Here is my personal list of what I consider to be every country in the world.
You would think that would be straightforward, but even defining a “country”
can be surprisingly debatable.
The easiest approach would be to follow the United Nations list, but that is
primarily a political definition. For travel, I think history, culture,
geography, distance, and local identity matter too. If I visit Greenland,
for example, I would not consider that the same travel experience as visiting
Denmark simply because they are politically connected.
For that reason, I count many dependencies and territories separately, although
not automatically all of them. There is no perfect formula, so I look at each
place individually. My list currently contains 225 countries and territories.
My List of 225
Visited / travel page available · Unlinked places remain on the goal list.
- 1Afghanistan
- 2Albania
- 3Algeria
- 4American Samoa
- 5Andorra
- 6Angola
- 7Antarctica
- 8Aruba
- 9Argentina
- 10Armenia
- 11Australia
- 12Austria
- 13Azerbaijan
- 14Bahamas
- 15Bahrain
- 16Bangladesh
- 17Barbados
- 18Belarus
- 19Belgium
- 20Belize
- 21Benin
- 22Bermuda
- 23Bhutan
- 24Bolivia
- 25Bosnia & Herzegovina
- 26Botswana
- 27Brazil
- 28Brunei
- 29Bulgaria
- 30Burkina Faso
- 31Burundi
- 32Cambodia
- 33Cameroon
- 34Canada
- 35Cape Verde Islands
- 36Cayman Islands
- 37Central African Republic
- 38Chad
- 39Chile
- 40China
- 41Christmas Islands
- 42Colombia
- 43Comoros Islands
- 44Congo
- 45Congo DR
- 46Cook Islands
- 47Costa Rica
- 48Croatia
- 49Cuba
- 50Cyprus
- 51Czechia
- 52Denmark
- 53Djibouti
- 54Dominica
- 55Dominican Republic
- 56Dutch Antilles
- 57East Timor
- 58Easter Island
- 59Ecuador
- 60Egypt
- 61El Salvador
- 62Equatorial Guinea
- 63Eritrea
- 64Estonia
- 65Ethiopia
- 66Falkland Islands
- 67Faroe Islands
- 68Fiji Islands
- 69Finland
- 70France
- 71French Guiana
- 72French Polynesia
- 73Gabon
- 74Gambia
- 75Georgia
- 76Germany
- 77Ghana
- 78Greece
- 79Greenland
- 80Grenada
- 81Guadeloupe
- 82Guam
- 83Guatemala
- 84Guinea
- 85Guinea-Bissau
- 86Guyana
- 87Haiti
- 88Honduras
- 89Hong Kong
- 90Hungary
- 91Iceland
- 92India
- 93Indonesia
- 94Iran
- 95Iraq
- 96Ireland
- 97Israel
- 98Italy
- 99Ivory Coast
- 100Jamaica
- 101Japan
- 102Jordan
- 103Kazakhstan
- 104Kenya
- 105Kiribati Islands
- 106Kosovo
- 107Kuwait
- 108Kyrgyzstan
- 109Laos
- 110Latvia
- 111Lebanon
- 112Lesotho
- 113Liberia
- 114Libya
- 115Liechtenstein
- 116Lithuania
- 117Luxembourg
- 118Macedonia
- 119Madagascar
- 120Malawi
- 121Malaysia
- 122Maldive Islands
- 123Mali
- 124Malta
- 125Martinique
- 126Mauritania
- 127Mauritius
- 128Mayotte
- 129Mexico
- 130Micronesia
- 131Moldova
- 132Monaco
- 133Mongolia
- 134Montenegro
- 135Montserrat
- 136Morocco
- 137Mozambique
- 138Myanmar
- 139Namibia
- 140Nauru
- 141Nepal
- 142Netherlands
- 143New Caledonia
- 144New Zealand
- 145Nicaragua
- 146Niger
- 147Nigeria
- 148Niue
- 149North Korea
- 150Northern Mariana
- 151Norway
- 152Oman
- 153Pakistan
- 154Palau
- 155Palestine
- 156Panama
- 157Papua New Guinea
- 158Paraguay
- 159Peru
- 160Philippines
- 161Pitcairn Island
- 162Poland
- 163Portugal
- 164Puerto Rico
- 165Qatar
- 166Reunion
- 167Romania
- 168Russia
- 169Rwanda
- 170Samoa
- 171Sao Tome
- 172Saudi Arabia
- 173Senegal
- 174Serbia
- 175Sierra Leone
- 176Singapore
- 177Slovakia
- 178Slovenia
- 179Solomon Islands
- 180Somalia
- 181South Africa
- 182South Korea
- 183South Sudan
- 184Spain
- 185Sri Lanka
- 186St. Helena
- 187St. Kitts & Nevis
- 188St. Lucia
- 189St. Vincent & Gren.
- 190Sudan
- 191Suriname
- 192Swaziland
- 193Sweden
- 194Switzerland
- 195Syria
- 196Taiwan
- 197Tajikistan
- 198Tanzania
- 199Thailand
- 200Togo
- 201Tokelau Islands
- 202Tonga
- 203Trinidad
- 204Tunisia
- 205Turkey
- 206Turkmenistan
- 207Turks & Caicos
- 208Tuvalu
- 209UAE
- 210Uganda
- 211Ukraine
- 212United Kingdom
- 213United States
- 214Uruguay
- 215Uzbekistan
- 216Vanuatu
- 217Venezuela
- 218Vietnam
- 219Virgin Islands US
- 220Virgin Islands UK
- 221Wallis & Futuna
- 222Western Sahara
- 223Yemen
- 224Zambia
- 225Zimbabwe
How I Decide What Counts
Some alternative country lists use strict geographical rules. One example I
have seen treats any geographically isolated area with a population above a
certain threshold as a separate country. That might make Puerto Rico separate
from the United States, which fits my view, but the same rule could also make
Hawaii, Alaska, or even Prince Edward Island separate countries, which does not.
I prefer to look at dependencies and territories case by case. The question I
keep coming back to is whether visiting the place feels meaningfully distinct
from visiting the country that governs it.
Culture
Culture is one of the strongest factors. French Guiana is politically
part of France, but hiking in the Amazon and meeting people there is a
very different travel experience from visiting metropolitan France.
Distance
Distance matters, although not by itself. Alaska is geographically far
from much of the United States but remains an integral part of the
country. The Falkland Islands, by contrast, are a small and extremely
distant territory with a much more separate geographic identity.
Size & Population
I do not automatically count every territory. Some are tiny areas with
very small or temporary populations. In those cases, calling the place
a separate country for travel purposes can feel artificial.
Rebel Territories
I generally do not count rebel-held territories as separate countries.
Their borders are often disputed or temporary, and most remain part of
a larger internationally recognized state.
The list is intentionally personal rather than official. The point is not to
create a perfect political definition, but to set a travel goal that reflects
how different places actually feel to visit.
