I believe there is no Definitive List Of All The World’s Countries, nobody is right or wrong. It is personal. I don’t recognise the UN, the UK, the EU or FIFA as genuine in any way. I am a Northern Irish separatist and nationalist. In fact I want separatism and nationalism in every country – that way the world becomes much more interesting and worth exploring. When cultures and countries merge, blend or become similar to each other, the novelty of backpacking has gone. I abhorr backpacking the France to Belgium “border”, like you don’t even notice they are separate countries or cultures.
Is There A Definitive List Of All The World’s Countries?
The UN don’t recognise Northern Ireland as separate. FIFA don’t recognise the UK as separate. The EU try to smuggle far away countries like Mayotte from Comoros and Sint Maarten into Netherlands. FIFA doesn’t include countries like Marshall Islands, French Guyana or Nauru. So the list I will aim for on my journeys will have to amalgamshake all of those together.
Is There A Definitive List Of All The World’s Countries?
Even though I don’t recognise the UK, the UK government list of real countries is actually pretty good!! And that is the one I will go for first – there are 230 countries on their list. They actually list 226, but that ignores the very four countries in the UK jigsaw – Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, so adding those four in, gives us 230 countries! Here are the countries I want to visit, with a tick for those I have already backpacked.
A
- Afghanistan✅
- Albania✅
- Algeria✅
- Andorra✅
- Angola✅
- Anguilla
- Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory✅
- Antigua and Barbuda✅
- Argentina✅
- Armenia✅
- Aruba
- Australia✅
- Austria✅
- Azerbaijan✅
B
- Bahamas✅
- Bahrain✅
- Bangladesh✅
- Barbados✅
- Belarus✅
- Belgium✅
- Belize✅
- Benin✅
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia✅
- Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba
- Bosnia and Herzegovina✅
- Botswana✅
- Brazil✅
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands✅
- Brunei✅
- Bulgaria✅
- Burkina Faso✅
- Burundi✅
C
- Cambodia✅
- Cameroon✅
- Canada✅
- Cape Verde✅
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic✅
- Chad
- Chile✅
- China✅
- Colombia✅
- Comoros✅
- Congo
- Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue
- Costa Rica✅
- Côte d’Ivoire✅
- Croatia✅
- Cuba✅
- Curaçao✅
- Cyprus✅
- Czechia✅
D✅
- Democratic Republic of the Congo✅
- Denmark✅
- Djibouti ✅
- Dominica✅
- Dominican Republic✅
E
- Ecuador✅
- Egypt✅
- El Salvador✅
- England✅
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia✅
- Eswatini✅
- Ethiopia✅
F
- Falkland Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji✅
- Finland✅
- France✅
- French Guiana✅
- French Polynesia
G✅
- Gabon✅
- The Gambia✅
- Georgia✅
- Germany✅
- Ghana✅
- Gibraltar✅
- Greece✅
- Grenada✅
- Guadeloupe✅
- Guatemala✅
- Guinea✅
- Guinea-Bissau✅
- Guyana✅
H✅
- Haiti✅
- Honduras✅
- Hong Kong✅
- Hungary✅
I✅
- Iceland✅
- India✅
- Indonesia✅
- Iran✅
- Iraq✅
- Israel✅
- Italy✅
J✅
- Jamaica✅
- Japan✅
- Jordan✅
K✅
- Kazakhstan✅
- Kenya✅
- Kiribati✅
- Kosovo✅
- Kuwait✅
- Kyrgyzstan✅
L
- Laos✅
- Latvia✅
- Lebanon✅
- Lesotho✅
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein✅
- Lithuania✅
- Luxembourg✅
M
- Macao✅
- Madagascar✅
- Malawi✅
- Malaysia✅
- Maldives✅
- Mali (airport only)
- Malta✅
- Marshall Islands✅
- Martinique
- Mauritania✅
- Mauritius✅
- Mayotte✅
- Mexico✅
- Moldova✅
- Monaco✅
- Mongolia✅
- Montenegro✅
- Montserrat
- Morocco✅
- Mozambique✅
- Myanmar (Burma)✅
N
- Namibia✅
- Nauru✅
- Nepal✅
- Netherlands✅
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand✅
- Nicaragua✅
- Niger✅
- Nigeria
- Northern Ireland✅
- North Korea✅
- North Macedonia✅
- Norway✅
O✅
- Oman✅
P
- Pakistan✅
- Palau
- Palestine✅
- Panama✅
- Papua New Guinea✅
- Paraguay✅
- Peru✅
- Philippines✅
- Pitcairn Island
- Poland✅
- Portugal✅
Q✅
- Qatar✅
R✅
- Republic Of Ireland✅
- Réunion✅
- Romania✅
- Russia✅
- Rwanda✅
S
- Samoa
- San Marino✅
- São Tomé and Principe✅
- Saudi Arabia✅
- Scotland✅
- Senegal✅
- Serbia✅
- Seychelles✅
- Sierra Leone✅
- Singapore✅
- Slovakia✅
- Slovenia✅
- Solomon Islands✅
- Somalia / Somaliland / Puntland✅
- South Africa✅
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- South Korea✅
- South Sudan
- Spain✅
- Sri Lanka✅
- St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia✅
- St Maarten✅
- St Martin and St Barthélemy✅
- St Pierre & Miquelon
- St Vincent and the Grenadines✅
- Sudan
- Suriname✅
- Sweden✅
- Switzerland✅
- Syria
T
- Taiwan✅
- Tajikistan✅
- Tanzania✅
- Thailand✅
- Timor-Leste✅
- Togo✅
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago✅
- Tunisia✅
- Turkey✅
- Turkmenistan✅
- Turks and Caicos Islands✅
- Tuvalu
U✅
- USA✅
- Uganda✅
- Ukraine✅
- United Arab Emirates✅
- Uruguay✅
- Uzbekistan✅
V
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela✅
- Vietnam✅
W
- Wales✅
- Wallis and Futuna
- Western Sahara✅
Y
- Yemen
Z✅
- Zambia✅
- Zimbabwe✅
Is There A Definitive List Of All The World’s Countries?
Countries / Regions I have visited that are NOT on this list
This list, I also recognise as separate places based on visa rules and borders.
- Adammia
- Alderney
- Andaman Islands
- Artsakh
- Austenasia
- Azores
- Basque Country
- Bavaria
- Canary Islands
- Catalonia
- Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
- Christiania
- Druze
- Faroe Islands
- Frestonia
- Gagauzia
- Gorno Badakhshan
- Greenland (not yet visited, but I count it)
- Guernsey
- Herm
- International Waters
- Iranian Kurdistan
- Iraqi Kurdistan
- Isle Of Man
- Jersey
- Karakalpakstan
- Kashubia
- Ladonia
- Lagoan Isles
- Lovely
- Maasai
- Podjistan
- Romkerhall
- San Escobar
- Sark
- Seborga
- Sovereign Military Order Of Malta
- Transnistria
- Uzupis
- Vatican City
- Venice
- Zanzibar
Playing Freddie Mercury’s piano. Dressed in yellow and black by fluke!