McDonald's: How many branches does the fast-food chain have all over the world?

McDonald's was first established in the year 1940 in Alabama, United States of America by the McDonald's brothers. Since then, this once tiny business has grown exponentially.

Over time, it has become a big international franchise, and has opened many branches worldwide. In fact, with its famous tagline of having served over a billion hamburgers since the business started, McDonald's is today one of America's most widely known economic and cultural import, and popular with people from many different countries.

McDonalds is famous for its fast-food menu items like the iconic Big Mac burger, cheeseburgers and of course, McDonald's fries. Here is a list of some crucial moments in the growth of McDonald's franchise:

• 1954: Ray Kroc visited the McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino and got interested in developing it as a franchise
• 1955: The first McDonald’s chain opened in Illinois
• June 1972: The first McDonald's location opened in France
• November 1974: First McDonald's location in England opened
• January 1990: The first McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow starts
• October 1990: McDonald's launched its first location in another new country, China
• 1993: The world’s first McCafé opened in Melbourne, Victoria Australia

Read also: McDonald's original menu items when the fast food chain first started revealed

Number of global McDonald's locations

As per GlobalData, McDonald's restaurants serves approximately 70 million customers daily across its locations worldwide.

In 2021, nearly 33.6% of its total restaurants are still American. As per USA Today, 49 state capitals out of 50 in the United States of America have a McDonald's chain. The only state capital without a McDonald's fast-food branch is Montpelier, Vermont. Globally, countries which have a huge number of McDonald's franchises are China, Japan, France, Canada, Germany, and United Kingdom.

McDonald's website states it is the world's leading global food service retailer and it has 'over 38,000 locations in over 100 countries.'

As per statistics by GlobalData, in 2021, McDonald’s opened 1,494 new restaurants worldwide and closed 661 restaurants. The company generating a total revenue of $23.22 billion in 2021. Out of this $8.71 billion of revenue was from McDonald's fast-food outlets in the US, whereas the remaining 56.3% of the total revenue for the fast-food giant came from its global restaurants.

A look at data from Statista reveals that in 2022, McDonald's Corporation generated a total revenue of $13.08 billion and revenues from royalties collected from franchises worldwide was $ 4.64 billion.

As per World Population Review, McDonald's company employs more than 1.7 million people worldwide and serves 70 million people.

Read more: McDonald's: Iran, Bermuda, North Korea...these countries have banned the fast food chain

McDonald's successful business model

As stated above, McDonald's became a franchise after Ray Kroc purchased the fast-food chain from the McDonalds.  The franchise model has been instrumental in McDonald's success over the years, with the company's menu in a particular country reflecting the food preference of local people from there. McDonald's has successfully optimised their standardised style of service with a locally-tweaked menu which proved to be popular no matter which country it operates from.

McDonald's revenue source include restaurant food sales, franchise royalties and fees, and rent. McDonald's usually owns the leasing agreement or land on which its licensed outlets stand, which is a source of rent for the company. Again, any McDonald's franchise also purchases all menu items including hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, soft drinks, salads, coffee, and desserts from the company to ensure quick service and consistent quality.

This fixed business model has been introduced by the company across the world and it has clearly paid rich dividends for the McDonald's corporation through the years.

Sources used:

GlobalData: McDonald’s: 'Number of Restaurants Globally (2005 – 2021)'

World Population Review: 'Countries without McDonald's 2022'

USA Today Money: 'Number of McDonald's locations in the United States, North America and world in 2022'

Statista: 'McDonald's Corporation franchised restaurant revenue worldwide from 2015 to 2021'

McDonald's: 'Franchising Overview'

McDonald's: 'McDonald's History'