14 countries that DON'T have McDonald's

Hello! For better or worse, McDonald's is one of the greatest symbols of globalization and American cultural domination that took place since the 20th century. The fast food chain has impressive numbers: around 35 thousand restaurants serve more than 68 million people daily in 119 countries.

However, not every country is happy with McDonald’s presence on their land. For a number of reasons, some nations did not do very well with the yellow and red restaurant. Below is a list of some of these locations and, most importantly, the reasons why it is not possible to taste a Big Mac in these places, the McDonald’s brand symbol, delicious for some, disgusting for others.

Source: Mega Curioso

1. Barbados

The Caribbean tourist paradise called Barbados had its experience with McDonald’s almost 20 years ago. Despite the good economic condition of the country, driven by tourism, and, consequently, the considerable presence of people from different backgrounds, the interest in fast food in this franchise has not managed to sustain it for even a year.

Opened in 1996, the restaurant could not stand the competition of those selling wonderful fresh seafood, straight from the source and relatively cheap. Before the turn of the year, the store closed its doors to never open in that country. The most interesting thing is that the building where it worked still exists and serves as the headquarters of the company Consolidated Finance. Its architecture is unmistakable, as we can see in the image. Its architecture is unmistakable, as we can see in the image.

McDonald’s unmistakable architecture, today in different colors and markets

You can imagine that someone on vacation in Barbados does not go after fast food, whose advantage in this place would just be, perhaps, the lowest price. Tourists (and locals alike) certainly prefer to taste the traditional delicacies of the beautiful island or, at worst, the food of the country's local fast food chain, Chefette, which, according to its customers, is much better than the chain's american.

2. Bermuda

Another tropical paradise that did not welcome McDonald’s fast food, but this time for more cultural reasons. When the network decided it would be a good idea to expand to the Bermuda Islands, British overseas territory, in 1999, its population was not at all happy. Behind their rights as citizens, the islanders sought the responsible authorities and got a law passed prohibiting not only McDonald's, but any chain of fast food franchises from opening stores in Bermudian lands.

How to imagine a McDonald’s in such a place?

An 83-year-old woman, born and raised on the islands, showed an enviable sense of cultural identity stating, at the time, that McDonald's devalues ​​the places she goes to and that the simple reason for all this disgust was obvious: “This is not Bermudian”. For the will of the people to be done!

3. Bolivia

Differently some countries that did not even have a McDonald’s store, Bolivia even had eight restaurants in major cities, such as the capital La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. For 14 years, Bolivians had free access to fast food with so many calories, but at a certain point the franchises found themselves in a situation where they had to leave the country.

The people against Ronald McDonald

Contrary to what many will think, the stores were not expelled from the country by President Evo Morales, but because of the disinterest of the clientele and the preference, again, for local food. As they were no longer economically viable, the restaurants closed and never came back. And if they want to come back, then they will be stopped by the president, who, without fear of making mistakes, said: “McDonald’s has no interest in the health of human beings, only in the company's earnings and profits”.

4. Cambodia

Here is a nation where McDonald’s never set foot. We can consider that, in addition to not being a very receptive place to American culture, Cambodia does not enter the list of countries that McDonald's considers to have an economy developed enough to install its restaurants. The country is based on agriculture, construction, tourism and the textile industry, which attracts foreign investment. However, the lack of stability and economic progress amazes the fast food chain. Lucky or unlucky for them?

Box model of the Happy Meal that never existed, written in Khmer, the Cambodian language

5. Kazhakstan

This is the largest country that does not have a McDonald’s restaurant (until then). The lack of identification with the cultural and, consequently, eating habits of Americans may be the main responsible for the franchise has not yet shown up in the land of Borat.

That, however, may change soon, as a gigantic new shopping complex in the capital Nur-Sultan (Astana) has been publicizing the opening of the first store in the country since forever. Are Kazakhs excited about the news or is it going to be another shot in the water by the network?

Russian arm of the McDonald’s brand plans to open the first Kazakh restaurant

6. North Korea

To say that there is no McDonald’s in North Korea is not a big deal. Perhaps the most anti-American of the countries, the land ruled by fists of steel by Kim Jong-un, obviously prefers that anything originating in the United States is far from its borders, so no franchise there.

The reverse was also true, with a series of sanctions imposed by the UN in 2006 and 2009 as "punishment" for illegal nuclear tests carried out by North Korea. Thus, the country also suffers a lot of prohibitions from the western world, and even if they decided to change their mind it would be possible to install a McDonald's restaurant there.

McDonald’s: Kim Jong-un's secret pleasure?

But since nothing is really what it seems to be, in 2011 it was discovered that McDonald's snacks were smuggled in for the enjoyment of the North Korean elite through the airline Air Koryo, coming directly from the chain's Chinese restaurants. Apparently, hatred of Americans does not include disgust with Yankee fast food.

7. Ghana

A rare case in which neither party, McDonald’s and Ghana, wants this lavish marriage. The fast food chain says that the country is not economically stable enough to deserve the installation of one of its restaurants. The curious thing is that another fast-food franchise, KFC, is already present in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, and apparently has worked well there.

As for the population of Ghana, there is little interest in McDonald’s presence. With an economy based mainly on mining and oil, opening the franchise in the country would not have much to contribute to the country's progress. Therefore, it is each one in its own that is better.

Accra KFC in Ghana is doing very well, thank you. And no McDonald’s

8. Yemen

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively the capital and largest city in the United Arab Emirates, it is very easy to find McDonald’s restaurants. The same goes for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, all of which have a relatively strong economy and, more importantly, in a way, aligned with the United States.

This is not the case in Yemen. This is yet another example of a country that has not sparked McDonald’s interest in opening stores because of its weak economy. Although we consider fast food cheap, the population of Yemen would not even be able to afford meals at a franchise restaurant. And that's not all: foreign brands, especially American ones, are not very welcome there. So, for money and security, no Big Macs.

Nobody had the courage to paint one of these houses yellow and red in Yemen

9. Iceland

Yet another economic problem, scaring a country's McDonald’s. In 2009, Iceland's official currency, the Icelandic krona, suffered a sharp devaluation caused by an economic crisis involving the three main national banks. The government tried to intervene to tame the situation, but it was too late.

The crisis affected the purchasing power of the population, which was no longer able to consume the chain's products as before. The three restaurants that existed in the country realized that it would be a big deal to continue operating there, because in addition to losing customers, the cost of importing the necessary ingredients for making the products has skyrocketed. The only solution was to close the stores and leave Iceland, but not without causing endless queues during its last weeks of operation.

Staying for posterity: the latest cheeseburger and fries sold by Icelandic McDonald’s in 2009. It still looks edible, doesn't it?

10. Jamaica

It is unclear why McDonald’s ended up leaving Jamaica after a decade of operation there. There are several theories that try to explain why the chain has not adapted well to the country, or rather, why the country has not adapted to the restaurant.

One of the reasons we can list here, as reported on Jamaican websites and newspapers at the time of closing, is the size of the snacks. As the Burger King chain, a direct competitor of McDonald's, produces bigger snacks, the clientele ended up having a preference for the abundance of the Burger King. This franchise, in fact, enjoys considerable success in the land of Bob Marley.

One of McDonald’s stores that closed in 2005 in Kingston, Jamaica

Jokes about munchies aside, it is not very clear why Jamaicans accepted Burger King and disowned McDonald's since, regardless of the size of the snacks, the prices are apparently proportional. Another possibility is the fact that some foreign companies do not adapt to cultural factors of the place where they are installed. According to some Jamaicans, McDonald’s could have inserted more items more familiar to customers in the country. Anyway, it is a mystery that probably will not be solved so easily.

11. North Macedonia

Heir, at least in name, of the empire that was once ruled by Alexander the Great, the Republic of Macedonia is today a small country located on the Balkan peninsula, in northern Greece, and which had within its borders seven restaurants in the McDonald's for 16 years.

However, in 2013, after a conflict of interest between the Macedonian government and the fast food franchise, Europe's McDonald’s communications chief Agnes Vadnai announced that stores in the country would close once and for all. According to him, there was no more interest on the part of the Macedonian people in consuming the products that the chain supplied.

One of McDonald’s old restaurants in North Macedonia

Today, despite not being so missed in the country, some local hamburger chains have already appeared to try to plug the hole left by the Americans. Was any of them named McDonia, as a tribute for inspiration?

12. Montenegro

Ten years ago, Podgorica, capital of Montenegro (at the time still part of Serbia in the process of dismantling the Yugoslav bloc), boasted a single McDonald's. However, a certain ill will on the part of the government was felt by the owners of the franchise, with the justification that such unhealthy food was not very welcome in the country.

This made it very difficult to expand the chain, which was limited to this one restaurant in the capital. With this indigestible relationship between the chain and the government, the franchise decided to pack up and get out. In an official statement, the Montenegrin government said that no company is prohibited from setting up in that country, including McDonald’s.

No McDonald's in the charming Podgorica

13. Zimbabwe

The political and economic chaos that overtook Zimbabwe in the 2000s was the main culprit for not installing McDonald's restaurants in the country. The plan was to open some stores in various places, mainly in the capital Harare, but everything went downhill in the precarious situation of that moment.

Almost 10 years later, with the economy relatively recovered, Zimbabwe is close to having its first McDonald’s. Some attempts since 2010 have not been successful, but the brand must insist on the market in that country, which, apparently, is quite promising.

Harare, capital of Zimbabwe: ready to receive your first McDonald’s?

14. Iran

Given the current situation, it is even possible to understand why there is not a single McDonald’s in Iran. But actually this story happened years ago...

In the 1970s, an Islamic Republic was installed in Iran. This one, wanted to close all Mc branches in the country. And it even worked. After the 1979 Revolution, the bank closed its stores there, and never came back.

However, in Tehran, the capital of Iran, you can find American fast food chains in their own versions, including Pizza Hat (Pizza Hut); Raees Cofee (Starbuck’s); and MashDonald’s (McDonald’s itself).

McDonald's in Tehran? No, just MashDonald's

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