European Democracies: Proportional Representation Dominates

The vast majority of European democracies use proportional representation (PR) electoral systems for their national legislatures. Under PR, parties receive seats in proportion to their vote share—e.g., 30% of votes ≈ 30% of seats.

Consequences

• Multi-party Systems: 4–8+ parties typically win representation.
• Coalition Governments: Single-party majorities are rare; governing requires negotiation (Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, etc.).
• Minority Voice: Smaller parties (Greens, liberals, regionalists, radicals) gain leverage.
• Voter Turnout: Generally higher—votes "count" even in safe districts.

PR Variants in Europe

• Party-List PR (Closed/Open): Spain, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Benelux, Eastern Europe
• Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP): Germany, New Zealand (non-EU), Scotland/Wales (devolved)
• Single Transferable Vote (STV): Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland (local/EU)
• Two-Round / Runoff: France (legislative), not PR but majoritarian

Exceptions: Majoritarian Systems

• UK: First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) — single-member districts, winner-take-all
• France: Two-round system (single-member districts)
• Hungary: Mixed (FPTP + PR) — tilted to ruling party

PR reflects Europe's historical cleavage structure (class, religion, region, language) and consensus democracy tradition. FPTP systems (UK, France) produce stronger single-party governments but higher disproportionality.