Philippines.

While Congress is bicameral, all local legislatures are unicameral: the Bangsamoro Parliament, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Boards), Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils), Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Councils), Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Councils), and the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils).

Unicameralism in the United States

Local government legislatures of counties, cities, or other political subdivisions within states are usually unicameral. Three U.S. states and territories have a unicameral legislature: the state of Nebraska, and the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands.

The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the supreme legislative body of the state of Nebraska and the only unicameral state legislature in the United States. Its members are called "senators", as it was originally the upper house of a bicameral legislature before the Nebraska House of Representatives dissolved in 1937. The legislature is also notable for being nonpartisan and officially recognizes no party affiliation, making Nebraska unique among US states. With 49 members, it is also the smallest legislature of any US state.

Early history

The history of unicameralism in the United States began with the American Revolution: The provisional government of the early United States was unicameral from 1775–1788.

Three revolutionary states had unicameral legislatures: Georgia (1777–1789), Pennsylvania (1776–1790), and Vermont (1776–1836). These constitutions introduced a strong unicameral legislature and weak governor with no veto power. In Pennsylvania, the 1776 Constitution was based substantially on Thomas Paine's Common Sense. In 1790, moderates gained power in the Pennsyvlania state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution with a strong executive with veto power and created a new upper house. Thomas Paine strongly opposed the new Constitution, calling it "a departure from the principles" of representative government and a mere "copy in miniature of the government of England".

Since the creation of the United States Senate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 under the Connecticut Compromise, reformers have proposed reforms to the United States Senate or its outright abolition, which would make the United States federal government a unicameral entity.

Later proposals

In 1944, Missouri held a vote on changing the General Assembly to a unicameral one, which was narrowly rejected by the voters 52.42–47.58. Only the city of St. Louis and the St. Louis County voted in favor, whilst Jackson County (containing the bulk of Kansas City) narrowly voted against, and all other counties voted against the change to unicameralism.

In 1970, North Dakota voters voted to call a constitutional convention. In 1972, a change to a unicameral legislature was approved by 69.36–30.64; however, since the voters rejected the new constitution at the same referendum, it never took effect.

In 1999, Governor Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesota Legislature into a single chamber. Although debated, the idea was never adopted.

In 2005, the US territory of Puerto Rico held a non-binding unicameralism referendum. Voters approved changing its Legislative Assembly to a unicameral body by 456,267 votes in favor (83.7%) versus 88,720 against (16.3%). If both the territory's House of Representatives and Senate had approved by a 2⁄3 vote the specific amendments to the Puerto Rico Constitution that are required for the change to a unicameral legislature, another referendum would have been held in the territory to approve such amendments. If those constitutional changes had been approved, Puerto Rico could have switched to a unicameral legislature as early as 2015.

On June 9, 2009, the Maine House of Representatives voted to form a unicameral legislature, but the measure did not pass the Senate.

During the 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis, which yielded legislative gridlock, former Congressman Rick Lazio, a prospective candidate for governor, proposed that New York adopt unicameralism.

A 2018 study found that efforts to adopt unicameralism in Ohio and Missouri failed due to rural opposition. There was a fear in rural communities that unicameralism would diminish their influence in state government.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lanham, Url (2018). The insects. Gene-Tech Books. ISBN 978-81-89729-42-4. OCLC 1003201754.
  2. ↑ "Structure of parliaments". IPU PARLINE database. 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  3. ↑ "Legislative Council Chamber". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  4. ↑ Skjæveland, Asbjørn (2020). "Unicameralism in Denmark: abolition of the senate, current functioning and debate". Reforming Senates : upper legislative houses in North Atlantic small powers 1800-present. Routledge. pp. 225–238. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  5. ↑ Wirls, Daniel (2004). The invention of the United States Senate. Stephen Wirls. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7438-6. OCLC 51878651.
  6. ↑ Coakley, John (December 2014). "The Strange Revival of Bicameralism". Journal of Legislative Studies. 20 (4): 542–572. doi:10.1080/13572334.2014.926168. ISSN 1357-2334.
  7. ↑ Meg, Russell (2013-07-11). "The Contemporary House of Lords: Westminster Bicameralism Revived". OUP Academic. doi:10.1093/acprof:o (inactive 18 August 2026). Archived from the original on 2026-02-04.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2026 (link)
  8. 1 2 "Report on Bicameralism". Venice Commission of the Council of Europe - www.coe.int. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Bicameralism around the World : position and prospect". Sénat (in French). Retrieved 2026-08-18.
  10. ↑ Litt, David (2020). Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think (First ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-287936-3. OCLC 1120147424.
  11. ↑ Reuter, Konrad (2003). "Zweite Kammer?". Bundesrat und Bundesstaat: Der Bundesrat der Bundesrepublik Deutschland(PDF) (in German) (12th ed.). Berlin: Direktor des Bundesrates. p. 50. ISBN 3-923706-22-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2007-01-04. Im Ausland wird ein solches parlamentarisches System im Allgemeinen als Zweikammer- System bezeichnet. Für Bundestag und Bundesrat ist dagegen eine gemeinsame Bezeichnung nicht allgemein üblich, und es ist sogar umstritten, ob der Bundesrat eine Zweite Kammer ist. (English: Abroad, such a parliamentary system is in general called a bicameral one. For Bundestag and Bundesrat such a common designation is not usual and it is even contentious whether the Bundesrat is a second chamber at all.)
  12. ↑ Classifications of Germany as a country with a bicameral legislature can be controversial.
  13. ↑ "Venice Commission - Report on Bicameralism". docs-venice.coe.int. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
  14. ↑ "In Benin, new senate is inaugurated with powers to review legislation, protect constitution, and discipline politicians". ConstitutionNet. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
  15. ↑ "Peru returns to a bicameral legislature". ConstitutionNet. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
  16. ↑ "Proposals and Recommendations". Consultative Commission. Archived from the original on Sep 26, 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  17. ↑ "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines". gov.ph. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  18. ↑ Abueva, Jose V. (Oct 19, 2005). "Why change our Presidential Government to a Parliamentary Government". Consultative Commission. Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  19. ↑ Williams, Robert F. (1988). "The Influences of Pennsylvania's 1776 Constitution on American Constitutionalism during the Founding Decade". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 112 (1): 25–48. ISSN 0031-4587.
  20. 1 2 Wood, Gordon (1992). The Radicalism of the American Revolution.
  21. ↑ Paine, Thomas (1805). To the Citizens of Pennsylvania on the Proposal for Calling a Convention.
  22. ↑ "Missouri Unicameral Legislature, Issue 2 (1944)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  23. ↑ "1944 Referendum General Election Results - Missouri".
  24. ↑ "North Dakota Unicameral or Bicameral Legislature, Alternate Proposition 1 (1972)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  25. ↑ "North Dakota Constitution, Main Proposition (1972)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  26. ↑ "One People – One House". News.minnesota.publicradio.org. 1999-04-29. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  27. ↑ "Referéndum sobre el Sistema Cameral". Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico. 2005-07-10.
  28. ↑ "RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Establish a Unicameral Legislature" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  29. ↑ One for All, Rick Lazio, New York Times, July 14, 2009
  30. 1 2 Myers, Adam S. (2018). "The Failed Diffusion of the Unicameral State Legislature, 1934–1944". Studies in American Political Development. 32 (2): 217–235. doi:10.1017/S0898588X18000135. ISSN 0898-588X. S2CID 150363451.

Further reading