Djibouti’s whitewalled Hummer.
When you watch the world news on TV, you’re probably looking to see what kind of car that obscure president/prime minister is riding in. We all know about Obama’s Cadillac and China’s Hongqi, but what about the other 195 world leaders (193 U.N. member states, plus Palestine, Taiwan, the Vatican, and Kosovo)?
Well, in 2007 and 2008 (and briefly in 2011 thanks to the addition of South Sudan as a new country), I summoned the collective power of about a half-dozen search engines (and an email exchange with the editor of the largest newspaper in the Federated States of Micronesia) and came up with this list. Compiling this was fun, frustrating, and eye-numbing.
East Timor’s Prime Minister needs to uparmor his Land Cruiser, stat.
Without further ado, here is the final tally:
Mercedes S-Class (61 countries), Toyota Land Cruiser (23), BMW 7-Series (16), Audi A8 (11), Cadillac (7), Maybach (6), GM Suburban/Yukon/Escalade (6), Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero (4), VW Phaeton (4), Mercedes G-wagen (4), Holden/Chevy/Opel (4), Hummer H2 (3), Toyota Crown (3), Lincoln (3), Jaguar (2), ZIL (2), Volvo (2), VW Touareg (2), Mercedes E-Class (2), Lancia (2).
The following cars each showed up just once on the list: Hyundai, Skoda, Audi A6, Peugeot, Renault, VW van, London taxi, Daimler, Toyota Century, Hongqi, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Ford Fairlane, Aston Martin, SEAT, Ford Expedition, Nissan Patrol, Stutz, Suzuki, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sequoia, Proton, Land Rover, Ford F150, Mitsubishi Galant, Hummer H1, Chrysler Imperial, Mitsubishi L200 pick-up, Mazda truck, Hyundai Tuscon.
The ratio of cars versus trucks/SUVs was 143 to 54. By nationality, there were 109 German vehicles, 38 Japanese, 27 “Other”, and 23 American.
Peru’s president was doing some spring cleaning and decided to get rid of this Imperial
Here is the complete list. The methodology is complicated. Some countries have both a head of state and a head of government. When possible, I chose the person with more power/notoriety. Sometimes, a leader had multiple vehicles. In that situation, I counted whatever vehicle I could verify with a photograph or news story.
- Afghanistan: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Albania: Mercedes S-Class
- Algeria: Mercedes S-Class
- Andorra: Audi A8
- Angola: Mercedes G-wagen
- Antigua and Barbuda: Mercedes S-Class
- Argentina: Audi A6
- Armenia: BMW 7-Series
- Australia: Golden Statesman
- Austria: Audi A8
- Azerbaijan: Mercedes S-Class
- Bahamas: Cadillac DTS
- Bahrain: Maybach
- Bangladesh: Mitsubishi Pajero
- Barbados: Mitsubishi Pajero
- Belarus: Mercedes S-Class
- Belgium: Audi A8
- Belize: Toyota Camry
- Benin: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Bhutan: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Bolivia: BMW 7-Series
- Bosnia-Herzegovina: Audi A8
- Botswana: Bentley Arnage
- Brazil: Chevy Omega
- Brunei: Rolls-Royce
- Bulgaria: Mercedes S-Class
- Burkina Faso: Cadillac Escalade
- Burundi: Mercedes S-Class
- Cambodia: Mercedes S-Class
- Cameroon: Mercedes S-Class
- Canada: Lincoln Town Car
- Cape Verde: Mitsubishi Montero Sport
- Central African Republic: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Chad: Hummer H2
- Chile: Peugeot 607
- China: Hongqi
- Colombia: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Comoros: Mitsubishi L200 pick-up
- Congo, Democratic Republic of: Mercedes S-Class
- Congo, Republic of the: Mercedes S-Class
- Costa Rica: Land Rover LR3
- Croatia: BMW 7-Series
- Cuba: ZIL
- Cyprus: Mercedes S-Class
- Czech Republic: Skoda
- Denmark: Mercedes S-Class
- Djibouti: Hummer H1
- Dominica: Suzuki
- Dominican Republic: Toyota Land Cruiser
- East Timor: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Ecuador: Nissan Patrol
- Egypt: BMW 7-Series
- El Salvador: Toyota Sequoia
- Equatorial Guinea: Mercedes S-Class
- Eritrea: BMW 7-Series
- Estonia: Audi A8
- Ethiopia: Lincoln Town Car
- Federated States of Micronesia: Hyundai Tucson
- Fiji: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Finland: BMW 7-Series
- France: Renault Safrane Biturbo
- Gabon: Stutz Royale
- Gambia, The: Hummer H2
- Georgia: Mercedes S-Class
- Germany: VW Phaeton
- Ghana: Mercedes S-Class
- Guinea: Mercedes S-Class
- Guinea-Bissau: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Great Britain: Jaguar Super 8
- Greece: Mercedes S-Class
- Grenada: Mitsubishi Montero
- Guatemala: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Guyana: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Haiti: Chevy Suburban
- Honduras: Chevy Suburban
- Hungary: Audi A8
- Iceland: 1980s Cadillac
- India: BMW 7-Series
- Indonesia: Mercedes S-Class
- Iran: Mercedes S-Class
- Iraq: BMW 7-Series
- Ireland: Mercedes S-Class
- Israel: Volvo
- Italy: Lancia Thesis
- Ivory Coast: VW Touareg
- Jamaica: Volvo S80
- Japan: Toyota Century
- Jordan: Mercedes S-Class
- Kazakhstan: Mercedes S-Class
- Kenya: Mercedes S-Class
- Kiribati: Toyota Crown (educated guess)
- Korea, North: VW Phaeton
- Korea, South: Hyundai Equus
- Kosovo: VW Touareg
- Kuwait: Chevy Suburban
- Kyrgyzstan: Mercedes S-Class
- Laos: Mercedes S-Class
- Latvia: BMW 7-Series
- Lebanon: Mercedes S-Class
- Lesotho: Mercedes S-Class
- Liberia: Mercedes S-Class
- Libya: Mercedes S-Class
- Liechtenstein: Audi A8
- Lithuania: Mercedes S-Class
- Luxembourg: Mercedes S-Class
- Macedonia: Mercedes S-Class
- Madagascar: Mercedes S-Class
- Malawi: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Malaysia: Proton
- Maldives: Mercedes S-Class
- Mali: Hummer H2
- Malta: Cadillac CTS
- Marshall Islands: Cadillac DTS
- Mauritania: Mercedes S-Class
- Mauritius: Aston Martin DB9
- Mexico: Chevy Suburban
- Moldova: Mercedes S-Class
- Monaco: Daimler
- Mongolia: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Montenegro: Audi A8
- Morocco: Mercedes S-Class
- Mozambique: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Myanmar: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Namibia: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Nauru: Mercedes E-Class
- Nepal: Jaguar
- Netherlands, The: BMW 7-Series
- New Zealand: Ford Fairlane
- Nicaragua: Mercedes G-wagen
- Niger: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Nigeria: Mercedes S-Class
- Norway: BMW 7-Series
- Oman: Maybach
- Pakistan: Mercedes S-Class
- Palau: Ford F150
- Palestine: Mercedes S-Class
- Panama: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Papua New Guinea: Mercedes E-Class
- Paraguay: GMC Yukon
- Peru: 1973 Chrysler New Yorker
- Philippines: Mercedes S-Class
- Poland: BMW 7-Series
- Portugal: VW Phaeton
- Qatar: Maybach
- Romania: Mercedes S-Class
- Russia: ZIL
- Rwanda: Mercedes G-wagen
- St. Kitts and Nevis: Toyota Crown Royal
- St. Lucia: BMW 7-Series
- St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Samoa: Holden
- San Marino: Lancia Thesis
- Sao Tome e Principe: BMW 7-Series
- Saudi Arabia: Maybach
- Senegal: Ford Expedition
- Serbia: BMW 7-Series
- Seychelles: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Sierra Leone: Mercedes S-Class
- Singapore: Mercedes S-Class
- Slovakia: SEAT race car
- Slovenia: Audi A8
- Solomon Islands: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Somalia: Mercedes S-Class
- South Africa: Mercedes S-Class
- South Sudan: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Spain: Audi A8
- Sri Lanka: BMW 7-Series
- Sudan: Mercedes S-Class
- Suriname: Lincoln Continental
- Swaziland: Maybach
- Sweden: Mercedes S-Class
- Switzerland: Audi A8
- Syria: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Taiwan: Cadillac
- Tajikistan: Mercedes G-wagen
- Tanzania: Mercedes S-Class
- Thailand: VW T5 Eurovan
- Togo: Mercedes S-Class
- Tonga: London taxi
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Tunisia: Mercedes S-Class
- Turkey: Mercedes S-Class
- Turkmenistan: Mercedes S-Class
- Tuvalu: Mazda truck
- Uganda: Mercedes S-Class
- Ukraine: Mercedes S-Class
- United Arab Emirates: Maybach
- U.S.A.: Cadillac
- Uruguay: Chevy/Holden/Opel Vectra
- Uzbekistan: Mercedes S-Class
- Vanuatu: Mitsubishi Galant
- Vatican, The: VW Phaeton
- Venezuela: Cadillac Fleetwood
- Vietnam: Toyota Crown
- Yemen: Mercedes S-Class
- Zambia: Mercedes S-Class
- Zimbabwe: Mercedes S-Class Pullman
Here is China’s Hu Jintao reviewing the troops in his very snazzy Hongqi:
Source of Djibouti’s Hummer image: Saharan Vibe
Source of East Timor’s Land Cruiser image: ABC
Source of Peru’s Chrysler Imperial image: Imperial Club
