Mass Effect Real World Parallels

Asari= Great Britain (How the Asari were before the Reaper War was much like the British Empire before WW II. Also, they tend to be an all-female race that achieved great wealth and power. Yet, there are some Greek influences within the Asari)
Quarians= Russia (primarily because of their accents and a bit more Gypsy.)
Humanity/Systems Alliance= United States of America (mostly a multicultural state much like America. Plus, Vancouver is the capital on Earth and Canada may possibly be part of a unified North America. However, the Alliance HQ is on a space station called Arcturus Station.)
Turians= Greece (mostly because of their Sparta heritage)
Batarian hegemony= France (its name is French and that they were rivals with the Asari, much like Napoleonic France was a rival to Britain.)
Krogan= Afghanisatn (their views are similar to Islam's with some Mongol characteristics and are native to Tuchunka, a ruined, desert world.)
Volus= People's Republic of China (ultimately because of their economic dominance and mafia-based behavior within the galaxy, but this doesn't go with all Chinese people.)
Salarians= Germany (highly intelligent and highly advanced)
Vorcha= Mexico (most notably, drug cartels)
Hanar= Japan (higly advanced in technology and widely intelligent with some superstitions)
Drell= Israel (both Jews and Drell were exiled from their homelands, but for different reasons.)
Geth= Soviet Union (The Geth speak in an Ayn Randish form of English and were responsible for overthrowing and replacing the Quarian regime with a collective, communist society.)
Elcor= Australia (rowdy and rough because the elcor have missles on their backs incase of invasion. They also tend to be conservative in nature.)
Rachni= Vikings (raided and threatened Citadel Space just as the Vikings raided and threatened Christian Europe.)
Yahg= Pre-colonial Africa (since the capturing and enslavement of yahg is similar to the colonial slave trade.)
Prothean= Jamaica (Jamaican-accented people with a Roman-based society.)
Reapers= Mongols (known for bringing terror towards their conquered victims.)