Is IHOP Really An International Chain?

Despite being labeled by many as nothing more than a fast food chain, IHOP holds a nostalgic spot in the hearts of many who spent their childhood getting free birthday pancakes there. The breakfast chain has an impressive list of discontinued IHOP menu items that many fans still pine for to this day. Plus, who doesn't love a cheap, tasty breakfast?

It turns out the United States isn't the only place that loves a quick, easy, and inexpensive helping of pancakes. IHOP, short for International House of Pancakes, does in fact live up to its name. Currently, the chain has more than 70 international locations in 14 countries.

It would seem that people all over the world can't get enough of IHOP's silver dollar stacks and pancake batter omelets. Maybe it's just a testament to how much the world loves breakfast as a whole. Regardless, IHOP has truly earned the "international" part of its name and continues to expand around the globe.

2014 was IHOP's first major milestone in international expansion. Between the company's founding in 1958 and 2014, IHOP opened locations in Bahrain, Canada, Dubai, Guatemala, Kuwait, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 2018 marked another year of expansion, with a focus on Southeast Asia in particular.

Mexico is the country with the most IHOP restaurants outside of the United States, with 54 locations as of the end of 2023. Canada comes in second place with 28 IHOP locations. The third place is tied between Ecuador and Puerto Rico with seven locations each.

In total, IHOP has had locations in 21 different countries; however, not all of them are still open at this time. For example, while Bahrain and Guatemala were among the first countries to get international IHOP locations, these locations have since closed down. On the other hand, new international locations are still continuing to open, with the most recent addition being in the Bahamas.