Country targeting on Facebook Ads is not a single toggle. There are four location categories, an expansion setting that fires by default, and a 25-country cap per ad set. Get these right and your budget lands where you need it.
> Quick answer: Use "People living in this location" for resident-focused campaigns. Add up to 25 countries per ad set. Turn off location expansion unless you want Meta to extend delivery beyond your chosen markets.
Understanding Facebook's Location Targeting Categories
Per Meta's Business Help Center, Facebook determines location using a mix of profile data, IP address, and mobile device signals. That combination powers four distinct targeting options.
People living in or recently in this location. The default. Catches both residents and recent visitors. Broad by design.
People living in this location. Targets people whose current city on Facebook matches the selected area, validated by IP address and friend network data. Best for reaching actual residents.
People recently in this location. Driven by mobile device signals. Useful for tourism, events, or local experiences with transient audiences.
People traveling in this location. Targets visitors who live at least 125 miles away. Good for hospitality, airports, or experiences that appeal to out-of-towners.
Choosing the wrong category means your budget reaches the wrong people. Know what each option does before you build.
How to Set Up Country Targeting in Ads Manager
Navigate to the Locations section
Open Ads Manager. Create or edit an ad set. Scroll to the Audience section. Click the Locations field. The targeting category dropdown sits just above the location input.
Select your targeting category
Set the category before you add any country. This step is easy to skip. Changing it after you've added locations doesn't always reset your selections cleanly. For most country-level campaigns, start with "People living in this location."
Add countries (up to 25 per ad set)
Type a country name into the location field. Select it from the dropdown. Repeat for up to 25 countries per ad set. If you need more, split into multiple ad sets. Broader buckets like regional groupings or Worldwide are also available if you want to cast a wider net.
Configure location radius and expansion settings
At the country level, radius settings don't apply. Location expansion does. Find the "Reach more people" toggle in the Audience section. When enabled, Meta extends delivery to people it believes are interested in your target location. That includes people who shop from there or plan to travel there. Turn it off if you only want residents or recent visitors.
Best Practices for Country-Level Targeting
Choose the right targeting category for your business model
E-commerce shipping to specific countries? Use "People living in this location." Running a campaign for a tourism destination? "People traveling in this location" often outperforms. Match the category to your actual buyer.
Test multiple countries in a single ad set for optimization
Adding multiple countries lets Meta's delivery system shift spend toward the lowest-cost conversions across all of them automatically. This works well when your offer translates across markets without heavy localization. If your creative is market-specific, keep countries in separate ad sets instead.
Use location exclusions strategically
You can exclude countries the same way you include them. If your product ships only to the US, exclude Canada and Mexico explicitly. This keeps budget away from audiences you cannot convert. Per Meta's Business Help Center, location exclusions are a reliable layer of control for shipping or service restrictions.
Monitor performance by geography with breakdown reporting
In Ads Manager, open the Breakdown menu. Select "By Delivery," then "Country." You'll see spend, impressions, and results broken down per country in your ad set. Check this weekly. One country may absorb budget without producing results. When you spot that pattern, exclude it or separate it into its own ad set with a tighter budget.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Forgetting to disable location expansion if not needed
Meta enables location expansion by default on many campaign types. Scroll down and turn it off if you need tight country control. Missing this step can send impressions to markets you never intended to reach.
Conflating profile location with actual mobile location
"People living in this location" relies on profile data plus IP signals. It does not use real-time GPS. A person can move and not update their Facebook profile for months. Meta acknowledges that complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed due to varying signals, including VPN usage. Budget for some margin of error.
Excluding audiences you actually want to reach
Exclusions stack. A complex exclusion list can accidentally block countries you need. Review your estimated audience size after each exclusion. If the number drops unexpectedly, check what got caught.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many countries can you target in one Facebook ad set?
You can add up to 25 countries per ad set in Facebook Ads Manager. If you need to reach more than 25, split your targeting across multiple ad sets.
What is the difference between 'People living in this location' and 'People recently in this location'?
'People living in this location' targets users whose Facebook profile city matches the selected area, validated by IP address. 'People recently in this location' is based on mobile device location signals and captures recent visitors, not just residents.
Does Facebook location targeting use GPS?
Not directly. Facebook determines location using a combination of profile data (hometown and current city), IP address, and mobile device signals. Per Meta's documentation, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed, and VPN usage can cause misidentification.
What does the 'Reach more people' location expansion toggle do?
When enabled, it extends delivery beyond your selected countries to people Meta believes are interested in those locations, including shoppers or travelers. Turn it off if you only want to reach residents or recent visitors in your chosen countries.