McDonald's Big Mac with fries and drink

Countries That Likely Will Never Have A McDonald's

NEWS

BY ALYSA SALZBERG

Bermuda

In 1997, Bermuda passed a law banning international restaurant chains, so you won't find any on the island except for one KFC that opened before the law was put into place.

North Korea

As a dictatorship with anti-American sentiments, North Korea has never had a McDonald's. Instead, Pyongyang has Samtaesong Hamburger Restaurant.

Iceland

A McDonald’s opened in Iceland in 1993, but the 2008 financial crisis drove it out of business, and there are still no McDonald's in Iceland today.

Montenegro

In 2003, McDonald's attempted to expand into Montenegro by opening a sort of food truck version of its restaurant, but it was closed a few months later.
The government's official reason is that it was concerned for its citizens' health, but many experts believe that the decision was also made to limit American influence.

Bolivia

McDonald's first opened restaurants in Bolivia in 1997, but they were gone by 2002. The reasons given were that the locals didn't like the food and found it unhealthy.