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. 

1. Afghanistan: Toyota Land Cruiser
2. Albania: Mercedes S-Class
3. Algeria: Mercedes S-Class
4. Andorra: Audi A8
5. Angola: Mercedes G-wagen
6. Antigua and Barbuda: Mercedes S-Class
7. Argentina: Audi A6
8. Armenia: BMW 7-Series
9. Australia: Golden Statesman
10. Austria: Audi A8
11. Azerbaijan: Mercedes S-Class
12. Bahamas: Cadillac DTS
13. Bahrain: Maybach
14. Bangladesh: Mitsubishi Pajero
15. Barbados: Mitsubishi Pajero
16. Belarus: Mercedes S-Class
17. Belgium: Audi A8
18. Belize: Toyota Camry
19. Benin: Toyota Land Cruiser
20. Bhutan: Toyota Land Cruiser
21. Bolivia: BMW 7-Series
22. Bosnia-Herzegovina: Audi A8
23. Botswana: Bentley Arnage
24. Brazil: Chevy Omega
25. Brunei: Rolls-Royce
26. Bulgaria: Mercedes S-Class
27. Burkina Faso: Cadillac Escalade
28. Burundi: Mercedes S-Class
29. Cambodia: Mercedes S-Class
30. Cameroon: Mercedes S-Class
31. Canada: Lincoln Town Car
32. Cape Verde: Mitsubishi Montero Sport
33. Central African Republic: Toyota Land Cruiser
34. Chad: Hummer H2
35. Chile: Peugeot 607
36. China: Hongqi
37. Colombia: Toyota Land Cruiser
38. Comoros: Mitsubishi L200 pick-up
39. Congo, Democratic Republic of: Mercedes S-Class
40. Congo, Republic of the: Mercedes S-Class
41. Costa Rica: Land Rover LR3
42. Croatia: BMW 7-Series
43. Cuba: ZIL
44. Cyprus: Mercedes S-Class
45. Czech Republic: Skoda
46. Denmark: Mercedes S-Class
47. Djibouti: Hummer H1
48. Dominica: Suzuki
49. Dominican Republic: Toyota Land Cruiser
50. East Timor: Toyota Land Cruiser
51. Ecuador: Nissan Patrol
52. Egypt: BMW 7-Series
53. El Salvador: Toyota Sequoia
54. Equatorial Guinea: Mercedes S-Class
55. Eritrea: BMW 7-Series
56. Estonia: Audi A8
57. Ethiopia: Lincoln Town Car
58. Federated States of Micronesia: Hyundai Tucson
59. Fiji: Toyota Land Cruiser
60. Finland: BMW 7-Series
61. France: Renault Safrane Biturbo
62. Gabon: Stutz Royale
63. Gambia, The: Hummer H2
64. Georgia: Mercedes S-Class
65. Germany: VW Phaeton
66. Ghana: Mercedes S-Class
67. Guinea: Mercedes S-Class
68. Guinea-Bissau: Toyota Land Cruiser
69. Great Britain: Jaguar Super 8
70. Greece: Mercedes S-Class
71. Grenada: Mitsubishi Montero
72. Guatemala: Toyota Land Cruiser
73. Guyana: Toyota Land Cruiser
74. Haiti: Chevy Suburban
75. Honduras: Chevy Suburban
76. Hungary: Audi A8
77. Iceland: 1980s Cadillac
78. India: BMW 7-Series
79. Indonesia: Mercedes S-Class
80. Iran: Mercedes S-Class
81. Iraq: BMW 7-Series
82. Ireland: Mercedes S-Class
83. Israel: Volvo
84. Italy: Lancia Thesis
85. Ivory Coast: VW Touareg
86. Jamaica: Volvo S80
87. Japan: Toyota Century
88. Jordan: Mercedes S-Class
89. Kazakhstan: Mercedes S-Class
90. Kenya: Mercedes S-Class
91. Kiribati: Toyota Crown (educated guess)
92. Korea, North: VW Phaeton
93. Korea, South: Hyundai Equus
94. Kosovo: VW Touareg
95. Kuwait: Chevy Suburban
96. Kyrgyzstan: Mercedes S-Class
97. Laos: Mercedes S-Class
98. Latvia: BMW 7-Series
99. Lebanon: Mercedes S-Class
100. Lesotho: Mercedes S-Class
101. Liberia: Mercedes S-Class
102. Libya: Mercedes S-Class
103. Liechtenstein: Audi A8
104. Lithuania: Mercedes S-Class
105. Luxembourg: Mercedes S-Class
106. Macedonia: Mercedes S-Class
107. Madagascar: Mercedes S-Class
108. Malawi: Toyota Land Cruiser
109. Malaysia: Proton
110. Maldives: Mercedes S-Class
111. Mali: Hummer H2
112. Malta: Cadillac CTS
113. Marshall Islands: Cadillac DTS
114. Mauritania: Mercedes S-Class
115. Mauritius: Aston Martin DB9
116. Mexico: Chevy Suburban
117. Moldova: Mercedes S-Class
118. Monaco: Daimler
119. Mongolia: Toyota Land Cruiser
120. Montenegro: Audi A8
121. Morocco: Mercedes S-Class
122. Mozambique: Toyota Land Cruiser
123. Myanmar: Toyota Land Cruiser
124. Namibia: Toyota Land Cruiser
125. Nauru: Mercedes E-Class
126. Nepal: Jaguar
127. Netherlands, The: BMW 7-Series
128. New Zealand: Ford Fairlane
129. Nicaragua: Mercedes G-wagen
130. Niger: Toyota Land Cruiser
131. Nigeria: Mercedes S-Class
132. Norway: BMW 7-Series
133. Oman: Maybach
134. Pakistan: Mercedes S-Class
135. Palau: Ford F150
136. Palestine: Mercedes S-Class
137. Panama: Toyota Land Cruiser
138. Papua New Guinea: Mercedes E-Class
139. Paraguay: GMC Yukon
140. Peru: 1973 Chrysler New Yorker
141. Philippines: Mercedes S-Class
142. Poland: BMW 7-Series
143. Portugal: VW Phaeton
144. Qatar: Maybach
145. Romania: Mercedes S-Class
146. Russia: ZIL
147. Rwanda: Mercedes G-wagen
148. St. Kitts and Nevis: Toyota Crown Royal
149. St. Lucia: BMW 7-Series
150. St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Toyota Land Cruiser
151. Samoa: Holden
152. San Marino: Lancia Thesis
153. Sao Tome e Principe: BMW 7-Series
154. Saudi Arabia: Maybach
155. Senegal: Ford Expedition
156. Serbia: BMW 7-Series
157. Seychelles: Toyota Land Cruiser
158. Sierra Leone: Mercedes S-Class
159. Singapore: Mercedes S-Class
160. Slovakia: SEAT race car
161. Slovenia: Audi A8
162. Solomon Islands: Toyota Land Cruiser
163. Somalia: Mercedes S-Class
164. South Africa: Mercedes S-Class
165. South Sudan: Toyota Land Cruiser
166. Spain: Audi A8
167. Sri Lanka: BMW 7-Series
168. Sudan: Mercedes S-Class
169. Suriname: Lincoln Continental
170. Swaziland: Maybach
171. Sweden: Mercedes S-Class
172. Switzerland: Audi A8
173. Syria: Toyota Land Cruiser
174. Taiwan: Cadillac
175. Tajikistan: Mercedes G-wagen
176. Tanzania: Mercedes S-Class
177. Thailand: VW T5 Eurovan
178. Togo: Mercedes S-Class
179. Tonga: London taxi
180. Trinidad & Tobago
181. Tunisia: Mercedes S-Class
182. Turkey: Mercedes S-Class
183. Turkmenistan: Mercedes S-Class
184. Tuvalu: Mazda truck
185. Uganda: Mercedes S-Class
186. Ukraine: Mercedes S-Class
187. United Arab Emirates: Maybach
188. U.S.A.: Cadillac
189. Uruguay: Chevy/Holden/Opel Vectra
190. Uzbekistan: Mercedes S-Class
191. Vanuatu: Mitsubishi Galant
192. Vatican, The: VW Phaeton
193. Venezuela: Cadillac Fleetwood
194. Vietnam: Toyota Crown
195. Yemen: Mercedes S-Class
196. Zambia: Mercedes S-Class
197. 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