McDonald�s Corporation franchises and operates McDonald�s restaurants in the global restaurant industry. These restaurants serve menu at various price points providing value in 119 countries globally. All restaurants are operated either by the Company or by franchisees, including conventional franchisees under franchise arrangements, and developmental licensees and foreign affiliated markets under license agreements. Under the conventional franchise arrangement, franchisees provide a portion of the capital required by initially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurant businesses, and by reinvesting in the business over time. As of December 31, 2012, 34,480 restaurants in 119 countries at year-end 2012, 27,882 were franchised or licensed (including 19,869 franchised to conventional franchisees, 4,350 licensed to developmental licensees and 3,663 licensed to foreign affiliates (primarily Japan) and 6,598 were operated by the Company.