How to track and count the countries you have visited

Count without repeating the same country

1. Write your trip history

   Record year, city and country, one visit per row. Start with recent visits and add older ones. If you cannot remember a year, leave it open rather than inventing a date.

2. Check places in photos

   Search Photos for a city or open an image and read its information. Place and date help confirm a visit. An airport-connection photo needs a different decision from a stay with sightseeing.

   Reference: Photo date and location

3. Define what visited means

   You might count only places where you left the airport. Record your criterion and apply it to every trip. Do not change the rule just to include one layover.

4. Separate countries and territories

   Add a place-type column if you want to record both. You can then present separate totals and compare lists that use the same definition.

5. Count a list of unique names

   Portugal in 2019 and 2023 is two visits but one country. Copy each country once into a second list and count its names. Keep the history to see how often you returned.

6. Mark the list on a map if you want

   Use a paper world map or an image you can annotate. Color only countries in your list and use another color for territories if you count them separately. Add visits to the history; the country total increases only for a new country.

Example: four trips, three countries

In this illustrative list, Lisbon and Porto are two visits to the same country. Argentina and Spain add two more. Four trips and three unique countries are correct answers to different questions.

Unique list: Portugal, Argentina and Spain. Replace the CSV examples with your records. It contains no formulas and sends no information to the website.

Download the trip and country CSV template

Why two totals may differ

Repeat visits

Unique names give the country total. History rows record visits; a single trip may cross more than one country.

Layovers and territories

Review your criterion and the map list. Compare numbers only after understanding what each includes.

A country has no photos

Keep it in your manual list if the visit is known. An image-only catalog cannot represent every trip in your life.

To count from trips saved in your photos

Backtrack counts countries from saved trips and creates cards and flags in Achievements. You avoid marking those records by hand. A visit without geotagged photos may be missing; keep a manual list to include those trips too.

Backtrack uses geotagged photos on iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Free download with optional Premium. See the plans and limits.

1. Add your city

   In Backtrack, save your city in Where I live. It is what separates trips from everyday life.

2. Find your trips

   Tap Automatic trip discovery to let the app look for periods away from home. The free plan reveals one trip automatically and you can create the others by choosing dates; with Premium they all appear on their own.

3. Open Achievements

   The Your world card shows how many of the 195 countries and 7 continents you have visited. Tap View countries and continents for the full list, and see the flag collection further down.

4. Share

   Every achievement has a share button and becomes a 9:16, 3:4 or 1:1 image for Stories, the feed or messages.

Download on the App StoreSee plans and limits