All 107 Wacky and Fun International Versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Photo of various flags from around the world on flagpoles outside a glass building.

If you want to check your geography knowledge, see if you can name every country that’s ever had a version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Those looking for even more of a challenge can try to point these countries out on a map!

You’re wrong if you ever thought the popular game show was exclusive to the English-speaking world. Countries like Russia, India, and Bulgaria continue to air episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire regularly. Let’s have a look at all the versions of the show from all over the world and see how they differ from the versions we know and love.

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How Many Countries Have Versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Afghanistan

Afghanistan had two versions of the game show airing almost at the same time. The first version was in Pashto and aired from October 2008 to November 2011 with hosts Aryan Khan, Tasal Khan, and Najeeba Fais. The Persian version of the show only aired for a short time, from June 2010 to October 2011, with hosts Walid Soroor, Khatera Yusufi, and Mustafa Sadat. Though the show made quite a boom initially, it only ran for a couple of years.

Albania and Kosovo

In the countries of Albania and Kosovo, the show ran from December 2008 to June 2014 with hosts Veton Ibrahimi, Fehmi Ferati, Agron Llakaj, and Enkel Demi. The show followed its original format from 2008 until 2012, when it took a two-year break. It then restarted in March of 2014, but only ran for a couple of months. The second running of the show introduced a new “Risk” format, but the original format was kept as well. Contestants were invited to choose which format they preferred. The top prize went down from 50,000 euros to 25,000 euros.

Angola

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire only made it one year in Angola. The show began its run in 2009 and stopped airing in 2010. The show was hosted by popular Angolan actor and TV show host Jorge Antunes.

Arab Maghreb

Arab Maghreb, or Northwest Africa, ran their version of the show from August of 2009 to September of 2010. Despite the name, the top prize only reached 500,000 euros. The show was hosted by Rachid El Ouali.

Arab Countries

The Arab world had a number of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire versions, each with its own iterations. The first version of the show was born in 2000 and ran until 2007. In January of 2010, a slightly different format was introduced, and the show had twelve questions instead of ten. That version of the game show only ran until August of the same year. Hosts included George Kurdahi and Mayssa Maghrebi.

A new version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire aired in April of 2013 and run until January of 2014 on Dubai TV, this time with a brand new “Hot Seat” format. Another version ran from October of 2015 to April of 2016 with host George Kurdahi, who went on to host a brand-new version of the show in 2021.

Argentina

Argentina had two versions of the show. The first one ran in the early 2000s, from May 2000 to 2003. It had a revival in April 2019 but only survived until February 2020. The first version was hosted by Julian Weich, and the second by Santiago del Moro.

Armenia

Armenia is the first country on this list that had a relatively successful Who Wants to Be a Millionaire run. The first version of the show released in Armenia ran from 2003 to 2011, with hosts Ashot Adamyan, Mark Saghatelyan, Arman Saghatelyan, Akop Rubinyan, and Avet Barseghyan. The show continued with a new host, Egor Glumov, in 2011, from May to November. Avet Barseghyan came back immediately after and went on to host the show until January 2015.

Australia

Australia is the first country on this list that continues to air its version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to this day. The first version of the show with 11 questions was released all the way back in April of 1999 and stayed on the air for a year. The show had another successful run from May of 2000 to April 2006, followed by another quick run in the year 2010 and another in 2021. All three of these followed the original format, with the highest prize reaching one million Australian dollars.

A brand new 16-question format was introduced in October of 2007 and ran until November of the same year. The maximum prize reached 5 million Australian dollars. Millionaire Hot Seat came to replace it in April 2009. This format is still on air today. It features 15 questions and lifelines, and the highest prize is 1 million Australian dollars. The show is hosted by Eddie McGuire.

Austria

Austria began airing the show in January 2000 with host Rainhard Fendrich. The run only lasted a couple of days. The show continued airing with a different host—Barbara Stockl, from May 2000 till December 2001. Another revival happened in 2002 with the same host. Now, Austrian residents can watch the version of the show that debuted in September of 2002 with host Armin Assinger. Contestants can pick if they want to follow the original format or implement the new “risk” format.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan first introduced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in August 2002 with host Ilhamiyye Rzayeva Azer Axsam. The show ran until 2006 and then for a brief moment in 2007. It underwent a rebranding and was released again in October 2021 with host DJ Fateh. The show is still on air.

Bangladesh

The show did not take off in Bangladesh. It only ran from July 2011 to November of the same year with host Asaduzzaman Noor.

Belgium

Belgium had two versions of the show—one in Dutch and another in French. The first Dutch version aired in August 1999 and ran until 2001 with host Walter Grootaers. The show was rebooted in November 2002 and ran until 2006. In August 2017, the show was reintroduced for two seasons with host Staf Coppens. The first season ran for a month in 2017, and the second season ran for a month in the summer of 2018. Both featured the “Hot Seat” format.

The French version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Belgium was hosted by Alain Simons and ran from August 2000 to October 2008, with some interruptions.

Brazil

The Brazilian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has been on since 2017 with Luciano Huck as the host.

Bulgaria

The title of the Bulgarian version of the game show can roughly be translated into English as Become Rich. The first run lasted from May 2001 to February 2007. In 2008, the show came back, and the price was doubled. That only lasted for two years, and the show went on hiatus. It came back in 2010 with the original prize value and ran until May 2014 with Niki Kanchev as the host. In 2018, Mikhail Bilalov took over. He continues to host the show today.

Cambodia

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had a decent run in Cambodia, lasting from June 2013 to May 2016, with Ith Setha as the host.

Canada

Surprisingly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire didn’t take off in Canada. It had a very short run, which only lasted one day in September of 2000, with Pamela Wallin as the host.

Chile

Chilean Who Wants to Be a Millionaire went through several changes. Initially, the show was introduced in its original format in the year 2001 and ran until 2002 with Don Francisco as the host. Francisco was replaced by Sergio Lagos in 2003 for a year. Francisco came back for another year in 2006 and was replaced by Lagos again in 2008. Lagos stayed on until the end of 2012. He was joined by Diana Bolocco in January 2011. She went on to host the new version of the show in 2019.

China

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire didn’t do well in China. Hosted by Li Fan, the show only ran from September 2007 until April 2008.

Colombia

Unlike other countries, Colombian Who Wants to Be a Millionaire stuck with the same host for the entire duration of the run—Paulo Laserna Phillips. The show debuted with its original format in September of 2000 and ran, with some interruptions, until November of 2015. The “Hot Seat” format was introduced for a brief while in 2013.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has had a few successful runs of their version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, all hosted by Ignacio Santos Pasamontes. The game show first aired in February 2009. The newest version aired in April 2023 and continues to air today.

Croatia

The Croatian version of the game show is hosted by Tarik Filipovic. The show debuted in March 2002 and ran until June 2010. It renewed its run in 2019, when the phone-a-friend lifeline was shortened from 30 to 25 seconds. The show continues to air today with the highest prize being 150,000 euros.

Czech Republic

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in the Czech Republic in October of 2000 and ran until September 2005 with three hosts—Vladimir Cech, Martin Preiss, and Ondrej Hejma. It was renewed in March 2016 and ran until August 2017 with Marek Vasut as the host. In 2016 the show introduced the new “risk” format, so contestants were able to choose between that and the original format. The top prize was 10,000,000 Czech crowns.

The show had a spin-off simply titled Millionaire in 2008. The spin-off only offered the original format with 2,000,000 Czech crowns being the top prize and was hosted by Roman Smucler.

Denmark

Denmark first introduced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in September 1999. Peter Kaer was the host until 2001 when he was replaced by Jes Dorph Petersen. Kaer came back in 2003 and was replaced again by Hans Pilgaard in 2007. Recently, Christian Degn came on as the host in 2019. That year the phone-a-friend lifeline was shortened from 30 to 25 seconds. Hans Pilgaard also hosted a spin-off with double the prize in 2009. The spin-off featured the “Hot Seat” format.

Ecuador

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire started its run in Ecuador in 2001 with $25,000 as the top prize. The prize doubled in August 2009. Both stints were hosted by Alfonso Espinosa de los Monteros. In July of 2012, the “Hot Seat” format was introduced, with the top prize reaching $100,000. The show only went on for about six months and was hosted by Estefani Espin.

Egypt

George Kurdahi hosted the Egyptian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2012 to 2016. The clock format was introduced, along with the original format, where contestants were given a set amount of time to answer each question.

El Salvador

El Salvador ran its version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire between the years 2010 and 2014 with Willie Maldonado as host. The top prize was $200,000.

Estonia

Residents of Estonia got the chance to become millionaires in September 2002. Hannes Vorno hosted the show until its end in December 2008.

Finland

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted in Finland in November 1999. The concept took off and stayed on air until May 2005, with one interruption, with Lasse Lehtinen as the host. The game show came back in September 2005 with a new host—Ville Klinga. Notably, the top prize rose from 200,000 euros to 1 million euros. Klinga stayed on until 2007 and was replaced by Jaajo Linnonmaa in 2016 after the show went on hiatus. A new host was introduced again in August of 2022. Antti Holma continues to host Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Finland to this day.

France

In July of 2000, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was introduced to the French market with Jean-Paul Foucault as the host. He was replaced by Camille Combal in May 2019. In April 2020, the top prize fell from 1 million euros to 300,000 euros. In 2020, the ask-the-audience lifeline was replaced with ask-home. The show finished its run in August 2020.

Georgia

The Georgian version of the game show was introduced in 2000 and stayed on air until 2005 with Duta Skhirtladze as the host. In 2009, after a break, the show had a revival with a new host— Mamuka Gamkrelidze. It stayed on air until July 2011.

Germany

Germany has had some of the best luck in terms of keeping the show running for a long time with the same host. It all started in September 1999, when the show was introduced in its original format. New formats made an appearance in 2002. Ever since then, contestants can choose between the original and “risk” formats. Episodes are still airing with the same host—Gunther Jauch.

Ghana

In Ghana, the show was simply titled Who Wants to Be Rich. It only made it three years, from October 2009 to July 2012, with host Kafui Dey.

Greece and Cyprus

Greece and Cyprus have a shared version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It started in October 1999 with Spiros Papadopoulos in the role of host. The show ran on multiple channels with some interruptions until May 2004. In 2006 Theodoris Atheridis came on as the new host and introduced a fourth lifeline since the first guaranteed sum. The show took a long break from 2006 to 2022 when it came back with Grigoris Arnaoutoglou as the new host. That year the phone-a-friend lifeline was extended from 30 to 45 seconds. The show continues its run today. A special Millionaire Hot Seat spin-off ran from 2014 to 2016 with Yannis Zouganelis as the host.

Guatemala

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was introduced in Guatemala not a long time ago, in July 2023. The show is still on air with Hector Sandarti in the role of host.

Honduras

The Honduran version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire only ran for a couple of months in 2012 with Juan Carlos Pineda as the host.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong first introduced their version of the game show in 2001 with Kenneth Chan as the host. The show ran until 2005 and was revived in 2018 for a few months with a new host—Stephen Chan.

Hungary

Hungary introduced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2000. It stayed on air until 2008 with host Istvan Vago. In 2008, the new “risk” format was introduced. In 2009 the host was replaced with Sandor Fabry, who stayed on for less than a year. Fabry also hosted the special “Hot Seat” version of the game show in 2010. The show experienced a revival in 2012 and kept running until 2013 with host Sandor Friderikusz. Then, Gabor Fundel Takacs went on to host the show for a couple of months in 2019.

Iceland

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire didn’t do well in Iceland. The show debuted in December 2000 with Porsteinn J as the host. In 2001 a new host was introduced—Jonasar R. Jonssonar. The show ran until March of 2005.

India

The show was and continues to be a huge success in India. With so many different national languages, there were multiple versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the country. It all started in 2000 with the Hindi version of the show when Amitabh Bachchan went on to host the first two seasons. Shahrukh Khan hosted the third season in 2007. Amitabh Bachchan came back in 2010 to host seasons 4 to 15 and continues to this day. Notably, the show switched to a 16-question format in 2017, then went to a 17-question format briefly in 2022, and went back to 16 questions in 2023.

The Malayalam version was introduced in 2012 and continues to produce new episodes with host Suresh Gopi.

The Tamil version was first introduced in 2012, with Suriya hosting the first season, Prakash Raj hosting the second season, and Arvind Swamy hosting the third one. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Tamil had a short revival in 2019 with Raadhika Sarathkumar as the host and only female contestant.

The first season of the Telugu version was released in 2014. The first three seasons were hosted by Nagarjuna. Season 4 was then hosted by Chiranjeevi, and season 5 by N. T. Rama Rao Jr. There should be a new season coming soon!

The Kannada version came around in March 2012. The first two seasons were hosted by Puneeth Rajkumar. Season 3 was hosted by Ramesh Aravind. Rajkumar came back to host season 4 in 2019, which was the last season of that version of the show.

The Marathi version came around a bit later, in May 2013. Sachin Khedekar hosted for the first two years, until 2014. The show was revived in 2016 and lasted until 2017 with host Swapnil Joshi.

Versions of the show in other languages came and went relatively uneventfully. In 2011, Sourav Ganguly hosted the Bengali version for about a year. He was replaced by Prosenjit Chatterjee for a few months in 2018. The Bhojpuri version only lasted for a couple of months in 2011 and was hosted by Shatrughan Sinha. Finally, the Kashmir version was filmed for a couple of months in 2019 and was hosted by Rayees Mohiuddin.

Indonesia

Indonesia first introduced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in August 2001. The first version of the show with Tantowi Yahya as the host lasted until July 2006. The host was replaced by Dian Sastrowardoyo in September of the same year and stayed on until 2007. The show came back for a brief while in 2010, but this time in the “Hot Seat” format, with host Ferdy Hasan.

Iran

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was not a successful concept in Iran. The show premiered in August 2018 and only lasted until April 2019, with Mohammad Reza Golzar as the host.

Ireland

Surprisingly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire did not take off in Ireland either. Hosted by Gay Byrne, the show lasted from October 2000 to March 2002.

Israel

Israel has a long history with the game show. It first premiered in 1999 and was hosted by Yoram Arbel. Arbel stayed on for the second run of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which lasted from 2006 to 2007. Notably, the contestants were only allowed to use three of the four lifelines. The show was revived in 2020 with Erez Tai as the host, with new seasons coming soon. The first five questions have a 30-second time limit.

Italy

In 2000, Italy introduced its show Who Wants to Be a Billionaire, with 1 billion lira as the top prize. In 2002, the top prize was changed to 1 million euros, and the name to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Gerry Scotti went on to host the show until 2020, including the “Hot Seat” format that aired in 2008 and 2009.

Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast had its own version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2010 to 2013, hosted by Bamba Bakary and Yves Zogbo Jr.

Japan

Japan aired its own version of the game show from 2000 until 2013 with Monta Mino as the host.

Kazakhstan

The concept did not take off in Kazakhstan, with the first version airing between the years 2004 and 2006 with Eskender Serkebayev as the host. The show came back briefly in 2018-2019 with host Dosymbek Otegaliev.

A Russian-language version of the show aired in Kazakhstan between the years 2001 and 2006 and between 2017 and 2018. The first host was Evgeny Zhumanov. Serik Akishev came to replace him in 2004.

Kenya

Hosted by Fayyaz Qureshi, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire only lasted for a couple of months in 2000 in Kenya.

Kurdistan

Simply titled Millionaire, the show was hosted by Ciwan Haco and aired from 2009 to 2011.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan debuted its version of the show in September 2016. It lasted until November 2018 with Erkin Ryskulbekov as the host.

Latvia

Latvia aired its version of the show between 2002 and 2008, with some interruptions. The show was initially hosted by Martins Kibilds, who was replaced by Girts Licis in 2007.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, the game show was hosted by Henrikas Vaitiekunas from 2002 until 2003, and Vytautas Kernagis from 2003 to 2005.

Malaysia

Malaysia had two versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire—one in Malay and one in Mandarin. The Malay version was hosted by Jalaluddin Hassan and aired between 2000 and 2001. The Mandarin version aired between 2001 and 2003 with host Victor Gu.

Mauritius

In Mauritius, Sandra Mayotte hosted the show from August 2018 until August 2019.

Mexico

The show didn’t do well in Mexico either. It aired for a couple of months in 2010 and then a couple more in 2012, with Pablo Latapi Ortega as the host.

Moldova

Dan Negru hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Moldova from December 2011 to July 2012.

Mongolia

Mongolia adopted the 12-question format for its first showing of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2010. It switched to the original format in 2011-2012. The show was hosted by R. Nyambayar.

Nepal

In Nepal, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was hosted by Rajesh Hamal for a couple of months in 2019.

Netherlands

Notably, the game show is still on in the Netherlands. It was first hosted by Robert ten Brink between the years 1999 and 2008. In 2011, a new 12-question format was introduced along with a new host, Jeroen van der Boom. Robert ten Brink came back in 2019 and continues to host the show.

New Zealand

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? New Zealand was hosted by Mike Hosking, but only for a couple of months in 2008.

Nigeria

Nigeria has stuck to the original format since the show’s inception in 2004. The show is still running with its original host—Frank Edoho.

North Macedonia

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire premiered in 2004 in North Macedonia with host Saso Macanovski Trendo. The show’s run ended in November of 2009.

Norway

Norway made two attempts to introduce Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to its audience. The first attempt was made in 2000 with Arve Juritzen as the host. He was replaced by Frithjof Wilborn in 2001, who stayed on until 2006. In 2008, the show came back and ran for another year with host Sarah Natasha Melbye, who went on to host the “Hot Seat” version in 2010-2011.

Pakistan

Not much is known about the Pakistani version of the show, which went on from 2002 to 2004 with Moon Akhtar as the host.

Panama

Panama had its own version for less than two years (2009-2011), hosted by Atenogenes Rodriguez.

Peru

In Peru, the show ran in 2001 and 2002, hosted by Guido Lombardi.

Philippines

The Philippines had its own, longer-running version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It was hosted by Christopher de Leon from 2000 to 2002. The show came back in 2009 with host Vic Sotto. In 2013, the “risk” format was introduced. In 2015, the number of questions increased to 12, but not for long. The show ended its run in November of that year.

Poland

The first run of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Poland began in September 1999 and ended in January 2003. Five years later, the show made a comeback and introduced the 12-question format, as well as the “risk” format. After a six-year-long hiatus, the show came back in February 2017 without the “risk” format. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire continues to air in Poland with host Hubert Urbanski.

Portugal

The game show switched quite a few hosts in Portugal. It first appeared on TV in the year 2000 with host Carlos Cruz. That same year Maria Elisa Domingues came to replace him and stayed until 2001. Then, Diogo Infante became the host for a couple of months. The show was revived in 2003 and ran until 2008 with some interruptions, with host Jorge Gabriel. The original format made another comeback in 2013 with host Manuela Moura Guedes, and ran until 2015.

Jose Carlos Malato hosted the “Hot Seat” version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2010-2011, and then 2015. In 2020, the “Hot Seat” format had another revival with Filomena Cautela as the host.

Romania

Romania released Who Wants to Be a Billionaire between the years 2000 and 2003, with Virgil Iantu as the host. After the switch to euros was made, the show was renamed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and continued with the same host from 2011 to 2014. Teo Trandafir joined the game show for its last stint in 2018-2019.

Russia

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was initially titled Oh, Lucky Guy! in Russia. The show was hosted by Dimitry Dibrov in 1999. It was renamed to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2001. In 2005, Maxim Galkin came on to replace Dibrov, who came back later in 2008. Starting in 2011, the game show was exclusively played in the “risk” format. It switched back to the original format in 2023 with a new host, Yulianna Karaulova, who continues to host the show to this day.

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro share one version of the game show. It was first introduced in 2002 and stopped filming in 2011. It was revived in 2022 with the same host, Ivan Zeljkovic, who continues to host the show today.

Singapore

Singapore had two versions of the show—one in English and one in Mandarin. The English version was hosted by Mark Van Cuylenburg from 2000 to 2004, and the Mandarin version was hosted by Chao (Timothy) Qitai from 2000 to 2004.

Slovakia

Slovakia’s version of the show was simply titled Millionaire. It was first introduced in 2000 and ran until 2008. The show’s original host Martin Nikodym was replaced by Iveta Malachovska in 2007.

Slovenia

In Slovenia, the show was first hosted by popular media personality Jonas Znidarsic from 2000 to 2002. The show was renamed and hosted by Bostjan Romih from 2003 to 2005. Znidarsic came back in 2007 and stayed on for a year. Millionaire had a revival in 2019 with new host Slavko Bobovnik, who was replaced by Jure Godler in 2020. Godler continues to host the game show today.

South Africa

South Africa had two versions of the show, with one surviving to this day. The English version lasted from 1999 to 2005 and was hosted by Jeremy Maggs. The Afrikaans version debuted in 2021 and continues to air today with Rain van Heerden as the host.

South Korea

South Korea only released a couple of episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the year 2013, with Kim Kap-soo as the host.

Spain

The show began its run in Spain in April 1999. It continued until 2001 and resumed in 2005 with Carlos Sobera as the host. Antonio Garrido took on the role of host for a few months in 2009. In 2020, the show resumed its run with Juanra Bonet hosting it to this day. The “Hot Seat” version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ran for a couple of months in 2015 with Nuria Roca as the host.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka had three versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The Sinhala version is still airing today with Chandana Suriyabandara as the host. Initially, the show was hosted by Lucky Dias from 2010 to 2011.

The Tamil version debuted in 2011 and lasted for a few months, hosted by Abarna Suthan. Balendran Kandeeban hosted the show from May 2012 to July 2015. A new season is in the works.

The English version was the least successful in Sri Lanka, lasting from May 2012 until May 2013 with Ruyaz Shah Jahan as the host.

Sweden

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was hosted by Bengt Magnusson in Sweden from 2000 to 2003. In 2005 Rickard Sjoberg took over the hosting duties. He continues to host the show today.

Switzerland

The people of Switzerland were not too aroused by the concept of the game show. In 2000, Rene Rindlisbacher hosted the show for one year. There was a revival in 2011 with Claudio Zuccolini as the host, but it only lasted for less than a month.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was hosted by Hsieh Chen-wu from May 2000 to February 2006.

Thailand

Thailand first introduced the game show in March of 2000 with the 16-question format. In 2004, they scaled it down to 12 questions. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Thailand was hosted by Traiphop Limpapath. The show’s run ended in 2008.

Turkey

In Turkey, the show debuted in March 2000 and was hosted by Kenan Isik until 2014. Haluk Bilginer joined for a short while between 2005 and 2007. In 2008, the number of questions increased to 16, and in 2011 it decreased to 12. Selcuk Yontem hosted the show from 2014 until he was replaced by Murat Yildirim in 2017. In 2019, the current host of the show came on—Kenan Imirzalioglu. The number of questions rose to 13 in 2023.

Uganda

Uganda introduced its own version of the show for a little bit over a year in 2011, with Alan Kasujja as the host.

Ukraine

Ukraine has had multiple versions of the show throughout the years. It was first introduced in 2000, with host Danylo Yanevskiy staying on until 2002. Anatoly Borsiuk hosted for a couple of months in 2003. Then, Ostap Stupka came to replace him in 2005. The show was revived in the “Hot Seat” format for a couple of months in 2011, with Volodymyr Zelensky, the current president of Ukraine, serving as the host. The show was revived for a month in 2021, with Stanislav Boklan as the host.

UK

The United Kingdom was the first country to introduce the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The first episode of the show aired on September 4^th, 1998. The show kept airing in its original format until July 27^th, 2007 with Chris Tarrant as the host. The 12-question format was introduced in 2007, and the clock format came around in 2010.

The show stopped airing for two years in 2014, until its comeback in 2018 with Jeremy Clarkson as the host. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire continues to air episodes on ITV in their original format.

USA

The United States has a long-running history of airing its own version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The show debuted shortly after the UK original, in August of 1999. The show kept its original format until 2002 when the clock format was introduced. Regis Philbin was the first host of the show. Other hosts of the show included Meredith Viera (2002-2013), Cedric the Entertainer (2013-2014), Terry Crews (2014-2015), and Chris Harrison (2015-2019).

The game show introduced the shuffle format in 2010, and went back to the original format in 2015, this time with 14 questions instead of 10. In April 2020, the show was revived with Jimmy Kimmel in the role of host. That only lasted until 2021, when new episodes stopped airing.

There was a spin-off titled Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire wit Regis Philbin as host in 2004. The goal was to win 10 million dollars. Special lifelines such as “Three Wise Men” and “Double Dip” were available after the 10th question.

Uruguay

Uruguay first presented the show in 2001 with Andres Tulipano in the role of host. That only lasted for a couple of months. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had a successful revival in April 2021 with Orlando Petinatti, who continues to host the show to this day.

Venezuela

Venezuela went through several changes with its version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, all about the top prize. When the show first began airing in 2000, the top prize was 100 million Bolivar. The prize changed to 200 million Bolivar in 2005, and went down to 200,000 in 2008. The prize changed to 250,000 in 2011, 300,000 in 2012, 400,000 in 2014, and 500,000 in 2015. In 2016 the top prize became two million Bolivar, until the show’s end in 2017. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in Venezuela was hosted by Eladio Larez.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the first episode of the unlicensed version of the game show aired in May 2003. The show switched three hosts between 2003 and 2007—Chang Tin, Thanh Loc, and Huru Luan. A different, licensed version of the show began airing in 2005. The show was hosted by Lai Van Sam until 2017. Phan Dang took over from 2018 to 2020. Dinh Tien Dung came on in 2021 and continues to host the show today. A “Hot Seat” spin-off aired in 2010 and 2011 with Lai Van Sam as the host.

What Countries Still Have the Show On?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is still on in Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Guatemala, India, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

Are There Any Close Rip-Off Versions of the Show?

Countries like Iran, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam all had their own unlicensed versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. All that means is that these countries created versions of the show that were not directly tied to the original game show developed in the United Kingdom. Vietnam was the only country that went on to purchase the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire license and produce the show in connection with the original. The country continues to air new episodes to this day.