No nation has ever had a democracy, actually, as that requires all citizens to be able to vote on every issue and to directly participate in every level of government. Not even Athens was a democracy.
Most countries that people label as "democracies" actually have some form of a republic, in which people are in one way or another chosen to vote for large blocks of people in government. A republic does not require that all people living in the country to be considered citizens or to be given the right to vote. It is a subtle distinction, but an important one. The term "democracy" is often fallaciously used to describe a wide range of government types that are not democracies.
[ May 12, 2003, 20:03: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]