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All 119 Countries List

Country Total Articles Introduction
Africa 22 According to the United Nations there are 54 countries on the continent of Africa
Algeria 3 The earliest literary references to playing cards in Europe refer to the game having been introduced by a 'Saracen', and also to Moorish and Damascene varieties of playing card.
Argentina 245 Playing cards were introduced to the Americas with Spanish explorers such as Columbus or Cortés.
Australia 55 Playing cards from Australia.
Austria 101
Bahamas 2
Basque Country 14
Belarus 2
Belgium 119 Belgian cardmakers have been actively designing and exporting playing cards since the 14th century.
Bhutan 1
Bolivia 2
Brazil 23 Playing card production in Brazil was officially sanctioned by royal decree in 1770.
Bulgaria 4
Canada 30
Canary Islands 2
Catalonia 19 With a distinct history stretching back to the early middle ages, many Catalans think of themselves as a separate nation from the rest of Spain.
Ceylon 1
Chile 16 Naipes Chilenos ~ Early Chilean playing cards were based upon Spanish models.
China 54 The Chinese took their cards with them wherever they travelled and traded in the East, and we find Chinese cards in use not only in the mainland but also in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, North Borneo and Vietnam.
Colombia 4 Colombian playing cards.
Cook Islands 1
Costa Rica 1
Croatia 1
Cuba 5
Cyprus 4
Czech Republic 24
Czechoslovakia 31 The Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918 from the former Austro-Hungarian empire.
Denmark 38
Dominican 1
Ecuador 6 There has been very little playing card manufacture in Ecuador. Cards are mostly supplied from Colombia, Argentina & Spain. Known brand names include: Willy Wilson, La Raspa and El Heraldo. Some locally-made tourist souvenir packs are also known including Naipe Ciudad de Quito and Galapagos Islands souvenir cards.
Egypt 13
Estonia 3 Estonia's first period of independence lasted 22 years, beginning in 1918, and this period was one of great cultural advancement.
Ethiopia 7
Europe 27
Finland 11 Playing cards from Finland. Finnish cards have a relatively short history, presumably because the country only finally broke loose from Russian influence in 1920.
France 361 Some of the oldest cards still in existence come from France. During the 16th and 17th centuries France was the major supplier of playing cards in Europe.
Galicia 3
Georgia 1
Germany 373 Card-playing rapidly became popular in medieval Bavaria and German printers were quick to supply the goods.
Gibraltar 1
Greece 10 Greek Playing Cards.
Greenland 1
Guatemala 2
Guernsey 1
Honduras 2
Hong Kong 16 A large proportion of the world's souvenir and pin-up playing cards originate from Hong Kong.
Hungary 38
Iceland 7
India 38
Indonesia 14
Iran 10
Iraq 2
Ireland 22 During the nineteenth century playing cards were being produced in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
Isle of Man 16 The Isle of Man has always been a tax haven within the British Isles and it has also had some interesting packs of cards.
Israel 11
Italy 181 The first reliable evidence that playing cards were being used in Italy is from 1376, when a game called 'naibbe' is forbidden in a decree, with the implication that the game had only recently been introduced there.
Jamaica 1
Japan 89 Japanese playing cards include: 'Awase' or 'matching pairs' cards and Portuguese or Spanish-derived 'Dragon' type cards.
Jordan 1
Kazakhstan 1
Kenya 6
Korea 6 The game of Hanafunda was introduced into Korea by the Japanese and modified somewhat by the Koreans.
Latin America 76 Playing cards had been introduced to the Americas with explorers such as Columbus or Cortés, whose fellow countrymen were keen gamblers. Cards were imported from Spain since the 16th century. Local production usually imitated Spanish cards.
Latvia 19 The best Latvian playing cards were produced just after independence, during the period 1921-1942.
Lebanon 4
Liechtenstein 1
Lithuania 11 During the 20th century Lithuanian printers produced striking playing cards containing Lithuanian symbols and national heroes.
Luxembourg 5
Madagascar 1
Malaysia 11 Playing Cards from Malaysia.
Maldives 4
Malta 8
Mauritius 1
Mexico 73 MEXICO shares a long tradition with Spain in the field of playing cards and also merges two completely distinct cultures, ancient indigenous cultures and modern Spanish colonialism.
Monaco 1
Mongolia 5 Mongolian Playing Cards.
Morocco 7
Myanmar (Burma) 1
Nepal 9
Netherlands 83 Playing cards have been known in the Low Countries since the 14th century
New Zealand 17 There are three main New Zealand makers that I'm aware of: A.D. Willis, John Dickinson, and Strong & Ready.
Nigeria 1
Norway 9
Panama 6 Not a lot of playing cards have been produced in Panama, only a couple of locally-produced tourist souvenir packs.
Papua New Guinea 1
Paraguay 3 Playing Cards in Paraguay
Peru 49 Playing cards have been travelling from Spain to South American colonies ever since Christopher Columbus.
Philippines 3

The Philippines, that belonged to Spain until 1898, were so-called in honour of Philip II. During his reign, throughout the 16th century, the phrase “Spain, the empire on which the sun never sets” became popular, as his kingdom included territories in Italy, the Netherlands, the French Roussillon, the North of Africa, the newly-discovered Americas and, to the east, the Philippines and other archipelagos.

In December 1898, the islands were ceded by Spain to the United States with Puerto Rico and Guam after the Spanish–American War. The First Philippine Republic was promulgated on January 21, 1899. During the 20th century the Philippines moved from an American colony to an independent democratic nation with a complex legacy shaped by colonialism, war, dictatorship and efforts to establish stable governance and economic growth.
Poland 40 Poland has been involved in playing card production since the 15th century.
Portugal 28 The Real Fábrica de Cartas de Jogar was founded in 1769, by Royal Charter of King José, under the master craftsman Lorenzo Solezio, brother of Félix Solesio who ran the Spanish Real Fábrica at Macharaviaya.
Puerto Rico 1
Romania 10
Russia 90 Playing cards were known in Muscovy as early as the last quarter of the sixteenth century.
Salvador 6 Cards were first imported to Central America from Spain, although local production has always existed. Today El Salvador has some local production of playing cards, which are often of rudimentary quality.
San Marino 1
Scandinavia & Nordic Countries 33
Scotland 26
Singapore 12 Playing Cards in Singapore, one of the Four Asian Tigers.
South Africa 15
South East Asia 48 Playing cards, introduced by the Chinese and quickly adopted in Southeast Asia, became pivotal in regional gambling practices, transforming into a primary entertainment form by the 15th century. Over the past 100 years, various producers, artists, and manufacturers from Southeast Asia have continued this tradition, creating card packs that reflect a diverse mix of design and cultural influences.

Brunei • Cambodia • East Timor • Indonesia • Laos • Malaysia • Myanmar (Burma) • Philippines • Singapore • Thailand • Vietnam

REFERENCES:

  • Reid, Anhtony: Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680, Yale University Press, 1988
Spain 285 Spain has played a pivotal role in the history of playing cards in Europe and Latin America.
Suriname 1
Sweden 32 Swedish cards have characteristics in common with their Scandinavian neighbours
Switzerland 67 The Swiss national suit system of shields, acorns, hawk bells and flowers emerged sometime during the XV century.
Tahiti / French Polynesia 2
Taiwan 8
Thailand 15 The Portuguese were the first Westerners to trade with Ayutthaya in Thailand in the 16th century. Traders also arrived from India, Japan, the Arab world, England, Holland and France.
Trinidad and Tobago 1
Tunisia 4 Playing Cards in Tunisia. Chkobba is one of the most popular card games in Tunisia, mainly played by men in coffee shops but also played at home by men and women alike.
Turkey 8
Ukraine 21
United Arab Emirates 2
United Kingdom 1,253 Playing cards first arrived in England during the 15th century, but none have survived from such an early date.
Uruguay 48 Until the 19th century playing cards were imported into Uruguay from Spain.
USA 672 The manufacture of playing cards in America only began during the second half of the 18th century, and not before 1776 by some estimates.
Venezuela 5 Naipes “El Torero” No. 1000 manufactured in Caracas by Productos Nacaral C.A., c.1975
Vietnam (Việt Nam) 4
Wales 14 Whereas the distinctiveness of Wales is an important resource contributing to the rich texture of variety which characterises the island of Britain, to date no Welsh playing cards cards have been found which were actually manufactured in Wales.
Yugoslavia 1