Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game that has been around for decades. It has seen growth over the years, with more people playing it now than ever before.
But is D&D popular in other countries?
D&D is popular in the United States and in many other countries around the world. 10 countries possess a Google Popularity Score above 50 for D&D. The top three non-US countries are Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Canada possesses a popularity score of 100. D&D is least popular in Indonesia.
Google keeps tabs of searches from around the world that can help determine the popularity of D&D. Here, we’ll explore the search data for DND in other countries.
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What Countries Is DND Popular? (D&D Popularity Chart)
To know if D&D is popular in other countries, you first need to understand how Google determines popularity.
Google looks at the number of searches in a location for a particular term (DND) over time.
The data then gets measured on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 represents the location with the most searches.
On the other hand, 0 represents a location without enough data to report.
In such a case, it gets assumed to be least popular. Now that we know how Google measures popularity, let’s look at the results for different countries.
New Zealand
New Zealand is a Southwestern Pacific country where D&D has a search population of 77. That puts New Zealand at the 3rd spot for countries with the most interest in D&D.
The score is high for a country of five million people.
Australia
DND has a search popularity score of 75 in Australia.
That means it is popular in the country, although not as popular as in the USA. Although it is not the highest score, it’s still pretty high.
There are several factors that could contribute to this trend, which include an English-speaking population. Since the game is originally English, this could give an advantage in countries where English is the main language.
Denmark
Denmark is another country with a relatively high interest in DND, with a 66 score.
With around 5.8 million people, that puts the country at the 5th spot of countries interested in DND.
One difference between Denmark and some other countries is that it has multiple game versions available.
That could account for some of the interest in the game.
Here is a D&D Popularity Chart showing how D&D fares in 49 different countries:
| Country | Google Popularity Score for D&D |
| Canada | 100 |
| The United States | 97 |
| New Zealand | 77 |
| Australia | 75 |
| Denmark | 66 |
| The United Kingdom | 64 |
| Norway | 59 |
| Puerto Rico | 58 |
| Sweden | 57 |
| Ireland | 54 |
| Netherlands | 46 |
| Portugal | 36 |
| Finland | 36 |
| Philippines | 33 |
| Austria | 33 |
| Singapore | 32 |
| Germany | 31 |
| Italy | 29 |
| Belgium | 29 |
| South Africa | 27 |
| Croatia | 25 |
| Czechia | 24 |
| Hungary | 24 |
| Spain | 24 |
| Greece | 24 |
| Slovakia | 22 |
| Brazil | 20 |
| Switzerland | 20 |
| Bulgaria | 19 |
| Serbia | 19 |
| Romania | 19 |
| Chile | 16 |
| Mexico | 15 |
| Poland | 15 |
| Argentina | 14 |
| Malaysia | 11 |
| Israel | 11 |
| Russia | 7 |
| South Korea | 7 |
| Peru | 6 |
| Colombia | 6 |
| Turkey | 5 |
| Ukraine | 5 |
| France | 5 |
| Thailand | 3 |
| Vietnam | 3 |
| India | 3 |
| Japan | 2 |
| Indonesia | 2 |
Looking at the history of D&D popularity, this chart remains relatively the same over the years.
That speaks to the enduring value of Dungeons and Dragons.
Before we move on, it should be noted that searches for D&D in a particular country would probably occur in the local language, not English. This fact may skew the results of this data.
Is DND Popular in Japan?
Japan is a country known for its love of all things nerdy. But, it turns out DND is not one of those things.
DND has a search popularity score of 2 in Japan, meaning it is not very popular.
It could be due to the fact that Japan already has other popular tabletop roleplaying games of its own.
It could be that the use of English in D&D is a barrier. The language barrier could be the main factor keeping DND from becoming popular in the country.
Generally, very few Asian countries have high scores for DND.
The top Asian countries for DND are the Philippines and Singapore.
Philippines
The Philippines has a search popularity score of 33 for DND, making it the most popular country for DND in Asia.
It has quite a significant number of English speakers and that could be the drive to D&D popularity.
Singapore
Singapore has a search popularity score of 32.
Singapore is also known for its population of English speakers. However, Singapore is still far below the popularity score for D&D that we see in other countries
Where Is DND Most Popular? (Answered)
Canada leads the way for DND with a search popularity score of 100.
While the game originated in the United States of America, Canada is where the game is doing the best.
Following close behind is the United States of America, with a search popularity score of 97.
That is unsurprising since it is an American creation.
After those two countries, there is a bit of a drop-off in popularity. The next country on the list is New Zealand, with a search popularity score of 77. That gets followed by Australia with a score of 75. Then, there is a large drop-off to Denmark with a 66 popularity score.
While these two North American countries dominate the top searches, European countries have the most search score combined.
The game’s medieval history and mythologies, which D&D draws from, are popular in Europe. That could account for the popularity of the game in the region.
In fact, Denmark and the United Kingdom are among the top ten countries for DND.
They have a D&D popularity score of 66 and 64, respectively.
Why Is D&D Popular in Other Countries?
Dungeons and Dragons (DND) is so popular because it is a very flexible game.
It can be played as a purely social game, with no clear direction, winner, or loser. Or it can be played as a story-telling game, with players collaboratively creating a story.
DND is also popular because it is relatively easy to learn and play.
Players do not need to memorize overly complex rules or spend hours preparing for each session (most preparation is the responsibility of the Dungeon Master).
Most players can just sit down and start playing.
Finally, DND is popular because it has a rich history and community. The game has been going strong for over 40 years and has a large and active online community.
This community creates new content for the game, such as new monsters, spells, and D&D adventures.
Here are two good articles about why D&D is so popular:
Is DND Growing in Popularity?
Since its publication in 1974, D&D has been an evergreen game. It has seen growth over the years, with the biggest surge being in 2020.
D&D saw a 33% jump in sales right after the global pandemic outbreak in 2020 that led to a lockdown and social distancing.
With plenty of time, players used theirs to teach the game to newcomers, ushering in a new group of D&D enthusiasts. With this new group of players, D&D popularity will only increase.
Even with the vaccination and easing of strict pandemic rules, the numbers don’t seem to stop.
The brand also launched two D&D video games that continue to contribute to the huge growth. They also accelerated the rate at which they publish new box sets and books.
Twitch and YouTube phenoms, Critical Roll, also sparked a new wave of interest in D&D.
The availability of playing online D&D has only further spread the game.
Now players in remote locations, players who can not leave their homes, young players, and players who live far from each other can enjoy D&D together.
With new D&D editions always on the horizon, the popularity of DND shows no signs of slowing down.
Rather, all signs point to the likelihood that the popularity of D&D will continue to grow.
Here is a good video about why D&D is popular again:
Conclusion: Is D&D Popular in Other Countries?
So, is D&D popular in other countries? The answer is a resounding yes!
While it is not as popular as in North America, there are other countries where the game is doing quite well.
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