This is a list of countries with Burger King franchises. As of December 31, 2025, Burger King operated over 19,000 restaurants across 125 countries and territories.
Burger King (BK) itself began as a franchise of its progenitor company, Insta-Burger King. It grew in the United States using a combination of corporate locations and franchising, before divesting itself of its corporate holdings in 2013. It began its international expansion in 1969 with a location in Canada, followed by Australia in 1971, and Europe in 1975. Latin America and South America became part of its market later in that decade, Asia followed in the 1980s, and Northern Africa and the Middle East followed shortly thereafter. Sub-Saharan Africa and the former nations of the Iron Curtain came much later, beginning in the late 1990s and continuing into the 2010s.
Today, Burger King operates in almost every country in the Western Hemisphere, and most of Europe and East Asia. Burger King also has a longstanding presence at U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force installations worldwide, dating back to the 1980s under a contract with Army & Air Force Exchange Service. Today, while other chains such as Taco Bell, Popeyes, and Subway have a presence on military bases, virtually every major Army and Air Force installation hosts a BK restaurant.
History
Burger King was first founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953, as Insta-Burger King. Shortly after the acquisition of the chain by Pillsbury in 1967, Burger King opened its first Canadian restaurant in Windsor, Ontario, in 1969. Other international locations followed soon after: Oceania in 1971 with its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's, and Europe in 1975 with a restaurant in Madrid, Spain. Beginning in 1982, BK and its franchisees began operating stores in several East Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. Due to high competition, all of the Japanese locations were closed in 2001; however, BK reentered the Japanese market in June 2007. BK's Central and South American operations began in Mexico in the late 1970s, and by the early 1980s it was operating locations in Caracas, Venezuela, Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
While Burger King lags behind McDonald's in international locations by over 12,000 stores, by 2008 it had managed to become the largest chain in several countries, including Mexico and Spain.
The company divides its international operations into three segments: The Middle East, Europe and Africa division (EMEA), Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In each of these regions, Burger King has established several subsidiaries to develop strategic partnerships and alliances to expand into new territories. In its EMEA group, Burger King's Switzerland-based subsidiary Burger King Europe GmbH is responsible for the licensing and development of BK franchises in those regions. In the APAC region, the Singapore-based BK AsiaPac, Pte. Ltd. business unit handles franchising for East Asia, the Asian subcontinent and all Oceanic territories. The LAC region includes Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands.
Africa
During 2012, the African market saw a new agreement with Grand Parade Investments of South Africa to enter what was then Africa's largest economy, with the foundation of Burger King South Africa (BKSA). The first restaurant opened in 2013, in Cape Town. The company sold franchise rights to local gaming and slots machine operator Grand Parade Investments Ltd. In a deal with local petrochemical company Sasol, outlets were opened at filling stations across the country starting in 2014. BKSA was sold, as a master franchise to Emerging Capital Partners in 2021, for around R700 million.
Country/territory Year entered No. of restaurants Master franchisee Notes Djibouti 2022 2 Olayan Group First location in Bawadi Mall, Djibouti. Egypt 2007 44 Olayan Group (in Arabic). Olayan's food service subsidiary, Hana International, is the master franchisee for the Middle East and North Africa. Ethiopia2020 2 Belayab Foods Production PLC. First location in Bole International Airport. Ghana2018 8 SIA QSR Ghana Ltd. First location is in the Accra Mall. Ivory Coast2015 9 Servair First location is in Marcory. Kenya 2016 5 Servair First location in the Hub Karen, Nairobi. Mauritius 2021 7 CG Royal Food First location at Bagatelle Mall. Morocco 2011 41 General First Food Services First location is in Casablanca. Nigeria 2021 25 Allied Food and Confectionery Services Ltd First location is in Victoria Island, Lagos. Seychelles 2017 1 Minor International One location at the airport, open to the general public. South Africa 2013 169 Burger King South Africa (wholly owned by Emerging Capital Partners) First location opened in Cape Town on 9 May 2013. Tunisia 2019 1 General First Food Services Tunisia First location is in Sousse in the Mall of Sousse; Halal.
Asia The first Burger King in Asia opened in Granville Road, Hong Kong on August 7, 1979, as the 2500th Burger King globally. In 1982, franchisees opened stores in several East Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.
In 1982, the license for Burger King's operations in Singapore was given to Food Systems. It planned to open its first outlet at Peninsular Plaza.
Burger King expanded to Japan in 1993 as a 50-50 venture with Seibu Railways Group. Its first outlet in Iruma opened on 22 September, with another in Yokohama and another suburb expected to open that year. Additional outlets were expected to open in station buildings owned by Seibu. Burger King was a latecomer in Japan's hamburger market, coming at a time of "recession". Unlike its competitor McDonald's, Burger King plans to leave its original menu untouched. Later owned by Japan Tobacco, it withdrew from the Japanese market in February 2001 with all of its 25 outlets sold to Lotteria. Burger King reentered the Japanese market by opening the first outlet in Shinjuku, Tokyo in November 2006.
It also reentered the Hong Kong market in December 2007. This time its Hong Kong operation is wholly owned by North Asia Strategic, who obtained the exclusive right to operate from BK AsiaPac Pte Limited. As of 2008, 15 stores were in operation. The brand subsequently downsized, closing its last urban branch in the territory on August 31, 2025 and leaving only one location remaining at the airport.
Country/territory Year entered No. of restaurants Master franchisee Notes Bahrain 2007 1 Olayan Group Halal Bangladesh 2016 8 Tiffin Box (Bangla Trac) Brunei 2014 5 Sinofood Express The first outlet opened on 25 February 2014 in Ambrym Road, Bandar Seri Begawan. Cambodia 2013 14 Mong Reththy Group Opened in Phnom Penh International Airport on 1 March 2013. China 2005 1,247 CPE 汉堡王 . First outlet opened in Shanghai on 28 June 2005. Hong Kong 1979 1 – First operated in Hong Kong between the 1970s–1990s, and re-entered in 2007. Currently only one restaurant remaining active at Hong Kong International Airport, operated by SSP Group. India 2014 577 Restaurant Brands Asia The first store opened in November 2014 in Delhi. Indonesia 1986 138 Restaurant Brands Asia Previously operated in the country from 1986 to 1998, closing after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It was reopened on April 26, 2007 with management from PT Sari Burger Indonesia. Iraq 2019 16 Burger King Iraq GG The first branch was opened in Erbil on November 18, 2019. Israel 1994 18 Delek Group . Burger King previously operated in Israel from 1994 to 2010, after which its locations were rebranded as Burgeranch. In June 2015, the chain announced plans to relaunch, and its first new branch opened on February 1, 2016. Japan 1993 337 Goldman Sachs Alternatives (bāgākin-gu, katakana spelling of Burger King) . Previously operated in the country from 1993 to 2001, returning in 2007. Kuwait 1990 97 Olayan Group First opened at an AAFES location following the First Gulf War. Kazakhstan 2012 58 Holten Group The first restaurant was opened in Almaty on May 28, 2012. Lebanon 2001 18 Olayan Group Halal. Malaysia 1997 201 Rancak Selera First location opened at Sungai Buloh Overhead Bridge in Sungai Buloh in 1997. Maldives 2013 2 Minor International First location opened at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport on July 8, 2013. Mongolia 2015 17 Max Group Oman 1994 10 Olayan Group Originally operated in the country from 1994 to 2005, reopening in 2010. Philippines 1997 132 Jollibee Foods Corporation The first Burger King branch in the Philippines opened at Robinsons Galleria, Quezon City in December 1997. PERF Restaurants Inc. (formerly PhilKing Restaurants and Development Corp.) was owned by Ayala Corporation until it was sold to BK Titans Inc. in 2006. Qatar 1996 23 Olayan Group Halal. Saudi Arabia 1992 156 Olayan Group . Halal. Singapore 1982 71 Rancak Selera Halal. First BK Whopper Bar in Asia. South Korea 1984 552 Affinity Equity Partners . Sri Lanka 2013 22 Softlogic Restaurants Taiwan 1989 106 Taiwan Steel Group 漢堡王 . Thailand 1994 124 Minor International Offers delivery services. Timor-Leste 2013 2 East Timor Trading Burger King is currently the first and only foreign fast food chain in East Timor. The first store opened in Dili in December 2013. United Arab Emirates 1993 116 Olayan Group Halal. Uzbekistan 2025 5 Holten Group Vietnam 2011 20 Imex Pan-Pacific Group First location opened at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on November 27, 2011.
Europe
Burger King began its expansion in Europe in 1975 with its first location in Madrid, Spain. The first German branch of Burger King was opened in 1976 at the Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin. In 1990, an East German branch was opened in the town of Dresden.
In December 2012, BK returned to the French market, based on an agreement with multinational operator Autogrill, a move that has met with some excitement in the country. In July 1997, it was announced the chain would be leaving the country, closing its 22 franchised and 17 corporate locations, after a poorly executed entry into the market that left it unable to compete against McDonald's and local chain Quick.
In November 2013, Groupe Bertrand, who owns several restaurant franchises, acquired the BK master franchise Autogrill, becoming one of their franchisees. In September 2015, Groupe Bertrand announced being in talks with Quick's owner, investment fund Qualium, to take over all the franchise and convert all Quick restaurants in France into BKs.
In December 2013, BK returned to Finland, after three decades of absence. The first restaurant, located on Mannerheimintie in central Helsinki, instantly proved so popular that on every day since its opening, people queued in front of the restaurant to get in, sometimes for over half an hour. The only exception so far has been Christmas time, when the restaurant was closed.
In 2018, BK expanded into Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, and the partially unrecognized state Kosovo, as well as re-entering the Slovak market after nearly 7 years of absence under a exclusive license from AmRest. In June 2019, BK opened its doors in Albania after 7 months of hype in the QTU Shopping Mall.