Part of a series on Economic systems Primitive communism Capitalist economy Corporate economy Fascist economy Laissez-faire Mercantilism Natural economy Socialist economy Communist economy Closed economy Dual economy Gift economy Informal economy Market economy Mixed economy Open economy Participatory economy Planned economy Subsistence economy Underground economy Virtual economy Anglo-Saxon economy American School Global economy Hunter-gatherer economy Information economy New industrial economy Palace economy Plantation economy Social market economy Token economy Traditional economy Transition economy An autarky is an economy that limits trade with the outside world, or an ecosystem not affected by influences from the outside, and relies entirely on its own resources. In the economic meaning, it is also referred to as a closed economy.

Additional characteristics of autarkies
Mercantilism was a policy followed by empires, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, forbidding or limiting trade outside the empire. In the 20th century, autarky as a policy goal was sought by Nazi Germany in the 1930s, by maximizing trade within its economic bloc and minimizing trade outside it.
Today, complete economic autarkies (or autarchies) are rare. An example of a current autarky is North Korea, based on the government ideology of Juche (self-reliance). However, even North Korea has a small amount of trade with the People's Republic of China and Japan. Bhutan, seeking to preserve an economic and cultural system centered around the dzong, has until recently maintained an effective economic embargo against the outside world, and has been described as an autarky. With the introduction of roads and electricity, however, the kingdom is being forced into trade relations as its citizens seek modern manufactured goods.