The countries which have BANNED McDonald’s restaurants – including four in Europe
NEXT time you are on holiday, you are likely to run across a McDonald’s, being one of the largest fast food chains in the world.
There are more than 34,000 restaurants in 118 countries – although fans of the burger joint maybe surprised to find that nearly 100 countries are yet to have a McDonald’s in the country.
Many destinations have never had a McDonald’s or were forced to close them due to economic difficulties, meaning the fast food was not attainable or affordable for the majority of the population.
Jamaica had eight McDonald’s from 1995 to 2005 but all closed down, while just one opened in Barbados in 1996 but closed within a year after struggling to make a profit.
A McDonald’s in Bermuda managed to avoid the local law banning foreign food chains and opened for a decade from 1985 to 1995 at the US Naval Air Base, although closed when the base did.
Other reasons include a ban on foreign food chains which is why there is yet to be a McDonald’s in North Korea, while just four countries in Africa have McDonald’s – Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Mauritius.
However, here are the destinations in Europe where you will have to skip a Big Mac next time you visit.
Iceland
Iceland once had three McDonald’s restaurants dating back to 1993.
However, high import costs following the 2008 financial crash led to its demise, with it becoming the most expensive Big Mac in the world after rising 20 per cent in price (where a kilo of onions was said to cost the same for a “good bottle of whiskey”).
The McDonald’s stores have since been converted to Icelandic burger chain Metro, with the last store closing in 2009 – although this led to more than 10,000 McBurgers being sold in a day following the announcement.
Montenegro
In 2003, a McDonald’s opened in Montenegro, although was a mobile store as opposed to a building.
While it was popular, it was never able to become a permanent fixture and only lasted a few months as the government and local businesses prevented it from staying.
A permanent fixture is yet to open in the country.
Macedonia
Macedonia was once home to several McDonald’s chains, primarily in the capital city of Skopje.
However, a problem with the licensing meant all of the chains had to close down in 2013.
The fast-food chain could soon return, however, with rumours that a McDonald’s will be opening this year.
Vatican City
Perhaps not surprisingly, The Vatican has never had a McDonald’s.
It is the only country in Europe to have never had one – although there is one just 100m outside, with views of the building.
Full list of countries with NO McDonald's
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Armenia
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- East Timor
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Iceland
- Iran
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Togo
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
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