I get around, and I like it. But much as I enjoy a quest, I have no plans to visit every country in the world by a set time. That would severely limit my options to return and explore more of – or just hang about in yet again – my (many, many) favourite places. So, let’s not take this too seriously. FUN is the name of the game.
But what constitutes a country?
UN member states is one list to go by. However, it’s not without ‘flaws’. Switzerland joined the UN in 2002, yet no one would claim Switzerland wasn’t a country before 2002.
Then there’s the Travelers’ Century Club. TCC counts 329 countries (as of 1 Jan 2020), or as they call it: countries and territories that are politically, ethnologically or geographically different. They include Ceuta and Melilla, the Spanish enclaves in Morocco, but not Llivia, the Spanish enclave in France. They include the Balearics as a separate country, but not Catalunya or Euskadi (Basque country). They count Abkhazia, but not Chechnya. They count Prince Edward Island, but not Quebec.
Their reasoning isn’t always easy to grasp. That said, the TCC-list has inspired me to visit a few places I might not have bothered with otherwise, like the strangely fascinating Transdniestr and the Republika Srpska. Or Prince Edward Island and the Faroe Islands, two of the kids’ favourite places. Of the 327, I’ve been to 164.
In the end, though, I’ll stick with the 193 UN member countries, and add a few that are not members of the UN because one of the mighty countries of the Security Council is blocking their membership. Specifically, that means Palestine, Kosovo and Taiwan. I’ll also add Vatican City and the contested Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara). A few more might belong here, but this is it for now. In Sophie’s World, then, there are 198 countries, and I’ve visited 124 of them.
Country list – UN+5 → 198
AFRICA (17/55)
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo, Republic of
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt *ac
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius *a
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome & Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles *a
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia *a
- Uganda
- Western Sahara
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
MIDDLE EAST – ASIA – PACIFIC (33/59)
- Afghanistan
- Australia *ac
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- China *ac
- Fiji Islands *ac
- India *a
- Indonesia *a
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel *a
- Japan *a
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Korea, North
- Korea, South *c
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Malaysia *ac
- Maldives
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia, Federated States of
- Mongolia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Zealand *ac
- Oman *ac
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine *a
- Papua New Guinea
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Qatar *c
- Samoa *ac
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore *ac
- Solomon Islands
- Sri Lanka
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand *a
- Timor Leste
- Tonga *ac
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- United Arab Emirates *ac
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Yemen
AMERICAS (25/35)
- Antigua and Barbuda *a
- Argentina
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize *ac
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Canada *ac
- Chile
- Colombia *ac
- Costa Rica *ac
- Cuba *a
- Dominica *a
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Grenada
- Guatemala *ac
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras *ac
- Jamaica *a
- Mexico *ac
- Nicaragua
- Panama *ac
- Paraguay
- Peru
- St. Kitts and Nevis *a
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Surinam
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uruguay
- United States *ac
- Venezuela
EUROPE (50/50)
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria *a
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium *a
- Bosnia & Herzegovina *ac
- Bulgaria *ac
- Croatia *ac
- Cyprus *a
- Czech Republic *a
- Denmark *ac
- Estonia *ac
- Finland *ac
- France *ac
- Georgia
- Germany *ac
- Greece *a
- Hungary *a
- Iceland *ac
- Ireland *ac
- Italy *ac
- Kosovo
- Latvia *ac
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg *a
- Malta*a
- Moldova *a
- Monaco *c
- Montenegro *ac
- Netherlands *ac
- North Macedonia
- Norway *ac
- Poland *ac
- Portugal *ac
- Romania *a
- Russia *ac
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia *a
- Slovenia *a
- Spain *ac
- Sweden *ac
- Switzerland *ac
- Türkiye *a
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom *ac
- Vatican *ac