Which countries do not have any McDonald's restaurants?

• AFGHANISTAN has yet to succumb to McDonaldism, though I can recommend the local equivalent, chapli kebabs folded in hot nan as being far superior to anything McDonald's can offer. Nor have I seen an official McDonald's in Pakistan, though there are numerous copycat fast-food shops in Islamabad and Peshawar which sell excellent pizza, spicy chicken and meatburgers.

  Jonathan Lee, Sheffield.

• JAMIE FERGUSON is a little out of date. India's first McDonald's opened in a shopping centre in the suburbs of Delhi on October 13 and I visited it two days later. It is the world's first beef-free McDonald's. I had a Maharaja Mac, made with lamb. There are no McDonald's at all in Black Africa outside South Africa. Nick Whitehead, Geneva, Switzerland.

• MCDONALD'S Head Office in London says that they operate in 91 countries. There are 121 other countries in the world. Harish and Chandni Shah, Harringay, London N4.

• UZBEKISTAN has Korean burgers, Turkish burgers and downright Inedible burgers but as yet no McDonald's. And I don't believe that Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have branched out yet either. I am undecided as to whether this is a good thing or not.

  Emma Webb, United Nations, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

• THERE is no McDonald's in Sri Lanka - is this paradise? Alyson Hilbourne, OSC, Sri Lanka.

• LIKE ALL queries asking "Which countries...?" this presupposes the existence of a universally recognised set of criteria for defining a country. Tibet has no McDonald's, but on the downside it has very little say in its own affairs as it is dominated by the occupying Chinese (which allowed McDonald's in in the early 1990s). However, David Hollingworth and Elizabeth Hughes are wrong to say that the yak burger has yet to be invented. I enjoyed several in the highlands of Tibet in the summer of 1995, and in towns such as Xiahe they are commonly seen on restuarant menus - one restaurant was even serving yak pizza. While they were originally invented to attract the custom of the increasing number of Western tourists visiting Tibet, Tibetans themselves seem no less keen on them. Tibetans were given special dispensation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to break with the usual Buddhist strictures on the consumption of meat on the grounds that many would starve if they were prohibited from eating yak flesh. Incidentally, and apropos of China's McDonald's, the prize for the all-time most inappropriate McDonald's promotion must surely go to the Zhongshan Guang Chang branch of McDonald's in Shanghai which in the spring of 1996 celebrated its opening by displaying a gigantic fibreglass Ronald McDonald figure in the form of the Buddha seated in the lotus position. The sight of civilisation's most famous vegetarian being used to promote McDonald's hamburgers made even McDonald's supporters sick and the image was removed within a month. Richard Harrold Suratthani, Thailand (mathus@samart.co.th)

• I HAVE seen mutton burgers on the menu in India, eaten goat burgers in central Zaire, and camel burgers are commercially available here in Australia. Cathy Watson, Alice Springs, Australia.

• I wonder why Mcdonald's restaurants are not in Bangladesh. There is huge opportunity. Both KFC and Pizzahut are doing huge business. At least 10 outlets could be opened in Dhaka & Chittagong. I am quite sure that the return on investment in Bangladesh would be better than in India. There is clear gap between the supply and demand of quality fast food.

  Muhsin, Dhaka Bangladesh

• McDonald's is still not in Nepal. Is this a surprise? We were expecting McDonald's in 2009, along with KFC but it still seems difficult for them to set up here. But there is a market for it because of its brand name and higher purchasing capacities of people around Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dharan. The top 15% of earners in Nepal spend around one trillion dollars annually. Can you imagine? But unstable politics, strong labour unions, and poor security are hindrance to entrance, I think.

  Sunil, Kathmandu, Nepal

• The last Mc in Iceland closed in 2009 due to the impact of the recession, the rising cost of importing ingredients. Enough to say that salmon is cheaper there than any other meat. They don't even need McDonalds, they have similar but far better places to eat, using local ingredients.

  Kata, Budapest Hungary

• Some readers here obviously lack global knowledge. Both India and Pakistan have official McDonalds restaurants that are doing really well.

  Selim, New York, USA

• Albania

  Andi, Tirana Albania

• Nepal doesn't have any McDonald's outlets, even in the capital city, Kathmandu.

  Sujan, Kathmandu Nepal

• I love McDonald's... No branch yet.. But I hope my children can meet u on streets of Tehran....:x

  Amir, Tehran Iran

• Unless they have closed, Romania definitely had at least 2 McDonalds branches in Brasov. I am a shamed ex-vegetarian who lived on their apple pies while working there years ago.

  Mina42, Ireland

• There is no McDonald in Montenegro. There was one operating only during summer seasons in Budva close to the beach but the closed. Here people more like sea food, and I guess market is to small for such a big chain.

  Jovan, Kotor Montenegro