Top 10 Countries With NO McDonald's

This landlocked south African country experienced positive economic growth throughout the 80s and 90s, and as such was on the verge of receiving their first ever McDonald’s franchise back in 2000. Sadly, citizens of Zimbabwe hoping to sink their teeth into a Big Mac for the first time were left wanting, as their country’s economy went into a downward spiral that same year. International companies such as McDonald's don’t like to take risks, so the moment they realized a Zimbabwean franchise wouldn’t be profitable they pulled the plug on the entire operation. Two decades later and you still won’t find any golden arches in Zimbabwe.

You can find a McDonald's restaurant in 118 countries and territories across the globe. Which makes it all the more perplexing that this tiny European country doesn’t have one. Okay, full disclosure, Montenegro was once home to a “mobile McDonald's” – a tiny version of the real thing – but the country has since parted ways with the fast food franchise. Why, you ask? That’s the billion-dollar question many of Montenegro’s citizens have been asking. The “mobile McDonald's” had been a hit, causing many to question why more were never opened. It got so bad that the government eventually had to put out a press release stating, “no company, not even McDonald’s, is forbidden to do business in Montenegro”.

Picture this: you’re lying on a beautiful Barbadian beach, soaking up the sun and living your best life. What’s missing? Well, if you said “a 10-piece chicken nugget trio”, too bad! Barbados may be home to some of the Caribbean’s most picturesque locations, but one thing you won’t find there is McDonald's. The company opened a restaurant there in 1996, but it failed to generate much interest from the local population. It wasn’t long before Ronald McDonald and co. packed up their deep fryers and left the island nation for good; and as of this video they’ve yet to return.

This South American country was once home to a number of McDonald's franchises, but the fast food giant picked up their ball and went home in 2002. It turns out that despite their love of hamburgers, Bolivians were not interested in further lining the pockets of one of the world's richest corporations. Citizens were simply not fans of the Mickey D’s brand, with former president Evo Morales once quipping, “McDonald's is not interested in the health of human beings, only in earnings and corporate profits.” Hey, what about their salads . . . that have more calories than a Big Mac . . .

Despite the success of other fast food companies such as KFC, Ghana remains McDonald's-less. The country welcomed the Colonel to its capital city of Accra in 2011, and the city now boasts 15 different locations from which its citizens can purchase that “finger lickin’ good” chicken. Up until recently, Ghana was an extremely poor nation, but the discovery of offshore oil has boosted its economy. As more and more people are lifted out of poverty, flocking to the cities in search of opportunity, major corporations continue to take notice. As such, we suspect it’s only a matter of time until McDonald's franchises begin to pop up in the country.

Macedonia’s capital city of Skopje was once home to a number of McDonald's restaurants, but today the city’s skyline is seriously lacking in the golden arches department. So what gives? Well, in 2013, McDonald's’ European head office issued a statement announcing that SJ Company, the company in charge of Macedonia’s McDonald's franchises, had lost its license. Rumors abounded as to the reason why, but few answers were made available to the public. Today, Macedonia remains a McDonald's-free zone, despite the company’s successful run of 16 years in the Balkan country.

In 1977, Bermuda passed the Prohibited Restaurants Act, which banned fast food franchises from operating on the island. However, in 1985, McDonald's discovered a loophole that allowed them to build a Mickey D’s without breaking any laws. They accomplished this by building it on a US Naval Air Station, which is American soil in the eyes of the law. However, when the base shut its doors in 1995, McDonald's was forced to close up shop as well. In the years since, the Prohibited Restaurants Act of 1977 has kept McDonald's at bay, despite their best efforts to regain a foothold in the market.

One of the most politically and economically volatile countries on our list, Yemen poses an enormous risk to any American fast food company that wishes to open a franchise there. For starters, since 2015 the country has been embroiled in a deadly civil war that’s claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Second, it’s been made clear that American companies hoping to break through in the region will be met with hostility from extremists, if not outright violence. McDonald's has dubbed Yemen a non-viable option from an economic standpoint, and from a safety standpoint, it might be in everyone’s best interests for the company to steer clear for the time being.

The last time there was a McDonald's in Iran, people were listening to Michael Jackson’s first solo album on their Sony Walkman…which cost nearly $500 when adjusted for inflation. The year was 1979, the same year as the Iranian Revolution. This marked an end to Western powers influencing Iran, and as such McDonald's exited stage left real quick. It’s been over four decades since the company has had a franchise in Iran, and in its absence McDonald's has been replaced by the adorably named knock-off, Mash Donalds. Whether or not Macca’s will ever open another restaurant in Iran remains a mystery, but one thing we do know is that until they do, Mash Donald’s will be picking up the slack.

Do we really need to explain this one? Dubbed “The Hermit Nation” thanks to its infamously closed off nature, North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship that openly despises anything and everything that has to do with America. And few things symbolize capitalism and the good ol’ US of A quite like McDonald's. As such, you won’t find a Mickey D’s anywhere in North Korea. This situation is unlikely to change so long as the country remains under the grip of its authoritarian government. However, in 2011 it was reported that members of that same government were having McDonald's smuggled into the country from South Korea.