Quick answer: Country targeting is set at the ad set level in Meta Ads Manager. Open the Audience section, click the Location field, and search for the country you want. Done in under a minute.
Where to Find Country Targeting in Ads Manager
Country targeting lives in the Audience section of your ad set, not the ad creative itself.
Locating the Location field in the Audience section
Open Meta Ads Manager and create or edit a campaign. Navigate to the ad set level. Scroll down to the Audience section. You'll see a Location field near the top. Per Meta's Business Help Center, this field supports countries, regions, states, cities, postal codes, and specific addresses. Country is the broadest option and the most common starting point.
Understanding location targeting is platform-wide
Instagram ads run through Meta Ads Manager. Location targeting applies to the entire ad set and covers all placements, including both Instagram and Facebook. You don't set a separate location for Instagram specifically. One setting, all placements.
How to Add a Country to Your Instagram Ad Targeting
Adding a country takes under 30 seconds once you know where to look.
Search and select one or more countries
Click inside the Location field. Type a country name. Meta suggests matches as you type. Click a result to add it. It appears as a tag in the field. Repeat for any additional countries.
Using Browse for suggested countries
Not sure which countries fit your market? Click Browse. Meta groups suggested countries and regions by category. This is useful when you're expanding into new markets and want to explore options before committing to a list.
Adding multiple countries to a single ad set
You can add as many countries as you need to one ad set. Each appears as a separate tag. Alternatively, create separate ad sets per country if you want different budgets, bids, or creatives per region. Both approaches are valid depending on your campaign structure.
Choosing the Right Location Option: Living In, Recently In, or Visiting
The location option you choose determines who actually sees your ad. Pick the wrong one and you'll reach the wrong audience.
Living in or recently in (the default)
This is the default setting. It reaches people who live in the selected country and people who visited recently. It's the broadest option and works well for most ecommerce and brand awareness campaigns.
Living in this location only
This option targets permanent residents. Meta uses home location data, including self-reported hometown and current city, to determine residency. Good for local services, subscription businesses, or any offer that requires an ongoing customer relationship with a place.
Visiting this location
This reaches people currently in the country who don't live there. Useful for tourism brands, hospitality businesses, airport retail, and event-driven campaigns. The audience is smaller but the intent is specific.
Which option to choose based on your goal
Running a global ecommerce store? Use the default. Targeting local customers for a physical business? Choose Living in. Promoting a hotel or travel destination? Choose Visiting. Match the option to your customer's actual relationship to the location.
Excluding Countries from Your Targeting
Sometimes who you exclude matters as much as who you include.
Why you might exclude locations
You might exclude countries where you don't ship. Or where your offer isn't legally available. Or where past campaigns showed poor conversion rates. Exclusions protect your budget and improve overall relevance.
How to add exclusions to your ad set
In the Location field, click Exclude. Type the country name and select it from the suggestions. Meta filters out those users even if they fall within a broader included region. You can exclude at the country, region, city, or postal code level.
Combining Country Targeting with Other Audience Options
Geography is a foundation. Layer it with other signals for a more precise, high-intent audience.
Layering interests, age, and device targeting with geography
After setting your locations, add age range, gender, interests, and behaviors in the same Audience section. Device type targeting is also available if your offer is platform-specific. Meta applies all criteria together to define your final audience pool.
Why granular targeting improves performance
A country-level audience of tens of millions with no other filters can burn through budget quickly. Adding even one interest layer brings the audience down to people who actually match your offer. Smaller, relevant audiences often perform better than broad ones.
Pro Tip: Save Your Locations for Reuse
If you target the same countries across multiple campaigns, save your location combinations. It saves real time at scale.
Creating saved location lists
After adding your countries in the Location field, click Save. Give the list a clear name. Meta stores it in your Ads Manager account. Per Meta's documentation, saved locations work across ad sets and campaigns in the same account.
Applying saved locations to multiple ad sets
When building a new ad set, click Browse in the Location field and select Saved Locations. Choose the list you created. Your country targeting loads instantly. No re-entering every country each time.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I target Instagram ads to multiple countries at once?
Yes. In the Location field of your ad set, search and add as many countries as you need. Each appears as a tag. You can also exclude specific countries from the same field.
What is the difference between 'Living in' and 'Recently in' for Instagram location targeting?
'Living in or recently in' (the default) covers both residents and recent visitors to a location. 'Living in' targets only permanent residents based on Meta's home location data. Choose based on whether your offer serves locals specifically or also welcomes visitors.
Does country targeting apply separately to Instagram and Facebook placements?
No. Location targeting is set at the ad set level and applies to all placements in that set, including both Instagram and Facebook. You cannot set different countries per placement within the same ad set.
Can I save a country targeting list for use in future campaigns?
Yes. After adding countries in the Location field, click Save and name the list. Meta stores it in your account. You can load it instantly when building new ad sets, which saves time on recurring campaigns.