Lets celebrate the only 8 MOTHERS ever to have traveled to every country in the world.
Lets celebrate the only 8 MOTHERS ever to have traveled to every country in the world.
There’s a stark difference between men and women when it comes to travel — especially when we look at the tiny group of people who have visited every country in the world. And within that group, there’s an even smaller sliver: mothers.
Why is it that so few mothers have managed — or chosen, or been able to afford — to visit all 193 countries?
I’ll share my own thoughts at the end, but first, I’d love for you to think about it. What’s your guess?
Here are some numbers for context:
– 7,000 people have summited Mount Everest
– Around 700 have been to space
– 400–450 people have visited every country
– Of those, just 60–70 are women
– And only 8 are mothers
Let’s pause there.
In a world of 8 billion people, these numbers are tiny. But for women, they’re minuscule — of the tiny group of 450 who claim to have visited every country, some even transitting, the 225 ought to be women as we are making up half the global population, yet only 60-70, just 10–15% are women.
Some more context:
The average woman globally has 2.3 children. In the U.S., it’s 1.7. In Denmark, just 1.4.
In the U.S., 85% of women become mothers — including 80% of women with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, and 95% of women with lower education levels.
So, if motherhood and gender didn’t affect your chances of traveling to every country, we’d expect 180-214 out of the 450 UN masters to be mothers.
And if motherhood did not affect a woman‘s chance to become a UN master, even with the disadvantages for gender, then at least 56 of the 70 women, who’ve done it, ought to be mothers — especially given that women with higher education are statistically more likely to have the financial means.
But in reality?
Only **8 mothers** have ever completed the full list of 193 countries.
That makes motherhood one of the most significant factors influencing whether a woman travels the world. The data is clear — motherhood changes everything.
—
The 8 mothers who have visited all 193 countries:
– Audrey Walthworth (USA)
– Britt-Marie Boudrie (Sweden)
– Chin Mui Ha (China-born, living in Malaysia)
– Magali Hinojosa (USA-born, Mexican heritage)
– Lucy Hsu (USA-born, Vietnamese heritage)
– Odette Ricasa (Philippines-born, U.S. citizen)
– Luisa Yu (Philippines-born, U.S. citizen)
– Mette Ehlers Mikkelsen (Denmark)
3 factors adding extreemely to the difficulty of traveling to 193:
Mothers with 3–4 children: Audrey, Britt-Marie, Chin, and Mette
Traveled extensively with their children: Lucy and Mette (and partly Magali)
Divorced (and maybe single): Luisa and Mette
Travel records to empower and inspire:
Divorced and traveled extensively with her children : Mette
Divorced and brought children to remote and challenging destinations:** Mette
(My daughters are 16 years and 22 years old and have traveled to 86 and 135 countries respektive, and my son is 23 and have traveled in 85.
First: Audrey
Youngest: Lucy
Eldest: Luisa
First divorced: Luisa
Most kids (4): Chin
Bringing kids the most and to most challenging distributions: Mette
First European: Britt-Marie
First Asian: Chin
💪🏽💙
… and yes, this revelation intrigues me! ❤️
**My biggest role models:** Britt-Marie and Lucy❤️
—
Mothers on their way to 193:
– Ewa Maria Bylinska (Polish-born, living in Denmark, soon to be Danish citizen; divorced; one son and a grandchild; not traveling extensively with her son)
– Syazwani (Wani) Baumgartner (Malaysian-born, Swiss citizen; divorced; traveling extensively with her three sons)
– Elena Chechina (Russian/Swedish citizen, living in Sweden, married in Mauritania; divorced and remarried; three children; traveling extensively with them)
– Khadija Musa (Somali background, grown up in Kenya, lives in the US and worked in the UN; American passport)(two daughters and two grandchildren)
To my knowledge, none of us are born rich. Most of us have full-time jobs that finance our travels.
