Politics
Mapped: Recognition of Palestine by Country
Mapped: Recognition of Palestine by Country
The recent conflict between Hamas and Israel has brought the Gaza Strip, and the partially recognized State of Palestine, prominently into the focus of the global news cycle.
In the graphic above, we use Wikipedia data to map the countries that currently recognize Palestine as a state and those that don’t.
This post is a companion piece to our map showing the recognition of Israel by country.
55 Countries Do Not Recognize Palestine
On November 15, 1988, the State of Palestine was officially proclaimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coalition. The state claimed sovereignty of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
As of November 2023, 138 of the 193 UN members (72%) recognize the State of Palestine.
Here are the 55 countries that don’t recognize Palestine:
State | Recognizes Palestine? |
---|---|
🇦🇩 Andorra | No |
🇦🇲 Armenia | No |
🇦🇺 Australia | No, informal relations |
🇦🇹 Austria | No, informal relations |
🇧🇸 Bahamas | No |
🇧🇧 Barbados | No |
🇧🇪 Belgium | No, informal relations |
🇨🇲 Cameroon | No, informal relations |
🇨🇦 Canada | No, informal relations |
🇭🇷 Croatia | No, informal relations |
🇩🇰 Denmark | No, informal relations |
🇪🇷 Eritrea | No, informal relations |
🇪🇪 Estonia | No, informal relations |
🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia | No |
🇫🇯 Fiji | No |
🇫🇮 Finland | No, informal relations |
🇫🇷 France | No, informal relations |
🇩🇪 Germany | No, informal relations |
🇬🇷 Greece | No, informal relations |
🇮🇪 Ireland | No, informal relations |
🇮🇱 Israel | No, informal relations |
🇮🇹 Italy | No, informal relations |
🇯🇲 Jamaica | No |
🇯🇵 Japan | No, informal relations |
🇰🇮 Kiribati | No |
🇱🇻 Latvia | No, informal relations |
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | No |
🇱🇹 Lithuania | No, informal relations |
🇱🇺 Luxembourg | No, informal relations |
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | No |
🇲🇽 Mexico | No, informal relations |
🇲🇩 Moldova | No, informal relations |
🇲🇨 Monaco | No |
🇲🇲 Myanmar | No |
🇳🇷 Nauru | No |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | No, informal relations |
🇳🇿 New Zealand | No, informal relations |
🇲🇰 North Macedonia | No |
🇳🇴 Norway | No, informal relations |
🇵🇼 Palau | No |
🇵🇦 Panama | No |
🇵🇹 Portugal | No, informal relations |
🇼🇸 Samoa | No |
🇸🇲 San Marino | No |
🇸🇬 Singapore | No |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | No, informal relations |
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | No |
🇰🇷 South Korea | No, informal relations |
🇪🇸 Spain | No, informal relations |
🇨🇭 Switzerland | No, informal relations |
🇹🇴 Tonga | No |
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | No |
🇹🇻 Tuvalu | No |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | No, informal relations |
🇺🇸 United States | No, informal relations |
Many of the world’s Western countries, including the entire G7, do not recognize Palestine. Instead, many maintain informal diplomatic relations.
In contrast, emerging major economies like those within BRICS and other G20 nations, including Argentina, Indonesia, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, officially recognize the state.
In 2012, the State of Palestine was also upgraded by the UN to become a non-member observer state, a status shared only by the Holy See of Vatican City.
Hamas and the Gaza Strip
Officially, the United Nations recognizes the PLO as the governing entity in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, both of which fell under Israeli control following the 1967 Six-Day War.
After the Oslo Accords were signed by Israel and the PLO in the mid 1990s, the PLO gained control over the Gaza Strip and 40% of the West Bank through the newly-created Palestinian Authority administration.
However, following a 2007 military conflict between rival Palestinian factions Fatah (the majority party of the PLO) and Hamas (a militant political party separate from the PLO), the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas.
As of November 2023, just under 72% of UN members recognized Palestine as a country, compared to 84% for the State of Israel.
Countries
Ranked: Share of Global Arms Exports in 2022
The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter in the world, but which other countries take up a significant share of global arms exports in 2022? And how has that share changed over time?

Ranked: Share of Global Arms Exports 2018–2022
In 2022, global military budgets hit $2.2 trillion, an eighth consecutive year of increase.
Part of those budgets were used for the procurement of arms, but which countries are major weapons suppliers, and how do they influence the global arms trade?
We chart out the top 10 countries with the biggest share of global arms exports using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Which Country Exports the Most Weapons?
The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter, accounting for 40% of the total volume of international arms transfers between 2018–2022. Nearly one-fifth of these exports headed to Saudi Arabia, and other significant amounts went to Japan (8.6%) and Australia (8.4%).
Below we rank the biggest weapons exporters by share of total volume traded in 2018–2022, as well as their growth or decline from trends recorded in 2013–2017.
Rank | Country | % share of global arms exports (2018-2022) | % change between 2013-17 & 2018-22 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 40% | +14% |
2 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 16% | -31% |
3 | 🇫🇷 France | 11% | +44% |
4 | 🇨🇳 China | 5% | -23% |
5 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 4% | -35% |
6 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 4% | +45% |
7 | 🇬🇧 UK | 3% | -35% |
8 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 3% | -4% |
9 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 2% | +74% |
10 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 2% | -15% |
N/A | 🌐 Rest of World | 9% | N/A |
Russia (16%) and France (11%) rank close together, followed by China (5%) and Germany (4%) to round out the top five major arms exporters.
However France’s export volumes grown considerably (+44%) from the previous five-year period, thanks to big sales to India, which included 62 combat aircraft and four submarines, one-third of all French weapons trade. This has resulted in France leapfrogging the U.S. as India’s second-largest weapons supplier after Russia.
On the other hand, Russia’s exports by volume has decreased (-31%) even before sanctions kicked in after the invasion of Ukraine. Its biggest trade partners, India and China, have prioritized developing their own weapons industries.
South Korea’s Surging Weapons Exports
Another country whose arms sales are skyrocketing is South Korea, which ranks 9th in the overall share of global arms exports, but has seen a 74% increase in its export volumes. Key recipients include the Philippines, India, and Thailand.
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to grow his country into the world’s fourth largest arms exporter by 2027.
Interestingly, South Korea is one of three countries which is both a top-10 arms exporter and importer (along with China and the U.S.) as it has many takers for domestically produced military equipment, while simultaneously being reliant on American-produced long-range missiles and advanced combat aircraft.
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