Ranked: Countries with the Most Embassies Around the World

Mapped: Countries with the Most Embassies Around the World

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It’s easy to contextualize a country’s economic might (GDP) or military prowess (military budgets), but what about diplomatic influence?

The Global Diplomacy Index by the Lowy Institute is an attempt to measure and compare diplomatic networks worldwide to understand the foreign ties that influence geopolitics.

From their 2024 update, we visualize the top 25 countries with the most embassies worldwide. Data for this graphic is current up to November 2023, and does not reflect diplomatic consequences from the Israel-Hamas war.

Ranked: Countries by Worldwide Embassy Count

China leads with 173 embassies around the world, eclipsing the U.S. (168) by just five more foreign posts.

Former colonial powers, France (158) and the UK (156) rank third and fourth respectively. Japan (152) rounds out the top five.

Rank	Country	Embassies Overseas
1	China	173
2	U.S.	168
3	France	158
4	UK	156
5	Japan	152
6	Germany	148
7	Türkiye	145
8	Russia	143
9	Brazil	135
10	India	135
11	Italy	124
12	Spain	114
13	South Korea	114
14	Netherlands	106
15	Saudi Arabia	104
16	Switzerland	102
17	Canada	98
18	South Africa	98
19	Indonesia	92
20	Poland	91
21	Czech Republic	91
22	Pakistan	89
23	Argentina	87
24	Hungary	87
25	Sweden	87

Note: As of November, 2023.

The index notes some key findings in the regional footprint of all these foreign posts as well.

For example, China has a larger diplomatic presence in Africa, East Asia, and the Pacific, while the U.S. leads in the Americas, Europe, and South Asia. This reflects the two superpowers’ trade and economic ties as well.

Meanwhile, Türkiye and India have grown their diplomatic networks the most in recent years. Interestingly, both countries prioritized Africa in their new outreach. In fact, India is a key export destination for many African countries.

Russia meanwhile had to close 14 foreign missions since it invaded Ukraine in 2022, slipping two ranking spots between 2017 and 2022.

The post Ranked: Countries with the Most Embassies Around the World appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

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