structural:summarization, structural:scholar_edition
Geographic spread

Coca-Cola has been sold outside the United States as early as 1900, when the Cuba Libre (a mix between Coca-Cola and rum) was created in Havana shortly after the Spanish-American War of 1898. However, the international reach of the product became mostly limited to North and Central America, the Caribbean, the Netherlands, Germany and parts of Asia until the 1940s, when the brand was introduced throughout South America and then Europe after the end of World War II (Fanta was initially conceived by the German Coca-Cola subsidiary as an emergency replacement as the wartime trade embargo prevented the import of syrup). As a result, Coca-Cola eventually became regarded as one of the major symbols of American soft power as well as of globalization.

Since it announced its intention to begin distribution in Myanmar in June 2012, Coca-Cola has been officially available in every country in the world except Cuba (where it stopped being available officially since 1960) and North Korea. However, it is reported to be available in both countries as a grey import. As of 2022, Coca-Cola has suspended its operations in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Coca-Cola has been a point of legal discussion in the Middle East. In the early 20th century, a fatwa was created in Egypt to discuss the question of "whether Muslims were permitted to drink Coca-Cola and Pepsi cola." The fatwa states: "According to the Muslim Hanefite, Shafi'ite, etc., the rule in Islamic law of forbidding or allowing foods and beverages is based on the presumption that such things are permitted unless it can be shown that they are forbidden on the basis of the Qur'an." The Muslim jurists stated that, unless the Qur'an specifically prohibits the consumption of a particular product, it is permissible to consume. Another clause was discussed, whereby the same rules apply if a person is unaware of the condition or ingredients of the item in question.

Coca-Cola first entered the Chinese market in the 1920s with no localized representation of its name. While the company researched a satisfactory translation, local shopkeepers created their own. These produced the desired "ko-ka ko-la" sound, but with odd meanings such as "female horse fastened with wax" or "bite the wax tadpole". In the 1930s, the company settled on the name " 可口可樂 （ 可口可乐 ）" (Ke-kou ke-le) taking into account the effects of syllable and meaning translations. The phrase means roughly "to allow the mouth to be able to rejoice". The story introduction from Coca-Cola mentions that Chiang Yee provided the new localized name, but there are also sources that the localized name appeared before 1935, or that it was given by someone named Jerome T. Lieu who studied at Columbia University in New York.