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47 Examples of Systems

John Spacey, updated on May 08, 2023

Systems are things with many interrelated parts. These include natural systems such as ecosystems or the organ systems of your body. Systems can also be human created. These include unplanned systems that emerge such as a city without urban planning and systems that are designed such as a software system. The following are common examples of systems.

Agricultural systems	Air traffic control systems
Banking systems	Biological systems e.g. respiratory system
Bureaucracies	Carbon cycle
Climate systems	Communication systems
Cultures	Economies and economic systems
Ecosystems	Education systems
Electrical grids	Emergency services
Food chain	Food web
Global financial system	Healthcare systems
IT systems	Industrial systems
Institutions	International diplomacy and related institutions
Justice systems	Labor markets
Legal systems	Markets
Military–industrial complex	Monetary systems
Ocean currents	Organizations
Oxygen cycle	Political systems
Prison systems	Rail systems
Social media platforms	Social systems
Societies	Solar systems
The Internet	The global environment
The human brain and the central nervous system	Transportation systems
Voting systems	Waste management systems
Water cycle	Weather systems
World trade system

Cultures are examples of systems that emerge and self-organize without any design.

Societies are examples of systems that are somewhat planned whereby a government organizes things to some degree. As a system, society includes many parts such as laws, regulations, government departments and institutions.

Systems theory is the practice of modeling the behavior of systems. For example, systems tend to have an equilibrium whereby competing forces are in balance.