To move your visited countries from one app to another, export the list from the old app (a CSV, KML or plain text file, or a screenshot if there's no export), clean it into one country per line with standard names, then import or paste it into the new app and check that the totals match. The step that goes wrong most often is names: "Czech Republic" in one app is "Czechia" in another, and a country can quietly drop out.
Here's how to do it without losing anything.
Step 1: Get the list out of the old app
Look in the old app's settings, profile or menu for words like Export, Share, Backup or Download my data. You're hoping for one of these:
| Format | What it is | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| CSV | A spreadsheet file, one row per country | Almost every import; easy to fix by hand |
| Plain text | A list of names, one per line | Pasting straight into another app |
| KML | Map data, opens in mapping apps | Moving places with coordinates |
| GeoJSON | Map data used by web maps | The same, for developers and web tools |
| A printable page | Keeping a record; not for importing |
If the app has no export at all, there are still ways out:
- Share the list as text. Many apps let you share your list to Notes or Messages. Paste it somewhere safe.
- Take screenshots of the list, scrolling through it. Tedious, but it works, and you can type it up afterwards.
- Ask the developer. Support can sometimes send your data, especially if you have an account.
Export your want-to-go list and any lived-in countries separately if the app keeps them, so they don't get mixed in with places you've visited.
Step 2: Clean the list
Open the file in a spreadsheet or a notes app and get it into the simplest shape: one country per line, nothing else. Delete headers, dates and notes you don't need for the import (keep a copy of the original with everything in it).
Then fix the names. The same country can appear under several:
| You might see | Also called |
|---|---|
| Czech Republic | Czechia |
| Turkey | Türkiye |
| Swaziland | Eswatini |
| Ivory Coast | Côte d'Ivoire |
| Burma | Myanmar |
| East Timor | Timor-Leste |
| Cape Verde | Cabo Verde |
| UK, Great Britain | United Kingdom |
The UN's own list uses the right-hand names (Czechia, Türkiye, Eswatini, Côte d'Ivoire, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Cabo Verde). A good importer understands both, but a typo or an old name can still fail silently. Countries that changed their names covers the history behind each one.
If the old app exports country codes instead of names, that's even better. Codes don't have spelling problems. They come from the ISO 3166 standard: two letters (JP for Japan, DE for Germany) or three (JPN, DEU), which the UN's statistics list uses too.
Step 3: Watch the places that don't fit neatly
Apps disagree most on places that aren't plain UN members:
- Territories. Greenland, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong each have their own entry and code in the UN's statistics list, but they aren't independent countries. One app may list them separately and another may fold them into Denmark, the United States or China. Do territories count as countries? goes through the common cases.
- Places whose status is disputed. Kosovo, for example, isn't in the UN's statistics list, so apps handle it differently. Check it made the move.
- The UK's four nations. The Travelers' Century Club list counts England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately; most other lists count one United Kingdom.
The underlying question is which list each app counts by. If your old app counted all 250 countries and territories and your new one counts the 193 UN member states, your total will drop, and nothing is lost. 193, 195, 250 or 330: which list should you count by? explains the differences.
Step 4: Import, then check the count
Bring the clean list into the new app, by importing the file or pasting the text, whichever it offers. Then check:
- Compare totals. Write down the old app's count before you start. If the new count is different, find out why before you delete anything.
- Look for the usual suspects. Missing small countries, renamed countries and territories account for most differences.
- Spot-check a few on the map. Pick three countries you're sure of and three tiny ones, like Vatican City and San Marino.
Only when the numbers agree should you delete the old app. Keep the export file either way.
Globestamp takes a list pasted from any tracker, and it exports your countries again as CSV, PDF, KML or GeoJSON, so the list never gets locked in.
Bring in more than the old app had
A move is a good time to fill gaps. Your old app only knew what you told it. Photo locations, a Google Maps Timeline export, a flight log and old passports can each turn up countries you never added. See how to export your Google Maps Timeline and how to remember every place you've traveled.
Make sure you can leave next time
Before you settle into the new app, check that it lets you take your list out again in an open format. A list you can't export is a list you can lose. Why a travel tracker without an account is worth looking for covers what else to look for.