Mapped: Recognition of Israel by Country
The recognition of Israel’s sovereignty has remained a dynamic and intricate issue since its establishment in 1948.
In the graphic above, we use Wikipedia data to map the countries that currently recognize Israel as a state and those that don’t. The post reflects data as of November 14, 2023, when Belize suspended diplomatic relations with Israel over the Israel-Hamas War.
This post is a companion piece to our map showing the recognition of Palestine by country.
30 Countries Do Not Recognize Israel
As of November 2023, 163 of the 193 UN members recognize Israel as a state, including all G7 countries. Even the State of Palestine recognized Israel as part of the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Here are the 30 countries that don’t recognize Israel:
| State | Recognized Israel? |
|---|---|
| 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | Never |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | Never |
| 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Never |
| 🇧🇿 Belize | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇧🇴 Bolivia | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇧🇳 Brunei | Never |
| 🇰🇲 Comoros | Never |
| 🇨🇺 Cuba | Withdrew |
| 🇩🇯 Djibouti | Never |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Never |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | Withdrew |
| 🇮🇶 Iraq | Never |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | Never |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanon | Never |
| 🇱🇾 Libya | Never |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Never |
| 🇲🇻 Maldives | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇲🇱 Mali | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇲🇷 Mauritania | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇳🇪 Niger | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇰🇵 North Korea | Never |
| 🇴🇲 Oman | Never |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Never |
| 🇶🇦 Qatar | Never |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | Never |
| 🇸🇴 Somalia | Never |
| 🇸🇾 Syria | Never |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisia | Never |
| 🇻🇪 Venezuela | Suspended/Cut Relations |
| 🇾🇪 Yemen | Never |
With the exception of five countries—Belize, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela—the countries that do not recognize Israel are predominantly Muslim.
Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria have never recognized Israel and technically remain in a state of war with the country. Iran also doesn’t recognize Israel, but actually had relations with the country in the past before severing all ties following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Likewise, Cuba recognized Israel in 1949, but reversed its position in 1973 and actively supported Egypt and Syria against it during that year’s Yom Kippur War.
On the other hand, some Muslim-majority countries including Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, have gradually normalized with the country.
Effects of the Israel-Hamas War
Relations between Israel and other countries are often strained when it engages in military conflicts, especially in the Gaza Strip.
In some cases those relations have broken completely. Venezuela broke all diplomatic ties with Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. More recently, in addition to Belize, Bolivia cut official ties with Israel over the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
As of November 2023, 84% of UN members recognized Israel as a country, compared to 72% for the State of Palestine.
