Maps
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.
Maps
Mapped: The World’s Wettest and Driest Countries
From tropical rainforests to the sandy deserts of North Africa, the world’s wettest and driest countries are a study in contrasts.
Where are the World’s Wettest and Driest Countries?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
From tropical rainforest nations to the sandy deserts of North Africa and the Middle East, the world’s wettest and driest countries are a study in contrasts.
We map and rank the countries that receive the highest and lowest average annual precipitation in millimeters, per latest data from the World Bank.
Ranked: Top 10 Wettest Countries
Colombia tops the list of nations with the highest average precipitation at 3,240 millimeters (128 inches) in a year.
Its Tutunendo district is the one of the world’s wettest places, averaging nearly 12,000 mm (463 inches) of rain annually.
| Rank | Country | Average Annual Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 3,240 |
| 2 | Sao Tome & Principe | 3,200 |
| 3 | Papua New Guinea | 3,142 |
| 4 | Solomon Islands | 3,028 |
| 5 | Panama | 2,928 |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 2,926 |
| 7 | Samoa | 2,880 |
| 8 | Malaysia | 2,875 |
| 9 | Brunei | 2,722 |
| 10 | Indonesia | 2,702 |
Note: Figures are rounded.
Off the coast of Africa however, Sao Tome & Principe is not far behind Colombia, receiving about 3,200 mm of rain in 2020.
Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands also average more than 3,000 mm of rain in a year, and Panama (2,928 mm) rounds out the top five.
Noticeably, all 10 countries lie in close proximity to the equator, and near oceans, where rising hot and humid air leads to abundant rainfall.
Ranked: Top 10 Driest Countries
On the other end of the scale, Egypt records the lowest average annual rainfall across all countries, at 18 mm (0.7 inches). For comparison, Colombia receives nearly 180x the amount of rain Egypt does.
| Rank | Country | Average Annual Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 18 |
| 2 | Libya | 56 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 59 |
| 4 | Qatar | 74 |
| 5 | UAE | 78 |
| 6 | Bahrain | 83 |
| 7 | Algeria | 89 |
| 8 | Mauritania | 92 |
| 9 | Jordan | 111 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 121 |
Note: Figures are rounded.
In fact, countries from North Africa and the Middle East make up the entirety of this list of the driest countries in the world.
Learn More About Rainfall From Visual Capitalist
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Mapping the Unequal Distribution of Global Precipitation which divides the world into two halves: one that receives more than global average of rain (or snow), and one that receives less.
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