1. Government/Administration: Any geographic area with a sovereign government or separately administered as a colony, protectorate, trusteeship territory, territory or mandate shall be considered as a separate country or territory.

2. Enclaves/Continental Separation: Continental land areas having a common government or administration but which are geographically discontinuous either by reason of being separated by foreign land not under their control, by being located on separate continents, or by being separated by a natural body of water shall be considered as separate territories provided their population exceeds 100,000. Multiple fragments separated by the same foreign country shall only count for one territory.

3. Federations: A geographic entity which is a federation of separate geographically definable entitles, each of which is a separate republic/emirate/kingdom in its own right, shall be counted as separate territories.

4. Islands/island Groups:

• An island/island group not separately defined under section I shall be considered a separate territory if:
  • It is situated at least 200 miles from the closest continental portion of its administrating country; or
  • Being located within 200 miles, it has a population exceeding 100,000 and is administered as distinctively separate state(s), province(s), or department(s).
• Island groups that are parts of an island country within the definition of section I shall be considered separate territories if:
  • They are situated at least 200 miles from the closest portion of the same island country; or
  • Being located within 200 miles, they have a population exceeding 100,000 and are administered as distinctively separate states, provinces, or departments.

5. Disputed Status: Geographically defined areas which have historically had an independent identity and whose current political status is the subject of dispute shall be counted as separate territories.

6. Unpopulated/Unadministered Areas: Any area which is unadministered or has no resident population will not be considered as a separate territory, except for the political divisions of Antarctica.

7. Grandfather Clause. An area which is recognized as a country or territory in the past may be retained as a territory even if it does not fit any of the above criteria, and any country or territory that is deleted from the list will still count for the purposes of having reached the minimum number of destinations required for membership or for the 150 or 200 country levels.

Notes:

Why is Newfoundland Not Counted on the TCC Country & Territory List?
The reason that Newfoundland and Labrador are not on our list is that the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is in part on the mainland and in part a separate island. When the provincial entity is partially on the mainland and partially an offshore island, the island will count separately provided that all other conditions for recognition are satisfied as well.

Retired Territories: If you are using a territory that has been deleted from the list in order to qualify for the 100, 150, or 200 country levels per Rule 7, you must have visited it before the date of deletion (see Retired Territories list for the date of deletion).