The Situation in the Rest of the World.
In Europe, mad-cow hysteria and currency woes were playing havoc, and McDonald's stock was at a two-year low. But non-U.S. restaurants continued to offer the best opportunities, and by the end of 2000, foreign restaurants outnumbered U.S. outlets by 15,900 to 12,408. International business contributed 52 percent of total operating income by 2000.Japan especially was a lucrative foreign market, and by 2001 the almost 3,600 McDonald's had changed the eating habits of the nation, making fast food a part of everyday life. McDonald's Maku" in Japanese shorthand-controlled about 65 percent of the fast-food burger market, serving 1.3 billion customers a year. The mad-cow scare that had so severely affected demand in Europe was at first largely averted in Japan, which used beef from Australia where there had been no disease. Later, the stigma also began to affect Japanese demand. But Russia had turned out to be one of the gems in McDonald's overseas business. See the following Information Box, Doing Business in Moscow.