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June 13, 2024 Graphics/Design:

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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.

RankCountryEmbassies Overseas 1🇨🇳 China173 2🇺🇸 U.S.168 3🇫🇷 France158 4🇬🇧 UK156 5🇯🇵 Japan152 6🇩🇪 Germany148 7🇹🇷 Türkiye145 8🇷🇺 Russia143 9🇧🇷 Brazil135 10🇮🇳 India135 11🇮🇹 Italy124 12🇪🇸 Spain114 13🇰🇷 South Korea114 14🇳🇱 Netherlands106 15🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia104 16🇨🇭 Switzerland102 17🇨🇦 Canada98 18🇿🇦 South Africa98 19🇮🇩 Indonesia92 20🇵🇱 Poland91 21🇨🇿 Czech Republic91 22🇵🇰 Pakistan89 23🇦🇷 Argentina87 24🇭🇺 Hungary87 25🇸🇪 Sweden87
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