The Global Broker Desert Map: Where in the World Can You Actually Trade?

What Is a Broker Desert, and Why Does It Matter?

A broker desert is any country where residents have access to fewer than five internationally recognised trading platforms. In practice, this often means a trader in that country must choose between a handful of low-quality offshore operators, rely on unregulated local firms, or simply forgo participation in global markets altogether. For the millions of traders who live in these regions, the phrase “the global forex market is open 24 hours a day” rings hollow.

Our data paints a stark picture. Across the 156 countries in the BrokerDir database, more than half fall into the broker desert category. The global median is just 52.5 brokers per country, compared to the 30 or more available in the world’s most accessible markets. This is not a marginal gap: it is a structural inequality in how the financial services industry allocates access.

Why Some Regions Are Left Behind

The drivers of broker deserts are complex, but several forces dominate. The first is regulatory friction. Brokers seeking to legally serve residents of a new country typically need a local licence, a local representative, local capital, and compliance with local AML and KYC obligations. In countries where the regulatory framework is unclear, frequently changing, or actively hostile to foreign operators, the cost of entry exceeds the expected revenue, particularly for retail markets with smaller average account sizes.

The second driver is payment infrastructure. Brokers need reliable deposit and withdrawal rails. In markets where international card payments are restricted, international wire transfer is expensive or slow, and local e-wallets are not supported, the operational burden of serving clients climbs significantly. Many brokers quietly exclude entire countries simply because they cannot reconcile the economics of processing payments there.

The third factor is market size and perceived risk. Brokers allocate customer acquisition spend proportionally to expected lifetime value. A country with a small online trading community, limited internet penetration, or significant currency control risk will attract fewer operators; this is not because residents are prohibited from trading, but because brokers have calculated that the market is not worth the infrastructure investment.

The Role of Offshore Brokers in Desert Regions

In broker deserts, the few operators that do serve local residents are often offshore-licensed. This is not always a warning sign: some offshore-licensed brokers run legitimate, well-capitalised operations. But it does mean the regulatory safety net is thinner. Clients cannot rely on compensation schemes, independent dispute resolution is limited, and recourse in the event of insolvency is typically unavailable.

For traders in underserved markets, this presents a genuine dilemma. The choice is often between an imperfectly regulated international broker and no access to global markets at all. Our data does not prescribe a solution, but it underscores the importance of evaluating the specific broker: its capitalisation, track record, and support infrastructure, rather than relying on the presence or absence of a local licence as a binary signal.