I was daydreaming in India while travelling with a camera, and curiosity came over me on how many countries I had visited. So out came the pad and pen. It is much easier now that you can look back on your digital photos, however, for my younger days, I had to look back through my 6×4 prints or 35mm slides for reminders of locations!
Being honest, I didn’t know how many countries there were in the world, so google came to my aid. 196, more than I and most other people thought when I asked them the same question.
Some interesting facts:
– The smallest country by both size and population is Vatican City – 0.44 km² and circa 450 inhabitants.
– The largest country by size is Russia at 17,075,200 km².
– China has the world’s largest population (1.4 billion), followed by India (1.3 billion).
– Taiwan is not considered an official country by many countries, but they are include in the 196.
– The world’s newest country is South Sudan which gained independence from Sudan on 9 July, 2011.
A whopping 47 was my tally, only 149 to go… unless I discount Taiwan! I also need to visit South America and Antartica to cover off all of the 7 continents. Thermals will be required for the latter.
- Austria
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Great Britain – England / Wales / Scotland
- Greece – Kos / Crete
- Hungary
- Southern Ireland
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Malta / Gozo / Comino
- Netherlands / St Maarten
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain / Majorca / Tenerife / Lanzarote
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Vatican City
AFRICA
- Egypt
- Morocco
- South Africa
ASIA
- Cambodia
- Hong Kong
- India
- Israel
- Malaysia / Penang / Langkawi
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand / Koh Samui / Phuket
- Vietnam
NORTH AMERICA
- Antigua
- Barbados
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- St Kitts & Nevis
- St Lucia
- USA – NY / Las Vegas
AUSTRALASIA AND OCEAN
- Australia
- New Zealand
