Thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we have not traveled to any new-to-us countries this year. You might be in the same boat; sad for the trips you had planned that got canceled.
One thing we are trying to do: recall all of the places we have been, reminisce on the highlights of those travel experiences, and be grateful for them. During this process, we have been making more travel lists.
Since we are both members of The Travelers’ Century Club (TCC), we have previously tracked our progress on the club’s list of 329 countries and territories. The TCC list includes not only sovereign states but also certain territories, exclaves and island groups. Our current TCC count is 113 for Mrs. Jones and 110 for Mr. Jones.
As for a list of actual countries visited — as defined by the U.S. Department of State — we learned there are currently 195 “Independent States in the World.”
Our counts are quite different for this list: 76/195 for Mrs. Jones and 74/195 for Mr. Jones.
Perhaps you would like to make a list of countries visited? The
List of Independent States in the World
Notes: * Diplomatic relations with the United States
“+” Member of United Nations
| Short-form name | Long-form name | Capital | Visited | |
| 1 | Afghanistan *+ | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | Kabul | |
| 2 | Albania *+ | Republic of Albania | Tirana | Yes |
| 3 | Algeria *+ | People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria | Algiers | |
| 4 | Andorra *+ | Principality of Andorra | Andorra la Vella | Yes |
| 5 | Angola *+ | Republic of Angola | Luanda | |
| 6 | Antigua and Barbuda *+ | Antigua and Barbuda | Saint John’s | |
| 7 | Argentina *+ | Argentine Republic | Buenos Aires | Yes |
| 8 | Armenia *+ | Republic of Armenia | Yerevan | |
| 9 | Australia *+ | Commonwealth of Australia | Canberra | Yes |
| 10 | Austria *+ | Republic of Austria | Vienna | Yes |
| 11 | Azerbaijan *+ | Republic of Azerbaijan | Baku | |
| 12 | Bahamas, The *+ | Commonwealth of The Bahamas | Nassau | Yes |
| 13 | Bahrain *+ | Kingdom of Bahrain | Manama | |
| 14 | Bangladesh *+ | People’s Republic of Bangladesh | Dhaka | |
| 15 | Barbados *+ | Barbados | Bridgetown | Yes |
| 16 | Belarus *+ | Republic of Belarus | Minsk | |
| 17 | Belgium *+ | Kingdom of Belgium | Brussels | Yes |
| 18 | Belize *+ | Belize | Belmopan | Yes |
| 19 | Benin *+ | Republic of Benin | Porto-Novo / Cotonou (seat of government) | |
| 20 | Bhutan + | Kingdom of Bhutan | Thimphu | |
| 21 | Bolivia *+ | Plurinational State of Bolivia | La Paz (administrative) Sucre (legislative/judiciary) | |
| 22 | Bosnia and Herzegovina *+ | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | |
| 23 | Botswana *+ | Republic of Botswana | Gaborone | |
| 24 | Brazil *+ | Federative Republic of Brazil | Brasília | Yes |
| 25 | Brunei *+ | Brunei Darussalam | Bandar Seri Begawan | |
| 26 | Bulgaria *+ | Republic of Bulgaria | Sofia | Yes |
| 27 | Burkina Faso *+ | Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | |
| 28 | Burma *+ | Union of Burma | Rangoon Nay Pyi Taw (administrative) | Yes |
| 29 | Burundi *+ | Republic of Burundi | Bujumbura Gitega (political) | |
| 30 | Cabo Verde *+ | Republic of Cabo Verde | Praia | |
| 31 | Cambodia *+ | Kingdom of Cambodia | Phnom Penh | |
| 32 | Cameroon *+ | Republic of Cameroon | Yaoundé | |
| 33 | Canada *+ | Canada | Ottawa | Yes |
| 34 | Central African Republic *+ | Central African Republic | Bangui | |
| 35 | Chad *+ | Republic of Chad | N’Djamena | |
| 36 | Chile *+ | Republic of Chile | Santiago | Yes |
| 37 | China *+ (see note 3) | People’s Republic of China | Beijing | Yes |
| 38 | Colombia *+ | Republic of Colombia | Bogotá | |
| 39 | Comoros *+ | Union of the Comoros | Moroni | |
| 40 | Congo (Brazzaville) *+ | Republic of the Congo | Brazzaville | |
| 41 | Congo (Kinshasa) *+ | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kinshasa | |
| 42 | Costa Rica *+ | Republic of Costa Rica | San José | |
| 43 | Côte d’Ivoire *+ | Republic of Côte d’Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | |
| 44 | Croatia *+ | Republic of Croatia | Zagreb | Yes |
| 45 | Cuba *+ | Republic of Cuba | Havana | Yes |
| 46 | Cyprus *+ | Republic of Cyprus | Nicosia | |
| 47 | Czechia *+ | Czech Republic | Prague | Yes |
| 48 | Denmark *+ | Kingdom of Denmark | Copenhagen | Yes |
| 49 | Djibouti *+ | Republic of Djibouti | Djibouti | |
| 50 | Dominica *+ | Commonwealth of Dominica | Roseau | Yes |
| 51 | Dominican Republic *+ | Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo | Yes |
| 52 | Ecuador *+ | Republic of Ecuador | Quito | |
| 53 | Egypt *+ | Arab Republic of Egypt | Cairo | |
| 54 | El Salvador *+ | Republic of El Salvador | San Salvador | |
| 55 | Equatorial Guinea *+ | Republic of Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | |
| 56 | Eritrea *+ | State of Eritrea | Asmara | |
| 57 | Estonia *+ | Republic of Estonia | Tallinn | Yes |
| 58 | Eswatini *+ | Kingdom of Eswatini | Mbabane (administrative) Lobamba (legislative) | |
| 59 | Ethiopia *+ | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | |
| 60 | Fiji *+ | Republic of Fiji | Suva | |
| 61 | Finland *+ | Republic of Finland | Helsinki | Yes |
| 62 | France *+ | French Republic | Paris | Yes |
| 63 | Gabon *+ | Gabonese Republic | Libreville | |
| 64 | Gambia, The *+ | Republic of The Gambia | Banjul | |
| 65 | Georgia *+ | Georgia | Tbilisi | |
| 66 | Germany *+ | Federal Republic of Germany | Berlin | Yes |
| 67 | Ghana *+ | Republic of Ghana | Accra | |
| 68 | Greece *+ | Hellenic Republic | Athens | Yes |
| 69 | Grenada *+ | Grenada | Saint George’s | |
| 70 | Guatemala *+ | Republic of Guatemala | Guatemala City | Yes |
| 71 | Guinea *+ | Republic of Guinea | Conakry | |
| 72 | Guinea-Bissau *+ | Republic of Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | |
| 73 | Guyana *+ | Co-operative Republic of Guyana | Georgetown | |
| 74 | Haiti *+ | Republic of Haiti | Port-au-Prince | Yes |
| 75 | Holy See * | Holy See | Vatican City | Yes |
| 76 | Honduras *+ | Republic of Honduras | Tegucigalpa | Yes |
| 77 | Hungary *+ | Hungary | Budapest | Yes |
| 78 | Iceland *+ | Republic of Iceland | Reykjavík | Yes |
| 79 | India *+ | Republic of India | New Delhi | Yes |
| 80 | Indonesia *+ | Republic of Indonesia | Jakarta | Yes |
| 81 | Iran + | Islamic Republic of Iran | Tehran | |
| 82 | Iraq *+ | Republic of Iraq | Baghdad | |
| 83 | Ireland *+ | Ireland | Dublin | Yes |
| 84 | Israel *+ | State of Israel | Jerusalem | |
| 85 | Italy *+ | Italian Republic | Rome | Yes |
| 86 | Jamaica *+ | Jamaica | Kingston | Yes |
| 87 | Japan *+ | Japan | Tokyo | Yes |
| 88 | Jordan *+ | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | Amman | |
| 89 | Kazakhstan *+ | Republic of Kazakhstan | Nur-Sultan | |
| 90 | Kenya *+ | Republic of Kenya | Nairobi | |
| 91 | Kiribati *+ | Republic of Kiribati | Tarawa | |
| 92 | Korea, North + | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | Pyongyang | |
| 93 | Korea, South *+ | Republic of Korea | Seoul | Yes |
| 94 | Kosovo * | Republic of Kosovo | Pristina | |
| 95 | Kuwait *+ | State of Kuwait | Kuwait City | |
| 96 | Kyrgyzstan *+ | Kyrgyz Republic | Bishkek | |
| 97 | Laos *+ | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | Vientiane | |
| 98 | Latvia *+ | Republic of Latvia | Riga | Yes |
| 99 | Lebanon *+ | Lebanese Republic | Beirut | |
| 100 | Lesotho *+ | Kingdom of Lesotho | Maseru | |
| 101 | Liberia *+ | Republic of Liberia | Monrovia | |
| 102 | Libya *+ | State of Libya | Tripoli | |
| 103 | Liechtenstein *+ | Principality of Liechtenstein | Vaduz | |
| 104 | Lithuania *+ | Republic of Lithuania | Vilnius | |
| 105 | Luxembourg *+ | Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Yes |
| 106 | Madagascar *+ | Republic of Madagascar | Antananarivo | |
| 107 | Malawi *+ | Republic of Malawi | Lilongwe | |
| 108 | Malaysia *+ | Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Yes |
| 109 | Maldives *+ | Republic of Maldives | Male | Yes |
| 110 | Mali *+ | Republic of Mali | Bamako | |
| 111 | Malta *+ | Republic of Malta | Valletta | Yes |
| 112 | Marshall Islands *+ | Republic of the Marshall Islands | Majuro | |
| 113 | Mauritania *+ | Islamic Republic of Mauritania | Nouakchott | |
| 114 | Mauritius *+ | Republic of Mauritius | Port Louis | |
| 115 | Mexico *+ | United Mexican States | Mexico City | Yes |
| 116 | Micronesia, Federated States of *+ | Federated States of Micronesia | Palikir | |
| 117 | Moldova *+ | Republic of Moldova | Chisinau | |
| 118 | Monaco *+ | Principality of Monaco | Monaco | Yes |
| 119 | Mongolia *+ | Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar | Yes |
| 120 | Montenegro *+ | Montenegro | Podgorica | |
| 121 | Morocco *+ | Kingdom of Morocco | Rabat | Yes |
| 122 | Mozambique *+ | Republic of Mozambique | Maputo | |
| 123 | Namibia *+ | Republic of Namibia | Windhoek | |
| 124 | Nauru *+ | Republic of Nauru | Yaren District | |
| 125 | Nepal *+ | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | Kathmandu | |
| 126 | Netherlands *+ | Kingdom of the Netherlands | Amsterdam The Hague (seat of government) | Yes |
| 127 | New Zealand *+ | New Zealand | Wellington | Yes |
| 128 | Nicaragua *+ | Republic of Nicaragua | Managua | |
| 129 | Niger *+ | Republic of Niger | Niamey | |
| 130 | Nigeria *+ | Federal Republic of Nigeria | Abuja | |
| 131 | North Macedonia *+ | Republic of North Macedonia | Skopje | |
| 132 | Norway *+ | Kingdom of Norway | Oslo | Yes |
| 133 | Oman *+ | Sultanate of Oman | Muscat | |
| 134 | Pakistan *+ | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | Islamabad | |
| 135 | Palau *+ | Republic of Palau | Ngerulmud | |
| 136 | Panama *+ | Republic of Panama | Panama City | Yes |
| 137 | Papua New Guinea *+ | Independent State of Papua New Guinea | Port Moresby | |
| 138 | Paraguay *+ | Republic of Paraguay | Asunción | |
| 139 | Peru *+ | Republic of Peru | Lima | |
| 140 | Philippines *+ | Republic of the Philippines | Manila | Yes |
| 141 | Poland *+ | Republic of Poland | Warsaw | Yes |
| 142 | Portugal *+ | Portuguese Republic | Lisbon | Yes |
| 143 | Qatar *+ | State of Qatar | Doha | Yes |
| 144 | Romania *+ | Romania | Bucharest | Yes |
| 145 | Russia *+ | Russian Federation | Moscow | Yes |
| 146 | Rwanda *+ | Republic of Rwanda | Kigali | |
| 147 | Saint Kitts and Nevis *+ | Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre | Yes |
| 148 | Saint Lucia *+ | Saint Lucia | Castries | Yes |
| 149 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *+ | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown | |
| 150 | Samoa *+ | Independent State of Samoa | Apia | |
| 151 | San Marino *+ | Republic of San Marino | San Marino | Yes |
| 152 | Sao Tome and Principe *+ | Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe | São Tomé | |
| 153 | Saudi Arabia *+ | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | |
| 154 | Senegal *+ | Republic of Senegal | Dakar | |
| 155 | Serbia *+ | Republic of Serbia | Belgrade | |
| 156 | Seychelles *+ | Republic of Seychelles | Victoria | |
| 157 | Sierra Leone *+ | Republic of Sierra Leone | Freetown | |
| 158 | Singapore *+ | Republic of Singapore | Singapore | Yes |
| 159 | Slovakia *+ | Slovak Republic | Bratislava | Yes |
| 160 | Slovenia *+ | Republic of Slovenia | Ljubljana | Yes |
| 161 | Solomon Islands *+ | Solomon Islands | Honiara | |
| 162 | Somalia *+ | Federal Republic of Somalia | Mogadishu | |
| 163 | South Africa *+ | Republic of South Africa | Pretoria (administrative) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judiciary) | |
| 164 | South Sudan *+ | Republic of South Sudan | Juba | |
| 165 | Spain *+ | Kingdom of Spain | Madrid | Yes |
| 166 | Sri Lanka *+ | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | Colombo Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative) | Yes |
| 167 | Sudan *+ | Republic of the Sudan | Khartoum | |
| 168 | Suriname *+ | Republic of Suriname | Paramaribo | |
| 169 | Sweden *+ | Kingdom of Sweden | Stockholm | Yes |
| 170 | Switzerland *+ | Swiss Confederation | Bern | Yes |
| 171 | Syria *+ | Syrian Arab Republic | Damascus | |
| 172 | Tajikistan *+ | Republic of Tajikistan | Dushanbe | |
| 173 | Tanzania *+ | United Republic of Tanzania | Dar es Salaam Dodoma (legislative) | |
| 174 | Thailand *+ | Kingdom of Thailand | Bangkok | Yes |
| 175 | Timor-Leste *+ | Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste | Dili | |
| 176 | Togo *+ | Togolese Republic | Lomé | |
| 177 | Tonga *+ | Kingdom of Tonga | Nuku’alofa | |
| 178 | Trinidad and Tobago *+ | Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | Yes |
| 179 | Tunisia *+ | Republic of Tunisia | Tunis | Yes |
| 180 | Turkey *+ | Republic of Turkey | Ankara | Yes |
| 181 | Turkmenistan *+ | Turkmenistan | Ashgabat | |
| 182 | Tuvalu *+ | Tuvalu | Funafuti | |
| 183 | Uganda *+ | Republic of Uganda | Kampala | |
| 184 | Ukraine *+ | Ukraine | Kyiv | Yes |
| 185 | United Arab Emirates *+ | United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | |
| 186 | United Kingdom *+ | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | London | Yes |
| 187 | United States + | United States of America | Washington, DC | Yes |
| 188 | Uruguay *+ | Oriental Republic of Uruguay | Montevideo | Yes |
| 189 | Uzbekistan *+ | Republic of Uzbekistan | Tashkent | |
| 190 | Vanuatu *+ | Republic of Vanuatu | Port-Vila | |
| 191 | Venezuela *+ | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | Caracas | |
| 192 | Vietnam *+ | Socialist Republic of Vietnam | Hanoi | |
| 193 | Yemen *+ | Republic of Yemen | Sanaa | |
| 194 | Zambia *+ | Republic of Zambia | Lusaka | |
| 195 | Zimbabwe *+ | Republic of Zimbabwe | Harare |
How many independent states on this list have you visited? Where will you visit next? Please share in comments below.
Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on FacebookOr, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.