Mcdonald’s is loved by billions worldwide.
However, it may be a shock to hear that the fast-food giant is not appreciated everywhere.
You can barely be 100 miles from a McDonald’s in the United States.
In fact, there are 13,438 restaurants in American alone.
However, that’s not the case everywhere.
Here are five big countries that have banned the fast food giant.
Iran
The tension between Iran and the US has lasted for many years and doesn’t show too many signs of easing.
There hasn’t been a single Mcdonald’s in Iran since 1979.
To make matters more complicated, Iran has formed its own McDonald’s substitute called Mash Donald’ so don’t expect to see the Golden Arches in Iran any time soon.
Montenegro
Back in 2003, McDonald’s purchased a small store in the tiny Balkan country, which has a population of just 619,000.
It was a “mobile McDonald’s.”
It opened in the hope of becoming more significant and permanent.
Many people loved this pop-up restaurant.
However, the government worked with local companies to stop the fast food giant from expanding in Montenegro.
The official reason was that the government was concerned about the effect of a giant international company on smaller businesses in its capital city of Podgorica.
Since then, the franchise is yet to make an appearance in Montenegro although the government insists no business is banned from operating in the country.
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Bolivia
While McDonald’s isn’t completely banned in this South American nation, the last branch in Bolivia closed back in 2002.
This ended an extremely uneasy relationship between the fast-food giant and the nation’s citizens and government.
According to the Daily Mail, McDonald’s didn’t work out due to the people of Bolivia not wanting to use a massive business to buy burgers.
Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia did not pull any punches with his view on the matter, saying McDonald’s is “not interested in the health of human beings, only in earnings and corporate profits.”
Zimbabwe
In 2000, McDonald’s was in the middle of being bought into this African country for the first time.
But unfortunately, Zimbabwe suffered a massive economic collapse.
The franchise decided to call off all plans, and since then, Zimbabwe has not had a single Mcdonald’s.
Rumors are it may try again following the recovery, but McDonald’s International Franchising says there’s no concrete plan.
Bermuda
In 1995, there was just one McDonald’s restaurant on this small island.
Now, there are none.
The country has a law that’s been in place since the 1970s which bans foreign fast-food restaurants.
However, this didn’t stop Mcdonald’s as it managed to find a loophole in 1985 by building a restaurant on a U.S. Naval Air Station.
But the Naval Air station closed down in 1995, along with the restaurant.
