McDonalds appears to be a very popular location where most of us fly. Ronald McDonald has extended his wings far and wide when it comes to world conquest, from Communist China to Saudi Arabia.
Yet, while McDonalds seems to be everywhere, there are a range of nations that do not have a McDonalds franchise for any reason. Some Yankee rivals, like North Korea, won't surprise you at all, but others really will.
We will show some shocking nations in this article that don't have a McDonalds, surprising ones that do, nations that no longer exist, and even former adherents of the McD's religion.
Ironically, I'm not even that big McDonalds fan, but it's probably the longest time I've been without this icon of American capitalism at 4 months and counting for many years. To be honest, I would assassinate a small child for a Sausage McMuffin right now.
Let the marathon of McDonalds-based facts begin!
How many McDonald's countries do they have?
OK! OK! All right! So, in 117 countries and territories, McDonalds actually operates, but this is where it gets complicated! Not all nations, such as Guam, are sovereign states.
Ok, in the world, how many countries are there?
This is where it gets super tricky. There are 193 UN member countries, plus the Vatican City and 195 will be made by Taiwan. This would mean, however, that you would then be counted as part of France somewhere like Guadalupe. Hence, we say that the list is closer to 260. To get their take on things, check the YPT list of what counts as a country. McDonalds is in fewer than 50 percent of the world's nations by this meticulous, but not landmass (Russia, USA, China all having McDonalds franchises).
How many nations don't have McDonalds?
There are 140+ countries in the world that do not have a McDonalds, going by our slightly liberal view of countries.
Here are 5 nations that don't have a McDonalds that might surprise you;
Cambodia- In South-East Asia, McDonalds is not all that big a deal. There are about 20 branches in Vietnam, and everything in the Philippines is all about Jollibee. There's a talk of having one from Cambodia, but luckily Cambodia does have a Burger King.
Vatican City-OK, so this could be a bit of a cheat, taking into account how small the "country" is. Fun fact: The Vatican has the highest rate of crime per capita in the world. The only nation in Western Europe without a McDonalds, but you don't fear that you just have to walk into Rome to get your fix.
Ghana-A Major Mac has never been served on these shores, despite being one of the most modern, economically powerful and English-speaking in West Africa. One of those areas where it is regularly debated.
Cayman Islands-Okay, not a nation in the conventional sense of the term, but an offshore and imperialist refuge. McDonalds, KFC and even Wendy's are here, but there's also a McDonalds restaurant in Caymania. He refuses to sell and therefore, unless they pull a Hungry Jacks style maneuver, McDonalds will not come to paradise.
Yemen-OK, so not all that shocking, but they are almost the only nation not to have plunged head first into Ronald McDonald's love in the Middle East. I guess decades of civil war and internal strife would do that to a nation. With Socotra on the road to being a UAE colony, McDonalds could be breaking their boundaries on the coast.
So, although these nations actually have never had a McDonalds, there are still a variety of nations that have had the franchise, only to make it fail.
This is five times that McDonalds flunked in a country,
Iceland- Between 1993 and 2009, Iceland had McDonalds for 16 years. Alas, the financial crisis came along and inventory became too expensive to import. Iceland is renowned for its hot-dogs and has great street food. The country well and truly moved on.
Barbados from 1989 until 1990. It's easy to think that everyone just loves a Big Mac, but that's not entirely true, it turns out. Barbados McDonalds holds a record of just 4 months for the shortest living franchise! Closed on account of abysmal sales
McDonalds in Bolivia lasted 5 years in Bolivia before declining revenues led it to leave the country. Then join Eva Morales, the maverick socialist who would not allow the Roy Kroc capitalist clique on his watch into his country! Unfortunately, now he's gone, so McDonalds is seeking to re-enter the market.
To be honest, it took these cats 20 years to eventually select a name that individuals will embrace, so it's no real shock that Macedonians are a little fickle. McDonalds in Skopje lasted 16 years until the end of contractual conflicts. At some point, they will definitely be back.
To be fair, they are a micro state as well as the smallest republic of words. It lasted for 20 years, then went out of business ironically because there were many nice nearby San Manrinese/Italian restaurants. To be fair, you just can't disagree with that. Therefore, San Marino is the only western nation with no McDonalds.
