China runs the world's largest diplomatic network
Total diplomatic posts (embassies, consulates, permanent missions) by country, Lowy Global Diplomacy Index 2024. Data collected in 2023.
China has the world's biggest diplomatic network, three ahead of the US (271).
The US led China by 23 posts in 2011. China has been ahead since 2019.
Türkiye now ranks third, ahead of Japan, France and Russia, after adding 24 posts since 2017.
the numbers
| Diplomatic posts | |
|---|---|
| China | 274 |
| United States | 271 |
| Türkiye | 252 |
| Japan | 251 |
| France | 249 |
| Russia | 230 |
| United Kingdom | 225 |
| Germany | 217 |
| Italy | 206 |
| Brazil | 205 |
| India | 194 |
| Spain | 190 |
source notes & method
Data collected July–November 2023. The 2024 edition no longer counts a consulate in a city that already hosts the same country's embassy, so counts are not comparable with the 2017 and 2019 editions; no older comparison is shown. India is 194 in the Lowy key-findings PDF (some secondary tables show 201). The 2011 and 2019 gap figures are Lowy's own.
Published 28 Sep 2026
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