Definition: bicameral (bī-kām’ər-əl), adj: Composed of or based on two legislative chambers or branches: a bicameral legislature.
Bicameralism refers to a system of government in which legislative power is vested in two chambers, e.g. an “upper house” and a “lower house”, or a “senate” and a “chamber of deputies”.
Bicameral legislatures are common among federal and consociational states, in which regional differences or internal divisions (ethnic, religious, or linguistic) encourage a system that provides explicit representation to specific regions, communities, or other defined groupings.
Bicameral legislatures are in blue; unicameral are in orange.
Bicameralism is widespread in North America, South America, Western Europe, Central Asia, Southwest Asia, and East Asia. It is far less common in Africa and the Middle East. Examples of countries with bicameral legislatures include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Phillipines, and the United States of America.
