Make a map of every country you’ve visited

A map of the countries you have visited is one of the simplest and most satisfying things to make. It answers “how many countries have you been to?” at a glance, it is a good reminder of trips you forgot, and it makes the gaps obvious, which is how next year’s plans start.

This guide covers two ways to make one, and the question that always follows: what counts as a country, and what counts as visiting?

Option 1: tap the countries yourself

Best if you want a map in two minutes, and if your travels include countries you reached by road, rail or sea.

1. Open the countries visited map maker. It works on a phone or a computer, without an account.
2. Tap or click each country you have been to. The counter at the top shows how many countries and territories you have picked.
3. Add a name to print on the image, if you like.
4. Download the image (a PNG file) or use Share to send it straight to a chat or a Story.

Your choices are kept on your device, so you can come back and add more later on the same phone or computer. Nothing is sent to us.

Option 2: let your flights fill it in

Best if most of your travel is by air, or if you want the map to stay up to date without thinking about it.

1. Log your flights on flew.world, by flight number and date, by scanning a boarding pass, or by importing your history from Flighty, myFlightradar24, OpenFlights, App in the Air or a CSV file.
2. Your countries are counted automatically from the airports you flew to, and your routes appear on the map.
3. Every new trip updates the map, and each year gets its own count on your year in review page, including the countries that were new that year.

The two options work well together: your flights give you the bulk, and you can always make a hand-picked map for a trip that didn’t involve a plane.

What counts as a country?

There is no single answer, which is why two travellers with similar trips can quote very different numbers. The common lists are:

• UN member states: 193 countries. The most widely used benchmark, plus two observer states, Vatican City and Palestine, that many people add to make 195.
• ISO 3166-1: 249 country and territory codes, the standard used by computers, airports and postal systems. It lists places such as Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, Greenland and Réunion separately.
• Travellers’ clubs: some clubs keep much longer lists that split off islands and regions as separate destinations, aimed at people chasing every corner of the map.

The flew.world flight log counts countries and territories by their ISO code, so Hong Kong or Puerto Rico count on their own, and the map maker counts countries and territories too. Whatever list you use, the important thing is to say which one, so your number can be compared.

What counts as visiting?

This is where the arguments start. Three common rules:

• Set foot outside the airport. The most common rule among travellers. A connection without leaving the transit area doesn’t count.
• Stayed at least one night. Stricter, and favoured by people who want each country to mean something.
• Any landing counts. The aviation enthusiast’s rule, where every airport you have landed at counts, connections included.

flew.world shows two counts side by side so you don’t have to choose: countries you stayed in (connections and coming home don’t count) and every country you flew into or through (connections included). If a stop was really a stay, or the other way round, you can correct it.

Turn the gaps into a plan

The most useful thing about a countries map is what isn’t coloured in. A few ways to use it:

• Look at the neighbours. The cheapest new countries are often next door to ones you know. A weekend across a border can add one with a short flight or a train.
• Look for long-haul gaps. A whole continent in grey is a good reason to plan one big trip rather than several small ones.
• Keep a bucket list. On flew.world you can add places you want to go to a bucket list, and they appear on your map in a different colour from the places you have been.
• Set a goal for the year. A number of new countries, or one new continent, is easy to track when your map updates with every trip, and your year in review shows which countries were new.
• Count with friends. Comparing maps is half the fun. Agree on the rules first, or you will spend the evening arguing about airport connections.

Making your map look good

• Show the whole world. A full map makes even ten countries look like a journey.
• Add your name or a title, such as “Countries I’ve been to, 2026”. It makes the image recognisable when it is shared.
• Say how you count. A short caption, such as “UN countries, at least one night”, heads off the comments.
• Update it after every trip. A map that grows is more fun than one you make once.

Sharing it

• Stories and chats: use Share on your phone to send the image directly.
• A profile or blog: download the PNG and upload it.
• A link that stays current: on flew.world, a public profile gives you a link to your map that updates as you travel. Profiles are private unless you choose otherwise.

Other free travel tools

• Flight distance calculator: great-circle distance and estimated flight time between any airports, with stops.
• Flight CO₂ calculator: an estimate of emissions per passenger for a route.
• How many kilometres have I flown?: count every flight of your life.

Questions

Updated 2 November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at hello@flew.world.