Why are some countries wealthy while others remain poor? How do political institutions, economic systems, colonialism, slavery, and relations between social groups shape their fortunes? In this book, Juha Suoniemi explores these questions through a journey to all 197 independent countries in the world. Each country has a chapter, combining travel experiences from 2005 to 2023 with an account of its political and economic history. Drawing on what he witnessed, Suoniemi compares cultures and social systems and argues that their differences matter for prosperity. He makes the case that Western institutions and free market capitalism have helped societies flourish, while socialist policies have often held them back. Part travelogue and part examination of global development, the book invites readers to consider why nations have followed different paths and what their histories might reveal about the conditions for a prosperous future.

Patrick Winn is an investigative journalist based in Thailand. He is the author of two narrative non-fiction books, Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel that Survived the CIA, as well as Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia. Winn’s writing and short documentaries have appeared in/on The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the BBC, The Atlantic and many other outlets. He has received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (also known as the ‘poor man’s Pulitzer’) and a National Press Club award. Winn was an associate producer on Hope Frozen, a Netflix original documentary, and a field producer for the debut Myanmar episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Both won Emmys. Since 2008, Winn has lived in Bangkok. He reads and speaks Thai.

Dondon Bales founded and co-leads Filipino World Travelers (FWT), now 100 members strong and recognised in 2025 by the Philippine President. This October, working with fellow FWT members, he launches “Tara”, the sequel to his book “Gala”, which shares lessons from their world travels with a wider public. Also this December, he opens the Filipino World Travellers Museum to show Filipino youth what world travel makes possible. He leads NomadMania’s Sustainable Travel Committee and serves as co-envoy for Australia. In July 2026, he launched Fork & Flag in Melbourne, a community-ranked food guide that turns travel curiosity into local impact, helping the city’s diverse foodies discover and celebrate authentic global cuisines. A travel community builder, Dondon turns every journey into opportunities and inspiration that empower others to explore with purpose.

Cory Lee is an American travel writer and accessibility advocate who has travelled to more than 40 countries across all seven continents while using a wheelchair. Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two, Lee developed a passion for exploring the world despite the significant logistical challenges presented by inaccessible transportation, accommodation, and attractions. Through his travel blog and journalism, he documents both the beauty of destinations and the practical realities of accessible travel. His work has appeared in publications including Condé Nast Traveler, The Points Guy, AFAR, and others. Lee is a Webby Award winner and a two-time Lowell Thomas Award winner for Best Travel Blog. His significance to the travel community extends beyond his own adventures: he has helped demonstrate that accessible travel is a mainstream travel issue, encouraging destinations and tourism companies to consider travellers with disabilities.

Michael Angelo Zervos is a Guinness World Record holder, filmmaker, speaker and author who has visited every country on earth. The journey began with a single question: after coming through a lengthy period of depression, he wanted to know what people across every country would name as the happiest moment of their lives. He asked thousands of them, from Tuvalu to Bolivia to North Korea, and recorded what they said. Those stories continue to draw more than 20 million views a month across social platforms and have been adapted into his first book, The Happiest Moment of Your Life: True Stories from People I Met in Every Country, out from Penguin Life on February 23, 2027. A dual Greek and American citizen, Michael was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and has lived in six cities in the past ten years. He has directed film and television for more than fifteen years.

Sam Chui is one of the world’s best-known aviation and travel content creators. Born in Beijing and raised partly in Hong Kong, his fascination with airplanes began as a teenager watching aircraft at Kai Tak Airport. He launched a website devoted to aircraft photography in 1999, eventually developing it into a major aviation and travel media platform. Chui has traveled to more than 100 countries, flown thousands of flights, and experienced hundreds of aircraft and airlines. His adventures have included unusual flights such as the Concorde, vintage Soviet aircraft, polar flights, inaugural airline services, cargo aircraft, and some of the world’s most distinctive commercial aviation experiences. Based in Dubai, he works as a content creator, blogger, aviation consultant, and photographer. His importance to travel media comes from making the journey itself—the aircraft, airports, routes, and aviation culture—as fascinating as the destination.

Kristijan Iličić is a Croatian travel creator, author, entrepreneur, and the first Croatian to visit every country in the world. His journey has taken him across all 197 countries, from some of the most remote communities on Earth to places rarely visited by outsiders. Through his travels, Kristijan focuses on people, cultures, and stories that challenge stereotypes and show the world beyond headlines. His work reaches more than two million followers across social media, where he shares raw and authentic experiences from around the globe. He is the author of the bestselling travel book “Jedan san, tisuću priča” and the creator and host of the television travel series “Dnevnik nomada.” Despite completing his goal of visiting every country, Kristijan continues to travel, believing that the world is not something you simply complete—it is something you keep discovering.

Gonçalo Runa is a Portuguese world traveler associated with the international community of highly experienced global explorers. His travels reflect the country-by-country approach practiced by many members of the NomadMania community, where exploration extends beyond conventional tourist destinations to include remote regions, unusual territories, and difficult-to- reach places. Runa’s relevance to travelers comes from this comprehensive approach to seeing the world: travel becomes an ongoing educational project rather than a collection of vacations. Travelers pursuing extensive international journeys often rely on communities of experienced explorers to exchange information about visas, borders, transportation, safety, and unusual destinations. Runa represents this quieter side of travel culture, in which the traveler may not necessarily be a mainstream celebrity or social-media personality but has accumulated substantial first-hand knowledge through years of exploration. His example demonstrates that travel expertise can be built through persistence, curiosity, and direct experience.

Ahmed is an Iraqi travel guide and the founder of Aknaf Alsawary, a Baghdad-based travel company dedicated to helping the world discover Iraq beyond the headlines. Born and raised in Baghdad, Ahmed grew up in a country isolated from much of the world by wars, sanctions, and years of crisis. As a young man, he dreamed of meeting people from different countries and cultures—people he had mostly known through television. That dream eventually became his mission. In 2017, he founded Aknaf Alsawary to build a bridge between Iraq and the world, welcoming travelers to experience its ancient civilizations, vibrant streets, sacred places, landscapes, and, most importantly, its people. Today, Ahmed guides travelers across Iraq, sharing not only its history but its human stories. He believes travel can replace distance with understanding—and that every visitor can leave Iraq with a story worth sharing.

Charles BIGIRIMANA is a Burundian professional tour guide with over 7 years of experience. In 2019, he finished his bachelor’s degree in Travel and Tourism Management. In 2020, he founded a tour company, Burundi Discovery Tours. His mission is to meet his customer expectations and transform standard sightseeing journeys to unforgettable destinations. Burundi Discovery Tours and Charles won the 2024 and 2026 TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice Awards. Bigirimana’s expertise extends beyond simply showing visitors attractions; he helps organize itineraries and navigate the practical realities of traveling through Burundi and neighboring countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. His career demonstrates the importance of local guides in travel. While international bloggers may introduce a destination to a global audience, local professionals provide the cultural knowledge, logistical experience, and personal connections that can turn a visit into a meaningful experience.

Ilir Morina began as a fixer in Kosovo in 1999, guiding journalists through areas devastated by war. He returned as a NATO officer with KFOR, leading his team and coordinating ground operations. Through Morinasworld Expeditions, he arranges access, permits, transport, and local teams worldwide. Since completing his journey to every country in 2022, he has taken clients to 24–40 countries annually. To his knowledge, his was the first travel company, domestic or international, bringing clients into Syria after the revolution, supporting local operators and leading NomadMania’s first group tour there after the revolution. He led private group tours in Ukraine in 2024 and 2026, including around five weeks in 2024 and visits near the active frontline. Upcoming work includes an Afghanistan mission with NomadMania founder Harry and American traveller Daniel Riley, and a continuous 16-country journey with a NomadMania member.

Adenike Daramola Joondeph is a travel influencer, tour operator, business owner and one of the most widely travelled Nigerians in the world. Since boarding her very first airplane in 2017 she has now visited over 100 countries on her Nigerian passport. With over 150,000 followers on social media, she is one of the most prominent advocates for Nigerian travelers and aims to make travel feel possible for people who have been told it is not. Based in Lagos, she is the founder of Tha Globetrotters Limited, a travel company serving Nigerian clients with group trips around the world, private travel planning, and visa assistance. And she is the co-founder of Authentic Traveling Tours with her husband Chris, which brings foreign visitors to Nigeria on culturally immersive group experiences.

Ankitha is an Indian traveller, marketer and writer based in Dubai who has visited 134 countries so far while also working a full-time career. Traveling on an Indian passport means every trip comes with its own combination of visas, paperwork, waiting, fees and logistical gymnastics – but she has never seen that as a reason to make her world smaller. Her travels range from remote and least-visited destinations to wildlife-filled wilderness and places that rarely make the usual travel lists. She is drawn to the parts of travel that cannot easily be turned into content: difficult journeys, ordinary moments, complicated histories and the privilege of being able to go somewhere at all. Through Wayfarer Footprints, she writes about traveling widely without pretending every trip is effortless or every destination needs optimizing. Her philosophy is simple: travel outside the script, in whatever way makes sense for you.

Kach Medina Umandap is the youngest Filipina to visit all 195 countries and the first Filipino to accomplish the journey solely on a Philippine passport. She is also recognized as the first woman from the Global South to earn the title of UN Grandmaster, having completed the journey without a second citizenship. Kach is an international travel blogger and global mobility advocate. She funded her 12-year journey through businesses she co-founded, including TwoMonkeysTravelGroup.com, FilipinoPassport.com, and TravelWithKach.com, beginning as a solo backpacker with savings from her work as an OFW in Kuwait and Kurdistan, Iraq. She completed her final country, Sudan, in January 2025. Her achievement was honored at Malacañang Palace by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and recognized by the House of Representatives through House Resolution No. 859. Today, she is the author of Career or Travel, Why Not Both? How to Become a Digital Nomad (Penguin Random House SEA, 2026), a BusinessMirror travel columnist, and a Philippine Air Force Reservist.

193 countries, 3 small kids (11, 9 and 2 years old), and a full-time office job. Having visited her last country PNG in 2026, Elena became the youngest Swedish woman to visit every UN country and the youngest mother to bring her kids extensively on adventures to some of the world’s least-visited countries, including Mauritania (at 3 months old), Socotra (at 4 months old), Afghanistan (at 7 months old), DPRK (at 9 months old), Turkmenistan, Nauru, Pakistan, Sudan etc. Even with kids, Elena always travelled on a tight budget, choosing Couchsurfing and homestays to stay with locals and immerse herself in local cultures and traditions. Elena always believed that a girl does not need to choose between her dream of travelling the world and having kids. Despite the difficulties and societal expectations of motherhood, she proved that a mother can balance family, work and travelling the world.

After visiting all 193 thrice, Slawek (who is half-Polish and half-Kenyan) was seeing the law of diminishing returns kick-in. Going on months-long cross Continental trips was becoming too repetitive. So in March 2025 he set himself a new Challenge. To see 1000 sports events, at least one in each 193. His initial estimate was that the Challenge will take him 8-10 years to complete. However, after only 1,5 years, he has already seen close to 500 events in 97 countries, so he is at his half-way point already. His most recent events have included the following Games: Gay in Valencia, Maccabiah in Tel Aviv, European Universities in Salerno, the Commonwealth in Glasgow, Centroamericano & Caribe in Santo Domingo, Mediterranean in Taranto, the Nomad Games in Kyrgizstan, and the Juegos Suramericanos in Santa Fe, Argentina. Slawek now thinks his 1000 sports events in 193 Challenge will likely be completed in 2027 or 2028, also marking his 4th Round of all 193:-)))

Alex Trach is an exceptional explorer who has pushed the boundaries of travel from Central Asia onto the world stage. Originally from Fergana, Uzbekistan, he has traveled across all seven continents, more than 160 UN countries, and both poles. His journeys go far beyond conventional tourism. Driven by a fascination with ancient civilizations, history, and remote wildlife, Alex seeks meaningful encounters with some of the world’s most remarkable and rarely visited places. A trailblazer for Uzbek travelers, he has become a prominent ambassador for Uzbekistan within the international travel community. His recent achievements are equally impressive. According to NomadMania statistics, Alex visited more countries and more new regions than any other traveler last year, while ranking among the top three in total regions visited. His extraordinary reach and spirit of exploration make him a remarkable traveler.