Mapped: Which Countries Recognize Israel or Palestine, or Both?

Posted on November 24, 2023

Which Countries Recognize Israel or Palestine, or Both?

The modern-day conflict between Israel and Palestine emerged from the British Mandate for Palestine, which administered the former Ottoman Empire territory after World War I. But even after 75 years—and declarations of independence from each side—universal recognition eludes them.

In this visualization, we look at how Israel and Palestine recognition breaks down among the 193 UN member states as of November 14, 2023, using Wikpedia data for each state.

This post is a companion piece to separate maps showing the recognition of Israel and of Palestine by country.

A Declaration of Independence

The Jewish People’s Council declared the foundation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 (the same day that the last British forces left Haifa) on the basis of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, which divided the Mandate territories between Jewish and Arab populations.

U.S. President Truman granted de-facto recognition 11 minutes after the Israeli declaration. Not to be outdone by their Cold War adversary, the U.S.S.R. followed suit three days later with de-jure recognition and was joined by Warsaw Pact allies Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Poland.

By the end of 1948, 21 countries recognized Israel.

A Second Declaration of Independence

A declaration of independence for the State of Palestine, comprising the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, didn’t happen until 40 years later.

In the midst of the First Intifada, a five-year-long Palestinian uprising that began in 1987, the Palestine Liberation Organization proclaimed the new state in the city of Algiers on November 15, 1988.

A dozen countries, including 10 members of the Arab League along with Malaysia and Yemen, immediately recognized the new state. The Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc, and most of the Muslim world also joined in recognizing the State of Palestine.

Recognition of Israel and Palestine by Country

As of November 2023, 163 UN member states have recognized Israel, while 138 have recognized Palestine.

UN Member State Recognize Israel 🇮🇱 Recognize Palestine 🇵🇸
🇦🇫 Afghanistan No Yes
🇦🇱 Albania Yes Yes
🇩🇿 Algeria No Yes
🇦🇩 Andorra Yes No
🇦🇴 Angola Yes Yes
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda Yes Yes
🇦🇷 Argentina Yes Yes
🇦🇲 Armenia Yes No
🇦🇺 Australia Yes No
🇦🇹 Austria Yes No
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan Yes Yes
🇧🇸 Bahamas Yes No
🇧🇭 Bahrain Yes Yes
🇧🇩 Bangladesh No Yes
🇧🇧 Barbados Yes No
🇧🇾 Belarus Yes Yes
🇧🇪 Belgium Yes No
🇧🇿 Belize No Yes
🇧🇯 Benin Yes Yes
🇧🇹 Bhutan Yes Yes
🇧🇴 Bolivia No Yes
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes Yes
🇧🇼 Botswana Yes Yes
🇧🇷 Brazil Yes Yes
🇧🇳 Brunei No Yes
🇧🇬 Bulgaria Yes Yes
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso Yes Yes
🇧🇮 Burundi Yes Yes
🇰🇭 Cambodia Yes Yes
🇨🇲 Cameroon Yes No
🇨🇦 Canada Yes No
🇨🇻 Cape Verde Yes Yes
🇨🇫 Central African Republic Yes Yes
🇹🇩 Chad Yes Yes
🇨🇱 Chile Yes Yes
🇨🇳 China Yes Yes
🇨🇴 Colombia Yes Yes
🇰🇲 Comoros No Yes
🇨🇷 Costa Rica Yes Yes
🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire Yes Yes
🇭🇷 Croatia Yes No
🇨🇺 Cuba No Yes
🇨🇾 Cyprus Yes Yes
🇨🇿 Czechia Yes Yes
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo Yes Yes
🇩🇰 Denmark Yes No
🇩🇯 Djibouti No Yes
🇩🇲 Dominica Yes Yes
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic Yes Yes
🇪🇨 Ecuador Yes Yes
🇪🇬 Egypt Yes Yes
🇸🇻 El Salvador Yes Yes
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea Yes Yes
🇪🇷 Eritrea Yes No
🇪🇪 Estonia Yes No
🇸🇿 Eswatini Yes Yes
🇪🇹 Ethiopia Yes Yes
🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia Yes No
🇫🇯 Fiji Yes No
🇫🇮 Finland Yes No
🇫🇷 France Yes No
🇬🇦 Gabon Yes Yes
🇬🇪 Georgia Yes Yes
🇩🇪 Germany Yes No
🇬🇭 Ghana Yes Yes
🇬🇷 Greece Yes No
🇬🇩 Grenada Yes Yes
🇬🇹 Guatemala Yes Yes
🇬🇳 Guinea Yes Yes
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau Yes Yes
🇬🇾 Guyana Yes Yes
🇭🇹 Haiti Yes Yes
🇭🇳 Honduras Yes Yes
🇭🇺 Hungary Yes Yes
🇮🇸 Iceland Yes Yes
🇮🇳 India Yes Yes
🇮🇩 Indonesia No Yes
🇮🇷 Iran No Yes
🇮🇶 Iraq No Yes
🇮🇪 Ireland Yes No
🇮🇱 Israel Yes No
🇮🇹 Italy Yes No
🇯🇲 Jamaica Yes No
🇯🇵 Japan Yes No
🇯🇴 Jordan Yes Yes
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Yes Yes
🇰🇪 Kenya Yes Yes
🇰🇮 Kiribati Yes No
🇰🇼 Kuwait No Yes
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan Yes Yes
🇱🇦 Laos Yes Yes
🇱🇻 Latvia Yes No
🇱🇧 Lebanon No Yes
🇱🇸 Lesotho Yes Yes
🇱🇷 Liberia Yes Yes
🇱🇾 Libya No Yes
🇱🇮 Liechtenstein Yes No
🇱🇹 Lithuania Yes No
🇱🇺 Luxembourg Yes No
🇲🇬 Madagascar Yes Yes
🇲🇼 Malawi Yes Yes
🇲🇾 Malaysia No Yes
🇲🇻 Maldives No Yes
🇲🇱 Mali No Yes
🇲🇹 Malta Yes Yes
🇲🇭 Marshall Islands Yes No
🇲🇷 Mauritania No Yes
🇲🇺 Mauritius Yes Yes
🇲🇽 Mexico Yes No
🇲🇩 Moldova Yes No
🇲🇨 Monaco Yes No
🇲🇳 Mongolia Yes Yes
🇲🇪 Montenegro Yes Yes
🇲🇦 Morocco Yes Yes
🇲🇿 Mozambique Yes Yes
🇲🇲 Myanmar Yes No
🇳🇦 Namibia Yes Yes
🇳🇷 Nauru Yes No
🇳🇵 Nepal Yes Yes
🇳🇱 Netherlands Yes No
🇳🇿 New Zealand Yes No
🇳🇮 Nicaragua Yes Yes
🇳🇪 Niger No Yes
🇳🇬 Nigeria Yes Yes
🇰🇵 North Korea No Yes
🇲🇰 North Macedonia Yes No
🇳🇴 Norway Yes No
🇴🇲 Oman No Yes
🇵🇰 Pakistan No Yes
🇵🇼 Palau Yes No
🇵🇦 Panama Yes No
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea Yes Yes
🇵🇾 Paraguay Yes Yes
🇵🇪 Peru Yes Yes
🇵🇭 Philippines Yes Yes
🇵🇱 Poland Yes Yes
🇵🇹 Portugal Yes No
🇶🇦 Qatar No Yes
🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo Yes Yes
🇷🇴 Romania Yes Yes
🇷🇺 Russia Yes Yes
🇷🇼 Rwanda Yes Yes
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis Yes Yes
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia Yes Yes
🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Yes Yes
🇼🇸 Samoa Yes No
🇸🇲 San Marino Yes No
🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe Yes Yes
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia No Yes
🇸🇳 Senegal Yes Yes
🇷🇸 Serbia Yes Yes
🇸🇨 Seychelles Yes Yes
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Yes Yes
🇸🇬 Singapore Yes No
🇸🇰 Slovakia Yes Yes
🇸🇮 Slovenia Yes No
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Yes No
🇸🇴 Somalia No Yes
🇿🇦 South Africa Yes Yes
🇰🇷 South Korea Yes No
🇸🇸 South Sudan Yes Yes
🇪🇸 Spain Yes No
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka Yes Yes
🇸🇩 Sudan Yes Yes
🇸🇷 Suriname Yes Yes
🇸🇪 Sweden Yes Yes
🇨🇭 Switzerland Yes No
🇸🇾 Syria No Yes
🇹🇯 Tajikistan Yes Yes
🇹🇿 Tanzania Yes Yes
🇹🇭 Thailand Yes Yes
🇬🇲 The Gambia Yes Yes
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste Yes Yes
🇹🇬 Togo Yes Yes
🇹🇴 Tonga Yes No
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Yes No
🇹🇳 Tunisia No Yes
🇹🇷 Türkiye Yes Yes
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan Yes Yes
🇹🇻 Tuvalu Yes No
🇺🇬 Uganda Yes Yes
🇺🇦 Ukraine Yes Yes
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates Yes Yes
🇬🇧 United Kingdom Yes No
🇺🇸 United States Yes No
🇺🇾 Uruguay Yes Yes
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan Yes Yes
🇻🇺 Vanuatu Yes Yes
🇻🇪 Venezuela No Yes
🇻🇳 Vietnam Yes Yes
🇾🇪 Yemen No Yes
🇿🇲 Zambia Yes Yes
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe Yes Yes

Most of the countries that do not currently recognize Israel are Muslim-majority countries. However, some Muslim-majority countries have recognized Israel, such as Egypt and Jordan, who specifically agreed to do so under peace treaties signed in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Several conflicts have also resulted in some countries suspending relations with Israel. The 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars (also called the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, respectively) all saw countries suspend diplomatic relations, including Mali and the Maldives. In the case of Eastern Bloc countries that did so in 1967 and 1973, many resumed relations after the fall of the Soviet Union.

On the other side, despite more countries recognizing the State of Palestine over time, none of the G7 and only nine of the G20 have recognized the state. Similarly, only a minority of the EU has endorsed the declaration.

Present-Day

Israel and Palestine continue to vie for recognition in the international arena, with the former gaining recognition from a few countries including Bhutan and the UAE in 2020, and the latter from Colombia in 2018 and Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2019.

But universal recognition continues to elude both sides, with many countries awaiting a formal resolution to the conflict from the two sides.

It’s worth noting that both Israel and Palestine took steps towards recognition under the Oslo Accords, signed on September 13, 1993. The agreement saw Palestine recognize the State of Israel, put an end to the First Intifada, and allowed for limited self-government under a new Palestinian National Authority in Gaza and the West Bank. It promised to lay the groundwork for a two-state solution; a promise of peace that has yet to be realized.