19 May 2023

Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)


In March 2022, the number of countries that have joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China is 148*. Accordingly,

149 countries including China are part of the BRI*according to www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn, 149 countries had signed MoUs including Palestine, which is not an independent country under the United Nations.

The countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are spread across all continents:44 countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa

35 BRI countries are in Europe & Central Asia
25 BRI countries are in East Asia & Pacific (including China)
21 BRI countries are in Latin America & Caribbean
18 BRI countries in Middle East & North Africa
6 countries are in South East Asia

The BRI also works with 18 countries of the European Union (EU) and 9 countries of the G20.

*For some countries that are listed as having signed an MoU for the BRI, the availability of independent information is limited and partly contradictory . For example, Austria, Niger and Russian Federation have not published a confirmation of signing a full MoU for bilateral cooperation under the BRI or even denied it. Some countries’ MoUs have potentially also expired due to their initial duration of 5 years. Some of these countries are listed as “unclear” in the following map of countries of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – by December 2022, 144 to 148 countries had signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with China to cooperate under the BRI framework

The trade and investment relationship of each BRI country with China is highly specific. More information about some BRI country can be found in the “BRI countries” briefs provided on this website, or on request.
Table of countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

The following table provides an overview of the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The field income group is according to the World Bank categorization. The * denotes that we could not find independent information about the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding to become an official “country of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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