Country bagging

His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the Name of His Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.

Europe

  Andrew Matthew Richard
al al Albania 111     1  
at at Austria 111 111 111
be be Belgium 111 1 1 111
ba ba Bosnia and Herzegovina 11      111
bg bg Bulgaria 111 11  11 
hr hr Croatia 11  1   11 
cy cy Cyprus 111        
cz cz Czech Republic 111 111 111
dk dk Denmark 1 1 1 1 111
ee ee Estonia 111 111 111
fi fi Finland 111 111 1 1
fr fr France 111 111 111
de de Germany 111 111 111
gr gr Greece 111 111 111
hu hu Hungary 111 111 111
is is Iceland 111 111 111
ie ie Ireland 111 111 111
it it Italy 111 111 111
ko ko Kosovo 111        
lv lv Latvia 111 111 111
li li Liechtenstein 111 1 1 1 1
lt lt Lithuania 111 111 111
lu lu Luxembourg 111     1 1
mt mt Malta 111        
md md Moldova 111        
mc mc Monaco 1 1     1 1
me me Montenegro 111     11 
nl nl Netherlands 111 111 111
mk mk North Macedonia 111 1   1  
no no Norway 111 111 111
pl pl Poland 111 111 111
pt pt Portugal 111 11  111
ro ro Romania 111 111    
ru ru Russia 111 111 111
sm sm San Marino 1 1     1 1
rs rs Serbia 1 1 1 1 1 1
sk sk Slovakia 111 111 111
si si Slovenia 111 111 111
es es Spain 111 111 11 
se se Sweden 111 111 111
ch ch Switzerland 111 111 111
tr tr Turkey 11  11  11 
gb gb United Kingdom 111 111 111
ua ua Ukraine     111    
va va Vatican City 1 1 1 1 1 1
Europe Total

1 45 countries

1 39 overnights

1 42 capitals

1 35 countries

1 28 overnights

1 30 capitals

1 40 countries

1 30 overnights

1 33 capitals

Asia

  Andrew Matthew Richard
bd bd Bangladesh     111    
bn bn Brunei     111    
kh kh Cambodia 111 111    
cn cn China     111 111
in in India 111 111 111
id id Indonesia 11  11     
il il Israel         111
jp jp Japan     111    
jo jo Jordan 111        
kz kz Kazakhstan         11 
kg kg Kyrgyzstan         111
la la Laos 111 111    
my my Malaysia 111 111    
mv mv Maldives     111    
mn mn Mongolia     1 1    
mm mm Myanmar 1   11     
kp kp North Korea     111    
om om Oman     111    
ph ph Philippines     111    
ps ps Palestine         111
qa qa Qatar 1   111    
sg sg Singapore 111 111 1  
kr kr South Korea     111    
lk lk Sri Lanka 111 111    
tw tw Taiwan     111    
th th Thailand 11  111 1  
ae ae United Arab Emirates 1   11  1  
uz uz Uzbekistan 111     111
vn vn Vietnam 111 111    
Asia Total

1 14 countries

1 11 overnights

1 9 capitals

1 23 countries

1 22 overnights

1 20 capitals

1 10 countries

1 7 overnights

1 6 capitals

Africa

  Andrew Matthew Richard
et et Ethiopia         1  
gm gm Gambia 11         
ke ke Kenya 111        
ma ma Morocco 111     1  
za za South Africa         111
tn tn Tunisia 111        
ug ug Uganda         111
Africa total

1 4 countries

1 4 overnights

1 3 capitals

1 0 countries

1 0 overnights

1 0 capitals

1 4 countries

1 2 overnights

1 2 capitals

Americas

  Andrew Matthew Richard
ag ag Antigua & Barbuda         1  
ca ca Canada     11  111
cl cl Chile     111    
co co Colombia     11     
cr cr Costa Rica 11         
cu cu Cuba     111    
dm dm Dominica         111
mx mx Mexico     11     
ni ni Nicaragua 111        
pa pa Panama     111    
us us United States 11  111 111
Americas Total

1 3 countries

1 3 overnights

1 1 capitals

1 7 countries

1 7 overnights

1 4 capitals

1 4 countries

1 3 overnights

1 3 capitals

Oceania

  Andrew Matthew Richard
au au Australia 111 11  11 
nz nz New Zealand     111    
ws ws Samoa     111    
to to Tonga     111    
Oceania Total

1 1 countries

1 1 overnights

1 1 capitals

1 4 countries

1 4 overnights

1 3 capitals

1 1 countries

1 1 overnights

1 0 capitals

Overall

  Andrew Matthew Richard
Overall total

1 67 countries

1 58 overnights

1 56 capitals

1 69 countries

1 61 overnights

1 57 capitals

1 59 countries

1 43 overnights

1 44 capitals

Key

Gallery

'82'83'/4'87'90'93'94'95'96'97'98'99'00'01'02'03'04'05'06'07'08'09'11'12'13'14'15'16'17'19'23'24'25

Infrequently asked questions

Can I count England, Scotland, Wales, Hong Kong, Easter Island (...) separately?
No. Dependencies, territories, subdivisions etc are counted as part of their "parent" countries, for example Hong Kong to China, Wales to United Kingdom and Easter Island to Chile.
Can I count Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan, South Ossetia...?
We recognise all UN member states (193), UN observer states (Vatican City and Palestine), and states recognised by at least 10 UN member states (Kosovo, Western Sahara, Taiwan).
What about former countries, like East Germany or Czechoslavakia?
We use current boundaries, so if you visited Bratislava in 1981, this currently counts as a bag of Slovakia. If you visited both East and West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, you now only get the single bag of Germany.
What if I visit Crimea?
A lively argument will ensue.
Does it count if I'm just changing planes at an airport?
For countries, provided you get off the plane, yes. For capitals, no.
But that's unfair and illogical! You haven't seen a country properly if you just see the airport.
Nobody claimed this game was fair or logical.

Latest activity

Maps

A "hexagonal visualisation" of this page is also available. Each country is represented by a hexagon of equal size: here are the maps for Andrew, Matthew, Richard, and our combined map.

You can also link here to create your own map using an URL of the following form. name should be a URL-escaped name, and countries should be a comma-separated list of uppercase ISO country codes.

https://www.mattmayer.com/fun/countries/map/?name=Your%20name&countries=GB,IE,AU

Albania

First bagged by Andrew and Richard in 2007

Capital: Tirana

Andorra

First bagged by Richard in 2006

Capital: Andorra la Vella

Austria

First bagged by Andrew in 1993

Capital: Vienna

Belgium

First bagged by Andrew in 1987

Capital: Brussels

Bosnia and Herzegovina

First bagged by Andrew and Richard in 2007

Capital: Sarajevo

Bulgaria

First bagged by Richard in 1997

Capital: Sofia

Croatia

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2002

Capital: Zagreb

Cyprus

First bagged by Andrew in 2008

Capital: Nicosia

Czech Republic

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2003

Capital: Prague

Denmark

First bagged by Richard in 1987

Capital: Copenhagen

Estonia

First bagged by Matt in 2003

Capital: Tallinn

Finland

First bagged by Matt in 2003

Capital: Helsinki

France

First bagged by Andrew in 1983

Capital: Paris

Germany

First bagged by Richard in 1987

Capital: Berlin

Greece

First bagged by Matt in 1995

Capital: Athens

Hungary

First bagged by Andrew in 2002

Capital: Budapest

Iceland

First bagged by Richard in 1998

Capital: Reykjavik

Ireland

First bagged by Matt in 2000

Capital: Dublin

Italy

First bagged by Andrew and Richard in 1999

Capital: Rome

Kosovo

First bagged by Andrew in 2013

Capital: Pristina

Latvia

First bagged by Matt in 2003

Capital: Riga

Liechtenstein

First bagged by Richard in 2008

Capital: Vaduz

Lithuania

First bagged by Matt in 2003

Capital: Vilnius

Luxembourg

First bagged by Andrew in 1993

Capital: Luxembourg

Malta

First bagged by Andrew in 2006

Capital: Valletta

Moldova

First bagged by Andrew in 2014

Capital: Chisinau

Monaco

First bagged by Andrew in 2004

Capital: Monaco-Ville

Montenegro

First bagged by Andrew and Richard in 2007

Capital: Podgorica

Netherlands

First bagged by Richard in 1987

Capital: Amsterdam

North Macedonia

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2002

Capital: Skopje

Norway

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2001

Capital: Oslo

Poland

First bagged by Matt in 2003

Capital: Warsaw

Portugal

First bagged by Matt in 1990

Capital: Lisbon

Romania

First bagged by Matt in 2009

Capital: Bucharest

Russia

First bagged by Andrew in 2003

Capital: Moscow

San Marino

First bagged by Richard in 2006

Capital: San Marino

Serbia

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2002

Capital: Belgrade

Slovakia

First bagged by Andrew and Matt in 2002

Capital: Bratislava

Slovenia

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2002

Capital: Ljubljana

Spain

First bagged by Richard in 1983/4

Capital: Madrid

Sweden

First bagged by Andrew, Matt and Richard in 2001

Capital: Stockholm

Switzerland

First bagged by Andrew in 1990

Capital: Bern

Turkey

First bagged by Andrew in 2002

Capital: Ankara

United Kingdom

First bagged by Andrew in 1982

Capital: London

Ukraine

First bagged by Matt in 2012

Capital: Kyiv

Vatican City

First bagged by Andrew and Richard in 1999

Capital: Vatican City

Bangladesh

First bagged by Matt in 2025

Capital: Dhaka

Brunei

First bagged by Matt in 2009

Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan

Cambodia

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Phnom Penh

China

First bagged by Matt in 2005

Capital: Beijing

India

First bagged by Matt in 2004

Capital: New Delhi

Indonesia

First bagged by Andrew in 1996

Capital: Jakarta

Israel

First bagged by Richard in 2013

Capital: Jerusalem/Tel Aviv

Japan

First bagged by Matt in 2007

Capital: Tokyo

Jordan

First bagged by Andrew in 2011

Capital: Amman

Kazakhstan

First bagged by Richard in 2015

Capital: Astana

Kyrgyzstan

First bagged by Richard in 2015

Capital: Bishkek

Laos

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Vientiane

Malaysia

First bagged by Matt in 2005

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Maldives

First bagged by Matt in 2013

Capital: Malé

Mongolia

First bagged by Matt in 2005

Capital: Ulan Batur

Myanmar

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Yangon

North Korea

First bagged by Matt in 2007

Capital: Pyongyang

Oman

First bagged by Matt in 2012

Capital: Muscat

Philippines

First bagged by Matt in 2006

Capital: Manila

Palestine

First bagged by Richard in 2013

Capital: Ramallah/Jerusalem

Qatar

First bagged by Matt in 2007

Capital: Doha

Singapore

First bagged by Andrew in 1996

Capital: Singapore

South Korea

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Seoul

Sri Lanka

First bagged by Matt in 2005

Capital: Colombo

Taiwan

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Taipei

Thailand

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Bangkok

United Arab Emirates

First bagged by Matt in 2005

Capital: Abu Dhabi

Uzbekistan

First bagged by Andrew in 2015

Capital: Tashkent

Vietnam

First bagged by Matt in 2008

Capital: Hanoi

Ethiopia

First bagged by Richard in 2024

Capital: Addis Ababa

Gambia

First bagged by Andrew in 2009

Capital: Banjul

Kenya

First bagged by Andrew in 2014

Capital: Nairobi

Morocco

First bagged by Richard in 2001

Capital: Rabat

South Africa

First bagged by Richard in 2023

Capital: Pretoria/Cape Town/Bloemfontein

Tunisia

First bagged by Andrew in 2015

Capital: Tunis

Uganda

First bagged by Richard in 2024

Capital: Kampala

Antigua & Barbuda

First bagged by Richard in 2004

Capital: Saint John's

Canada

First bagged by Matt in 2007

Capital: Ottawa

Chile

First bagged by Matt in 2016

Capital: Santiago

Colombia

First bagged by Matt in 2019

Capital: Bogota

Costa Rica

First bagged by Andrew in 2015

Capital: San Jose

Cuba

First bagged by Matt in 2017

Capital: Havana

Dominica

First bagged by Richard in 2004

Capital: Roseau

Mexico

First bagged by Matt in 2017

Capital: Mexico City

Nicaragua

First bagged by Andrew in 2015

Capital: Managua

Panama

First bagged by Matt in 2019

Capital: Panama City

United States

First bagged by Richard in 1994

Capital: Washington DC

Australia

First bagged by Andrew in 1996

Capital: Canberra

New Zealand

First bagged by Matt in 2011

Capital: Wellington

Samoa

First bagged by Matt in 2011

Capital: Apia

Tonga

First bagged by Matt in 2011

Capital: Nuku'alofa

Contact me

Email me on matt at matthewmayer dot co dot uk or see my contact page