Popes from which countries?

 *content generated with Google Gemini AI*

While there have been 266 popes throughout history, the representation by country is heavily skewed towards Italy. Here is a breakdown of the top countries that have produced popes:

 * Italy: With 217 popes, Italy has had a dominant influence on the papacy throughout history. This includes popes from various historical states within the Italian Peninsula before its unification.

 * France: A distant second, France has produced 16 popes. All of these were in the medieval era, with the Avignon Papacy (where seven French popes resided in Avignon) being a notable period.

 * Germany: Various historical entities that make up modern-day Germany have contributed 6 popes. These popes were primarily from the Holy Roman Empire.

 * Syria: The historical region of Syria has been the birthplace of 5 popes.

 * Greece: Ancient and Byzantine Greece accounts for 4 popes.

 * Tunisia (Roman Africa): The historical region of Africa Proconsularis, which is now part of Tunisia, produced 3 popes.

 * Holy Land (Modern-day Israel/Palestine): This region was the birthplace of 3 popes, including Saint Peter.

 * Croatia (Dalmatia): The historical region of Dalmatia, now part of Croatia, produced 2 popes.

 * Spain (Valencia): The region of Valencia in Spain has been the birthplace of 2 popes.

 * Portugal (Lusitania): The historical region of Lusitania, now Portugal, produced 2 popes.

 * Turkey (Anatolia): The region of Anatolia in modern-day Turkey was the birthplace of 2 popes.

 * England, Netherlands, Poland, Argentina: Each of these countries has produced 1 pope. These are Pope Adrian IV (England), Pope Adrian VI (Netherlands), Pope John Paul II (Poland), and the current Pope Francis (Argentina).

It's important to note that the national identities of early popes are complex and often tied to the regions of the Roman Empire or later historical states rather than modern national borders.