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This 23-Year-Old German Has Traveled to Every Country in the World, Becoming the Youngest Person to Do So

Uca Pferdmenges traveled around the world for 4.5 years and visited all 195 countries.
Luca Pferdmenges traveled around the world for four and a half years, visiting all 195 countries. Photo: privat

May 1, 2025, 12:53 pm | Read time: 2 minutes

Luca Pferdmenges has achieved what many only dream of: At 23, the Mönchengladbach native has visited all 195 countries in the world. After four and a half years of traveling, he recently reached his final destination.

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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Lexie Alford from the United States is currently the youngest person to have traveled to every country in the world. However, unlike Luca Pferdmenges, she was not allowed to enter North Korea and had to settle for the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Therefore, it is expected that Alford will soon have to relinquish the official title to the 23-year-old from Mönchengladbach.

Luca Pferdmenges is currently at the final stop of his world tour, the island nation of Palau in the Pacific Ocean. In a few days, he will return to his hometown in Germany for the first time in 4.5 years. “I’ve been imagining for weeks what this moment will be like, and it’s truly overwhelming,” the adventurer said in an interview with BILD.

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3 Million People Followed Luca Pferdmenges Virtually

The professional juggler documented his world tour on TikTok and Instagram, where more than three million people follow him. Now, according to BILD, he is looking forward to new projects like his agency “Every Country Tours,” which organizes trips to hard-to-reach countries.

But the journey was not always easy for him. At times, he was almost denied entry to some countries. “Two of the last stops were Sudan and North Korea. I was really lucky there,” Pferdmenges reports. In North Korea, a very short tourist time window was crucial.

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Beautiful and Dangerous Moments

He was particularly touched by “the fact that even in war-torn areas, people are incredibly nice.” He experienced warmth especially in Pakistan and Iran — often being spontaneously invited to meals.

Dangerous moments were not absent either: In Kabul, shots were fired on his street, and in Mali, he was detained by a police officer and had to pay money. Despite such experiences, Pferdmenges finds the positive outweighs the negative.

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How the Rest of the World Views Germany

His impression: The world sees Germany in a very positive light. “When you tell locals you’re from Germany, most respond with ‘Wow, how great,'” he reported. German industry and brands are particularly appreciated worldwide.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TRAVELBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@travelbook.de.

Topics BILDreisen News
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