The majority of people with primary headache disorders live in the developing world. The contribution of low and middle income (LAMI) countries to headache research has not been previously characterized. A search was performed for clinical research publications between the years 1997 and 2006, using the search terms 'headache' OR 'headache disorders' AND 'primary' OR 'migraine' AND 'each of the LAMI countries' in 67 databases. Articles in English or with abstracts in English translation were included. These publications were scrutinized for study characteristics. Two hundred and twenty-seven publications from 32 LAMI countries were found. Half (50.2%) of these were from three middle-income countries (Brazil, Turkey and Iran), whereas 24 (10.6%) came from low-income countries. Most of the research focused on migraine. Only 29.5% of the articles involved treatment of headache. The understanding of headache disorders in LAMI countries is derived from a limited number of publications from relatively few countries. Identifying gaps in headache research in the developing world is strategic for targeting research policy.