Is there anything more universal than McDonald's?
No.
The golden arches are the most recognized symbol in the world. The restaurant provides food for people in 119 countries, especially the USA. There are even 179 restaurants in India where most people don't eat either beef or pork.
And the company is still growing. There's 76 countries left to colonize.
McDonald's' daily customer traffic (62M) is greater than the population of Great Britain
Source: Yahoo Finance
McDonald's sells more than 75 hamburgers every second
Source: McDonald's Operations and Training Manual via Side Dish
McDonald's' $24 billion in revenue makes it the 90th-largest economy in the world
Source: Yahoo Finance
Counting $32 billion in revenue from franchise stores, McDonald's claims the 68th biggest economy, bigger than Ecuador
Source: 2009 Annual Report
McDonald's hires around 1 million workers in the US every year
This estimate from Fast Food Nation assumes a 700,000 domestic workforce with 150% turnover rate.
According to company estimates, one in every eight American workers has been employed by McDonald's
Source: McDonald's own estimate in 1996 via Fast Food Nation
Sharon Stone worked at McDonald's before she was famous. So did Shania Twain, Jay Leno, Rachel McAdams and Pink
Source: NNDB
McDonald's is the world's largest distributor of toys, with one included in 20% of all sales
Source: QSR via Motley Fool
McDonald's' iconic golden arches are recognized by more people than the cross
A survey by Sponsorship Research International found that 88 percent could identify the arches and only 54 percent could name the Christian cross, according to Fast Food Nation.
The Queen of England owns a Mcdonald's near Buckingham Palace as part of her vast real estate portfolio
Source: DailyMail
For the next three years, McDonald's is going to open one restaurant every day in China
Source: Reuters via Paul Kedrosky
McDonald's delivers -- in 18 countries!
Source: Japan Times
The only place in the lower 48 that is more than 100 miles from a McDonald's is a barren plain in South Dakota
Source: AggData via Side Dish
Americans alone consume one billion pounds of beef at McDonald's in a year -- five and a half million head of cattle
Source: John Hayes, McDonald's senior director of U.S. food and packaging, via Side Dish