Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

As of January 2021, the number of countries that have joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China is 140*.

140 countries are part of the BRI*

according to www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn

The countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are spread across all continents:

  • 40 countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • 34 BRI countries are in Europe & Central Asia (including 18 countries of the European Union (EU) that are part of the BRI)
  • 24 BRI countries are in East Asia & pacific
  • 17 BRI countries in Middle East & North Africa
  • 19 BRI countries are in Latin America & Caribbean
  • 6 countries are in South East Asia

*For some countries that are listed as having signed an MoU for the BRI, the availability of independent information is contradictory. For example, the seven countries of Austria, Benin, Comoros, Congo D.R., Dominica, Niger and Russian Federation have not published a confirmation of signing a full MoU or even denied it. These countries are listed as “null” in the following map of countries of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Map of countries of the Belt and Road Initiative BRI 2021
Map of countries of the Belt and Road Initiative BRI 2021 (Source: IIGF Green BRI Center, 2021)

The trade and investment relationship of each BRI country with China is highly specific. More information about each 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).

CountryRegionIncomeGroup
AfghanistanSouth AsiaLow income
AlbaniaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
AlgeriaMiddle East & North AfricaUpper middle income
AngolaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
Antigua and BarbudaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
ArmeniaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
Austria*Europe & Central AsiaHigh income
AzerbaijanEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
BahrainMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
BangladeshSouth AsiaLower middle income
BarbadosLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
BelarusEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
Benin*Sub-Saharan AfricaLow income
BoliviaLatin America & CaribbeanLower middle income
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
BotswanaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper middle income
Brunei DarussalamEast Asia & PacificHigh income
BulgariaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
BurundiSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
Cabo VerdeSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
CambodiaEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
CameroonSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
ChadSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
ChileLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
ChinaEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
Comoros*Sub-Saharan AfricaLow income
Congo, Dem. Rep.Sub-Saharan AfricaLow income
Congo, Rep.*Sub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
Cook IslandsEast Asia & Pacific
Costa RicaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
Côte d’IvoireSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
CroatiaEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
CubaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
CyprusEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
Czech RepublicEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
DjiboutiMiddle East & North AfricaLower middle income
Dominica*Latin America & CaribbeanLow income
Dominican RepublicLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
EcuadorLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
Egypt, Arab Rep.Middle East & North AfricaLower middle income
El SalvadorLatin America & CaribbeanLower middle income
Equatorial GuineaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper middle income
EstoniaEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
EthiopiaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
FijiEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
GabonSub-Saharan AfricaUpper middle income
Gambia, TheSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
GeorgiaEurope & Central AsiaLower middle income
GhanaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
GreeceEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
GrenadaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
GuineaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
GuyanaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
HungaryEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
IndonesiaEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
Iran, Islamic Rep.Middle East & North AfricaUpper middle income
IraqMiddle East & North AfricaUpper middle income
ItalyEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
JamaicaLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
KazakhstanEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
KenyaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
KiribatiEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
Korea, Rep.East Asia & PacificHigh income
KuwaitMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
Kyrgyz RepublicEurope & Central AsiaLower middle income
Lao PDREast Asia & PacificLower middle income
LatviaEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
LebanonMiddle East & North AfricaUpper middle income
LesothoSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
LiberiaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
LibyaMiddle East & North AfricaUpper middle income
LithuaniaEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
LuxembourgEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
MadagascarSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
MalaysiaEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
MaldivesSouth AsiaUpper middle income
MaliSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
MaltaMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
MauritaniaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.East Asia & PacificLower middle income
MoldovaEurope & Central AsiaLower middle income
MongoliaEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
MontenegroEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
MoroccoMiddle East & North AfricaLower middle income
MozambiqueSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
MyanmarEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
NamibiaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper middle income
NepalSouth AsiaLow income
New ZealandEast Asia & PacificHigh income
Niger*Sub-Saharan AfricaLow income
NigeriaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
NiueEast Asia & Pacific
North MacedoniaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
OmanMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
PakistanSouth AsiaLower middle income
PanamaLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
PeruLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
PhilippinesEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
PolandEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
PortugalEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
QatarMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
RomaniaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
Russian Federation*Europe & Central AsiaUpper middle income
RwandaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
SamoaEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
Saudi ArabiaMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
SenegalSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
SerbiaEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
SeychellesSub-Saharan AfricaHigh income
Sierra LeoneSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
SingaporeEast Asia & PacificHigh income
Slovak RepublicEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
SloveniaEurope & Central AsiaHigh income
Solomon IslandsEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
SomaliaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaUpper middle income
South SudanSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
Sri LankaSouth AsiaLower middle income
SudanSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
SurinameLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
TajikistanEurope & Central AsiaLow income
TanzaniaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
ThailandEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
Timor-LesteEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
TogoSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
TongaEast Asia & PacificUpper middle income
Trinidad and TobagoLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
TunisiaMiddle East & North AfricaLower middle income
TurkeyEurope & Central AsiaUpper middle income
UgandaSub-Saharan AfricaLow income
UkraineEurope & Central AsiaLower middle income
United Arab EmiratesMiddle East & North AfricaHigh income
UruguayLatin America & CaribbeanHigh income
UzbekistanEurope & Central AsiaLower middle income
VanuatuEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
Venezuela, RBLatin America & CaribbeanUpper middle income
VietnamEast Asia & PacificLower middle income
Yemen, Rep.Middle East & North AfricaLow income
ZambiaSub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income
ZimbabweSub-Saharan AfricaLow income

Update and contact

The data for the BRI countries and years of signature of the BRI MoU are based on a number of official, news and web sources. Please contact us ([email protected]) if you have any questions or suggestions.

Recommended citation:

Nedopil, Christoph (2021): “Countries of the Belt and Road Initiative”; Beijing, IIGF Green BRI Center, www.green-bri.org