Would you want to travel to every country in the world? Before even considering visiting every country, we have to ask what “every” means, because the concept of a fixed list is blurry.
It’s commonly said that the world has 195 countries.
But the number varies depending on who you ask. For example, the United Nations recognizes 193 member states, plus two observer states, while other lists include partially recognized countries or territories with distinct governments and cultures.
What Defines a Country?
Debates around the number of countries there are in the world often come down to the question of what “makes” a country. There are technical rules for statehood, but there are also politics behind who gets recognized as one.
And then there’s the idea of self-determination, which is the right of a group of people to decide for themselves how they’re governed and how their society develops, without outside control.
It’s a concept that started out in the context of decolonization but continues to shape the world today, as some communities push for full independence and others for more autonomy within an existing state.
All of this makes the idea of “every country” pretty complicated. It’s not just a numbers game, it’s tied up in history, politics, and identity. So when we talk about visiting every country, we have to consider what list we are even using, and who decided it.
With that in mind, I think about the goal of traveling to every country in the same way I think about “country counting.” I’ve never loved the idea of collecting countries for the sake of checking them off a list, because I worry that the practice contributes to “gamifying” travel.
It can shift the emphasis of travel from experiences to ticking them off of a list. But what do people who’ve actually achieved the goal of traveling to every country have to say about it?
The Impact of Visiting Every Country
There’s Denmark’s Thor Pedersen, who spent nine years, nine months, and 16 days on the road, visiting 203 countries, never once taking flight.
When The Guardian asked him what his biggest lessons were from achieving his goal to visit every country, he shared,
“We are far more similar than anyone would ever believe. But we are so quick to see the differences.” Most people, he thinks, are good. “Chances are if you need help, and it is not too costly to them, people will help you. There are very few people who actively want to harm you. I can definitely say that I had help and support from someone in every country in the world.”
Gina Morello, an American who has visited every country in the world, wrote in a piece for The Guardian about it.
“This experience has taught me there’s a lot I don’t know about the world. I’ve learned that even though we all have different cultures, religions and lifestyles, people want the same things: home, family, love and security. I’ve also learned that you don’t need as much as you think to be happy.”
Thor and Gina’s takeaways from their travels are valuable. But interestingly, I’ve learned many of the same things, and I’m nowhere close to stepping foot in every country.
Maybe this is a hot take, but I think that these lessons don’t depend on quantity. I would argue that they come from the quality of the experiences we have and the people we meet along the way.
Inside the “Every Country” Community
Out of curiosity, I’ve spent a few years lurking in a Facebook group for travelers who share the goal of traveling to every country. It’s a fascinating space filled with debates about what “counts” as visiting a country and how to approach the challenge.
Some members treat it like a game. They’ll openly share that they spend a couple of days in a place just to tick it off the list. Others take their time, spending weeks in each country.
Earlier this year, someone posted in the group, asking: “For those of you who once aimed to visit all 197 countries but later decided against it, what made you change your mind?”
The replies were revealing. One person said, “At 130 countries I got travel fatigue, and realized I was spending a lot of money to do something I simply wasn’t enjoying as much.”
Another wrote, “My bank account.” Someone else added, “I realized I like some countries so much that I prefer to go there again and again instead of going only to new places.”
These comments highlight some of the issues that I think are worth unpacking about this travel goal. And it made me think about who even gets to pursue a goal like this in the first place.
The Role of Intention
Reaching every country involves privileges, like financial privilege and passport privilege. It also raises questions about what kind of experiences are possible when you’re moving quickly. In my experience, traveling fast makes it challenging to really learn about a place, for example.
I’ve also seen trip reports in the Facebook group from people chasing this goal, where they report that their trips went poorly. The reality is that traveling to every country is no easy task. Some countries are very hard to access, with complex visa requirements, complicated logistics or stressful conditions.
When your reason for going is to complete a list, those challenges have the potential to make travel feel like work. And this is not to say that travel should always be a “vacation.” Travel should challenge us at times. Being outside our comfort zone can make us more adaptable, patient, and empathetic.
For example, when I traveled to Asia for the first time, I encountered my first squat toilets. I struggled with them initially, because they were so different from the raised toilets I was used to. To put it bluntly, I thought they were “weird,” which I know now is a very problematic view. My ethnocentrism was showing.
The thing is, after 9 months traveling around Asia, I preferred squat toilets over raised ones. I learned a valuable lesson, which is that difference is sometimes a really good thing, and we should be open to doing things differently. That perspective only came with time, and time is something fast, checklist-style travel rarely allows for.
Maybe it isn’t the case for everyone, but I find that these lessons are best learned with time. I don’t know that I would have come to appreciate squat toilets so much if I’d just spent a few days or a week in a country that had them. I’d likely have been able to avoid these toilets for the most part, if the trip was short.
I don’t think that traveling to every country is inherently wrong. I think it’s just about considering intent. This is part of the practice of de-centering ourselves in travel. With every trip, I think it’s valuable to consider the why.
“Why do I want to visit this place?”
What to Consider if You Plan to Travel to Every Country
If traveling to every country is something you aspire to do, I hope you’ll weave this practice into your travel process. Consider what it is you want to learn in every country, and how you want to contribute as a tourist.
This could mean spending longer in each place, traveling overland (to reduce your carbon footprint), and hiring a local guide for your visit so that your dollars go into their community, and you have more opportunities for cultural exchange.
And, approach traveling to every country with responsible tourism in mind:
- Learn the main tips for being a responsible tourist.
- Use sustainable tourism tips to travel eco-consciously.
- Consider overtourism, and how you can reduce your impact.
- Be aware of cultural appropriation and avoid it.
- Practice responsible wildlife tourism.
- Shop for souvenirs responsibly.
At the end of the day, I think the goal of visiting every country can be both inspiring and complicated. It speaks to a curiosity and appreciation about the world, but it also risks turning travel into a numbers game.
Who knows, maybe I will end up visiting every country, never say never! But that certainly isn’t my goal. Is it yours?
