Country Counting

What exactly is a country?

The Travelers' Century Club, established for those who have visited 100 or more countries and want to, well, flaunt it, says of the 320 "countries" it lists, "Although some are not actually countries in their own right, they have been included because they are removed from parent, either geographically, politically or ethnologically."

How many countries have we visited? Updating our September 2009 count of 73, we have now visited a total of 76 on the Century Club's list. But, as we've said before, who's counting?

Pacific Ocean
Australia
Hawaiian Islands
New Zealand
Tasmania
North America
Alaska
Canada
Mexico
U.S. (continental)
Central America
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Panama
South America
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Uruguay
Caribbean
Antigua & Deps. (Barbuda, Redonda)
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Cayman Islands
Dominican Republic
Leeward Islands, French (St. Martin)
Puerto Rico
St. Barts
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Maarten (formerly Netherlands Antilles)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Virgin Islands, U.S. (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas)
Virgin Islands, British (Tortola, etc.)
Atlantic Ocean
Azores Islands
Bermuda
Cape Verde Islands
Iceland
Europe and Mediterranean
Austria
Belgium
Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Minorca)
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland (Eire)
Ireland, Northern (Ulster)
Italy
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Sicily
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey in Europe (Istanbul)
Vatican City
Wales
Africa
Egypt
Morocco
Senegal (plane refueling)
South Africa
Swaziland
Middle East
None
Indian Ocean
None
Asia
China, People's Rep.
Hong Kong
Japan
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Turkey in Asia