It depends on the list you count by. On the UN's list of 193, no: Greenland, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong aren't member states, so they don't count as countries of their own. On the list of 250 countries and territories, and on the Travelers' Century Club's 330, yes: each counts as a separate place. Many travelers count them separately because they have their own borders, currencies or entry rules, and either choice is fine as long as you apply it every time.
What makes a place a territory
A territory is a place with its own identity and often its own government, but whose sovereignty, defense or foreign affairs rest with another country. They come in many forms:
- Autonomous parts of a kingdom: Greenland and the Faroe Islands within the Kingdom of Denmark; Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Overseas territories: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Gibraltar (British); Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands (American); French Polynesia and New Caledonia (French).
- Overseas departments: Réunion, Martinique and Guadeloupe are fully part of France and of the EU.
- Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau, part of China with their own systems.
- Crown Dependencies: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, self-governing possessions of the British Crown, not part of the UK.
- Free association: the Cook Islands and Niue govern themselves in free association with New Zealand.
The 250 list includes 51 such places alongside the 193 UN members and six others (Vatican City, Palestine, Taiwan, Kosovo, Western Sahara and Antarctica). By the country they're linked to: the United Kingdom 15, France 12, the United States 6, the Netherlands 4, Australia 4, New Zealand 3, and Denmark, Norway and China 2 each, plus Finland's Åland. The full list is on the territories page.
The three in the title
Greenland
An autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and the largest island in the world. It left the European Economic Community in 1985 and isn't in the EU or the Schengen area today, so a trip from Copenhagen involves a border check. It feels nothing like Denmark: Inuit towns, icebergs and no roads between settlements.
Puerto Rico
An unincorporated territory of the United States, also called a commonwealth. Puerto Ricans are US citizens, it uses the US dollar, and Americans fly in without a passport. Even so, it has its own Olympic team and its own culture, and it's on the 250 list and the club's list as a place of its own.
Hong Kong
A Special Administrative Region of China since 1997. It runs its own immigration, currency and laws, and crossing to the mainland at Shenzhen means going through border control. Many passports that need a visa for mainland China can enter Hong Kong without one; check the rules for yours. It also competes at the Olympics as Hong Kong, China.
How each list treats them
| Place | UN 193 | 250 list | TCC 330 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenland | Part of Denmark | Counts | Counts |
| Puerto Rico | Part of the US | Counts | Counts |
| Hong Kong | Part of China | Counts | Counts |
| Scotland | Part of the UK | Part of the UK | Counts |
| Hawaii | Part of the US | Part of the US | Counts |
| Canary Islands | Part of Spain | Part of Spain | Counts |
The club goes further than the 250 list: it splits off places that are fully part of a country, like Scotland or Hawaii, when they're far away or historically distinct. See which list to count by.
Does a territory count for the country it belongs to?
This is the real argument. If you count by the UN list, does a week in Puerto Rico mean you've been to the United States? Does Hong Kong mean China?
There's no official rule, so travelers split three ways:
- Yes, always. You stood on that country's sovereign territory, so it counts.
- No, never. You saw Hong Kong, not China, so China waits until you cross into the mainland.
- Only for integral parts. Hawaii counts for the United States and the Canary Islands for Spain, because they're full parts of those countries. Greenland, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong don't, because they're governed separately.
The third is a popular middle ground, but any of the three works if you use it everywhere. Write your choice next to your list so future you doesn't relitigate it, as the guide on counting countries suggests.
Why the longer lists are worth it
Territories are where the UN list undercounts real travel. A Caribbean cruise can stop at Aruba, Curaçao, the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico and add nothing to a UN count, though each stop you went ashore had its own flag, money and feel. The same is true across the Pacific, where many island groups are territories.
Globestamp lets you count by either list, the 193 UN members or all 250 countries and territories, so Greenland can count on its own or not, and switching changes nothing about where you've been.