With the attendant knowledge, insights and understanding it brings, it is a rare achievement, indeed, to have visited every independent state on the face of the Earth. If you are among the privileged few to have accomplished this feat, you may apply for the ITN Been There, Done That! (All Sovereign Nations) Award.
To see if you have qualified, print out The ITN Official List of Independent Sovereign Nations, shown below, and check off each country in which you have set foot at any time during your life, or simply make a list. (You're on the honor system here; we do not demand proof.)
If you have been to every country on the list below and would like to receive a certificate attesting to that fact, put your checked list into an envelope addressed to Been There, Done That!, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, and enclose payment of $7 (per certificate). You may enclose a check (payable to ITN) or credit card info (Visa, M/C and AmEx accepted; include card number, expiration date and signature).
You will be sent a certificate measuring 8 1/2"x11", dated and personalized with your name, suitable for framing. It will be mailed flat (without creases). Your name will be printed among the names of the latest ITN Travel Award recipients in the next-printed issue of ITN.
In advance, congratulations! — Editor
ITN Official List of Independent Sovereign Nations
NORTH AMERICA: Canada, Mexico, United States
MIDDLE AMERICA: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
EUROPE: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City
ASIA/MIDDLE EAST: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
AFRICA: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Congo (Republic of), Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, eSwatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
OCEANIA: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau (Belau), Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu