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 123 of them.

Country list – UN+5 → 198

AFRICA (17/55)

  1. Algeria
  2. Angola
  3. Benin
  4. Botswana
  5. Burkina Faso
  6. Burundi
  7. Cameroon
  8. Cape Verde Islands
  9. Central African Republic
  10. Chad
  11. Comoros
  12. Congo, Republic of
  13. Côte d’Ivoire
  14. Democratic Republic of Congo
  15. Djibouti
  16. Egypt *ac
  17. Equatorial Guinea
  18. Eritrea
  19. Eswatini
  20. Ethiopia
  21. Gabon
  22. The Gambia
  23. Ghana
  24. Guinea
  25. Guinea-Bissau
  26. Kenya
  27. Lesotho
  28. Liberia
  29. Libya
  30. Madagascar
  31. Malawi
  32. Mali
  33. Mauritania
  34. Mauritius *a
  35. Morocco
  36. Mozambique
  37. Namibia
  38. Niger
  39. Nigeria
  40. Rwanda
  41. Sao Tome & Principe
  42. Senegal
  43. Seychelles *a
  44. Sierra Leone
  45. Somalia
  46. South Africa
  47. South Sudan
  48. Sudan
  49. Tanzania
  50. Togo
  51. Tunisia *a
  52. Uganda
  53. Western Sahara
  54. Zambia
  55. Zimbabwe

MIDDLE EAST – ASIA – PACIFIC (32/59)

  1. Afghanistan
  2. Australia *ac
  3. Bahrain
  4. Bangladesh
  5. Bhutan
  6. Brunei
  7. Cambodia
  8. China *ac
  9. Fiji Islands *ac
  10. India *a
  11. Indonesia *a
  12. Iran
  13. Iraq
  14. Israel *a
  15. Japan *a
  16. Jordan
  17. Kazakhstan
  18. Kiribati
  19. Kuwait
  20. Kyrgyzstan
  21. Korea, North
  22. Korea, South
  23. Laos
  24. Lebanon
  25. Malaysia *ac
  26. Maldives
  27. Marshall Islands
  28. Micronesia, Federated States of
  29. Mongolia
  30. Myanmar (Burma)
  31. Nauru
  32. Nepal
  33. New Zealand *ac
  34. Oman *ac
  35. Pakistan
  36. Palau
  37. Palestine *a
  38. Papua New Guinea
  39. Pakistan
  40. Philippines
  41. Qatar *c
  42. Samoa *ac
  43. Saudi Arabia
  44. Singapore *ac
  45. Solomon Islands
  46. Sri Lanka
  47. Syria
  48. Taiwan
  49. Tajikistan
  50. Thailand *a
  51. Timor Leste
  52. Tonga *ac
  53. Turkmenistan
  54. Tuvalu
  55. United Arab Emirates *ac
  56. Uzbekistan
  57. Vanuatu
  58. Vietnam
  59. Yemen

AMERICAS (25/35)

  1. Antigua and Barbuda *a
  2. Argentina
  3. Bahamas
  4. Barbados
  5. Belize *ac
  6. Bolivia
  7. Brazil
  8. Canada *ac
  9. Chile
  10. Colombia *ac
  11. Costa Rica *ac
  12. Cuba *a
  13. Dominica *a
  14. Dominican Republic
  15. Ecuador
  16. El Salvador
  17. Grenada
  18. Guatemala *ac
  19. Guyana
  20. Haiti
  21. Honduras *ac
  22. Jamaica *a
  23. Mexico *ac
  24. Nicaragua
  25. Panama *ac
  26. Paraguay
  27. Peru
  28. St. Kitts and Nevis *a
  29. St. Lucia
  30. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  31. Surinam
  32. Trinidad and Tobago
  33. Uruguay
  34. United States *ac
  35. Venezuela

EUROPE (49/49)

  1. Albania
  2. Andorra
  3. Armenia
  4. Austria *a
  5. Azerbaijan
  6. Belarus
  7. Belgium *a
  8. Bosnia & Herzegovina *ac
  9. Bulgaria *ac
  10. Croatia *ac
  11. Cyprus *a
  12. Czech Republic *a
  13. Denmark *ac
  14. Estonia *ac
  15. Finland *a
  16. France *ac
  17. Georgia
  18. Germany *ac
  19. Greece *a
  20. Hungary *a
  21. Iceland *ac
  22. Ireland *ac
  23. Italy *ac
  24. Kosovo
  25. Latvia *ac
  26. Liechtenstein
  27. Lithuania
  28. Luxembourg *a
  29. Macedonia
  30. Malta*a
  31. Moldova *a
  32. Monaco *c
  33. Montenegro *ac
  34. Netherlands *ac
  35. Norway *ac
  36. Poland *ac
  37. Portugal *ac
  38. Romania *a
  39. Russia *ac
  40. San Marino
  41. Serbia
  42. Slovakia *a
  43. Slovenia *a
  44. Spain *ac
  45. Sweden *ac
  46. Switzerland *a
  47. Ukraine
  48. United Kingdom *ac
  49. Vatican *ac