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It occurred to me that while we have badges for tag experts etc, it might be useful to try and identify who has been to which countries/territories, as you could then ask that person about it in [chat].

If you're interested, I'm going to add an answer below and turn it into a Wiki answer. Please edit it to add your name if you live in or have spent time in any of these countries/regions.

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  • 6
    Related: Where can one meet other Travel.SE members?, aka "Where we all live"
    – choster
    Commented Sep 14, 2016 at 20:40
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    How do you define "spent time in"? I can reel off 60+ countries that I have spent at least a couple of weeks in, but don't think a couple of weeks qualifies me as an expert on each of those countries. So how do you qualify your expertise ... XX days in country, YY different times going to the country, ZZ years?
    – user13044
    Commented Sep 17, 2016 at 6:29
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    Perhaps an easier way would be some sort of JavaScript that searches for a country/place name in the profiles of all the members.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Sep 17, 2016 at 15:47
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    @WGroleau I don't think that's a good idea. This should be a voluntary list, IMO. Some people are purposefully omitting their names from certain (or all) countries, because they don't feel qualified (or don't want) to be pinged in Travel Chat with queries regarding said territory.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Sep 17, 2016 at 19:18
  • Right. But they don't have to list any countries on their profile.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Sep 17, 2016 at 20:27
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    I can think of a more powerful list: people living where (and I see people already using the list for that).
    – user40521
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 8:39
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    @JanDoggen - meta.travel.stackexchange.com/questions/1603/…
    – Mark Mayo Mod
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 9:24
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    @WGroleau Having countries on their profile and here is a bit different. OP here specifically mentions the possibility of pinging people in Travel Chat asking for help. Also, it's more likely to be seen here.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Sep 18, 2016 at 22:05
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    @Fiksdal well it's just a possibility. You're looking for someone that hopefully went where you want to go. I've been to the US, for example, but never to Yellowstone Park, or the state of Georgia, or Michigan. But the more we have recorded as having been there, the more likely to find someone we can know to ping. Hopefully. It's an experiment :)
    – Mark Mayo Mod
    Commented Sep 21, 2016 at 9:42
  • MarkMayo: Yes, I think this list is a great idea. What I was discussing was the idea of @WGroleau to have a script automatically fetch countries off user profiles and add them to the list. I was discouraging the latter.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Sep 21, 2016 at 9:49
  • No, I was suggesting one which would just check the profiles for a specific place on request. If I don't want anyone to know I went to Iceland, I wouldn't put it here OR in my profile.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Sep 21, 2016 at 12:51
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    @WGroleau Alright, but for reasons already stated I think it's better if everyone adds their names manually. There are already several people who have opted not to add their names for certain countries.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Sep 21, 2016 at 13:11
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    Well, with this much disagreement on "what is a country" I think back to my suggestion to put on your profile what you want others to know. Alternatively, I move that the list be the 249 currently in use ISO 3166 two-letter codes. And if someone is desperate for a sub-region, put it in parentheses after your name.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Oct 17, 2016 at 6:08
  • OK, I'm happy to add my name although I do not claim to be an expert on the 65+ countries I have visited, some for long periods, some fleetingly. I am new to Stack Exchange. How do I edit to add my name to the lists? Is there a way to batch enter all of them at once?
    – Alan Shanley
    Commented Aug 24, 2019 at 23:43
  • @AlanShanley manually, sorry ;)
    – Mark Mayo Mod
    Commented Aug 25, 2019 at 22:50

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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This list of countries is adapted from ISO 3166.

The list continues in the below answer.

*Please note - please don't count airport stopovers as having been there, and only countries / territories that currently have a claim to existing. We're a travel site, not a history site :)

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    Cool, now we can check to which country to travel next to become the sole expert in this country
    – RoflcoptrException Mod
    Commented Sep 15, 2016 at 9:29
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    Comments have been moved to chat to facilitate further discussion, as it got a bit unwieldy with 80 comments.
    – JonathanReez Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2017 at 12:14
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    One little thing: Guadeloupe and Martinique listed in this answer are not countries, they are insular regions from France. We may put them under France, don't we? Same for Mayotte, Reunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon...
    – Nicolas R
    Commented May 4, 2017 at 8:19
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*Please note - please don't count airport stopovers as having been there, and only countries / territories that currently have a claim to existing. We're a travel site, not a history site :)

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    @pnuts Thus, the easiest way to complete this question is to persuade Charles Veley to join TSE.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Sep 15, 2016 at 10:17
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    @pnuts - All of it was in 2010 and separately in 2014. Sana'a and Hudaydah (and outlying areas) in 2010, Socotra and islands in 2014. Return to Sana'a later in 2014. All for tourism.
    – Mikey
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 22:32
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    @pnuts - Yeah you need to go from Sharjah on Felix Airlines. I was living in Abu Dhabi so we just drove to Sharjah Emirate and got a flight. At the time it was Sharjah-Mukala-Socotra. I don't know how to start a 'chat,' but I can tell you details about the logistics if you like. [Sorry my first response I thought you'd asked 'where'.]
    – Mikey
    Commented Feb 23, 2017 at 22:38
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    Hm, I might tick off Palau and American Samoa if I felt a one-day visit justified sufficient qualification (then again, those are comparatively small islands)
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Commented Apr 15, 2017 at 17:44
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    -1 for Crimea as a sub-item of Russia. Otherwise, we would have to list all zones of temporary occupation here. Like ISIS-controlled territories of Iraq and Syria.
    – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 16:48
  • @bytebuster This list of countries is adapted from ISO 3166.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 16:53
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    @Revetahw, it would make sense if ISO 3166 contained Crimea.
    – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 16:57
  • @bytebuster Meh, I don't know, I didn't make this list. Just copied it because it was too long for one answer.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Aug 23, 2019 at 16:58
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    Curious whether there's a reason for Guam being in the 'G' list but other territories being shown subordinate to USA.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Dec 21, 2019 at 23:46
  • Add me to Turkmenistan if it helps
    – Lamar Latrell
    Commented Dec 11, 2023 at 2:37
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Five months on, these places on our list have had 'no visitors' (if the map is up-to-date!):

enter image description here

  • Africa - Burkina Faso, Burundi, CAR, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Western Sahara.
  • Asia - British Indian Ocean Territory.
  • Atlantic Islands - French Southern Territories
  • Pacific islands - American Samoa, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna.
  • North America - Bonaire/Sint Eustatius/Saba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Country-level visitation is quite a low standard, but even by this crude measure, we have an enormous gap across central Africa. Imagine if we took this down to the county level; I don't even crack the 16% mark for the U.S.

Standouts to me include Nigeria, the largest economy and most populous country in Africa; and Trinidad and Tobago, a major transportation and commercial hub.

Minor surprises: Burundi, recently popular among backpackers as an add-on to Rwanda; and world-traveler-bucket-list topper Tristan da Cunha.

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    ...as all the places I have already been have already someone else name on them, this post is making me consider to take my motorbike, start from Libia, and put my flag on all the african's grey nations on that map...
    – motoDrizzt
    Commented Oct 15, 2016 at 13:33
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    Svalbard (Spitsbergen), the red blob above Norway, has also been visited by me.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Nov 24, 2016 at 2:28
  • @pnuts Not when it's over 30k chars...
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Nov 24, 2016 at 9:34
  • I had plans to visit Dili (Timor-Leste) last month but had to change plans. 2017 Feb perhaps :)
    – AKS
    Commented Nov 26, 2016 at 20:23
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    What a great answer. Using an image to depict the question shows an interesting factoid as well as summarising the countries. Very nice indeed.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Nov 27, 2016 at 10:16
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    You can tick off Svalbard.
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 19:09
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    @jpatokal You've been to Svalbard, but not Norway?
    – Fiksdal
    Commented Dec 1, 2016 at 16:51
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    @Fiksdal I only filled in interesting countries...
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Dec 1, 2016 at 21:49
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    You can cross Turkmenistan off that list, I'm now TSE's resident Turkmenistan guy :P
    – zeocrash
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 14:24
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    @zeocrash This is a community wiki; you can remove it yourself. And welcome. :).
    – choster
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 14:25
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    brb, just firing up mspaint :P
    – zeocrash
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 14:26
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    I'm actually a Nigerian prince, please add me to this list.
    – Criticizing Israel not allowed
    Commented Dec 5, 2019 at 21:23
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    Have added Trinidad and Tobago to the list - the first reader. A full week in each island.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Aug 17, 2023 at 13:26
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    Nigeria done by 2 users!!
    – MattAllegro
    Commented Sep 20, 2023 at 12:20
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Unvisited list so far (please edit):

  • Abkhazia
  • American Samoa
  • Benin
  • Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
  • British Indian Ocean Territory
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Djibouti
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Kiribati
  • Liberia
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mayotte
  • Micronesia (Federated States)
  • Nauru
  • Niger
  • Niue
  • Palau
  • Pitcairn Islands
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • São Tomé and Príncipe
  • Somalia
  • Somaliland
  • South Ossetia
  • South Sudan
  • Tokelau
  • Tuvalu
  • U.S. outlying islands (Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Johnston, Kingman, Midway, Navassa, Palmyra, Wake)
  • Wallis and Futuna
  • Western Sahara
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    I'm kind of surprised no one has listed American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia or the Marshall Islands. I guess I need to go book the Island Hopper now.
    – reirab
    Commented Dec 13, 2018 at 11:00

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