Recently, I was at Mount Rushmore standing under the very impressive carvings.
I got to thinking “I wonder how much these guys traveled in their day”.
So I did the research and here’s what I found.
It turns out Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson did no international travel at all.
Theodore Roosevelt was the mould-breaker.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first US president to leave the country on official state business.
In 1906, he visited Panama to inspect construction of Panama Canal.
And thus started a great tradition of Presidential travel.
Contents
Quick Stats and Facts
Trump vs. Obama: Foreign Trips
Trump vs. George W. Bush: Foreign Trips
Trump vs Clinton: International Travel
Most Traveled US President
Most Popular Countries for US Presidents
Combined Map of All US Presidential Visits
Individual President Foreign Trip Country Maps
Quick Stats and Facts
George W. Bush is the most traveled US President with 140 international visits.
William J. Clinton and Barack Obama are close 2nd and 3rd with 133 and 120 international visits respectively.
Donald J. Trump is the 9th most traveled US President with only 34 international visits. This shocked us most of all. See the animations below to get a real sense of the difference.
Theodore Roosevelt & Calvin Coolidge are the least traveled US Presidents with only 1 international visit each.
The UK is the most popular country with 64 or 8% of all visits.
115 countries were visited in total. That’s 59% of the world’s countries. Leaving 41% unvisited.
Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Bahamas 5 times. 4 of which were, ahem, fishing trips.
Trump vs. Obama: Foreign Trips
Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus Barrack Obama’s 120 international visits.
Obama has made 3.5 times more international visits than Trump.
Obama made an average of 15 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.
Trump vs. George W. Bush: Foreign Trips
Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus George W. Bush’s 140 international visits.
Bush has made 4.1 times more international visits than Trump.
Bush made an average of 18 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.
Trump vs Clinton: Foreign Trips
Donald J. Trump has made 34 international visits versus Bill Clinton’s 133 international visits.
Clinton has made 3.9 times more international visits than Trump.
Clinton made an average of 17 international visits per year, whereas Trump has made an average of 10 visits per year.
Most Traveled US President
George W. Bush is the most traveled US President to date.
Donald J. Trump is the 9th most traveled US President with 34 international visits under his belt.
Most Popular Countries for US Presidential Foreign Trips
The UK is by far the most visited country with 64 visits out of the 794 analysed. That’s 8% of all visits.
11 of the top 22 most visited countries are in Europe. That’s 50%.
South America is surprisingly under-represented with only 3 countries in the top 22 most visited list, or 13%.
Asia also has 3 countries in the top 22 list.
Combined Map of All US Presidential Foreign Trips
115 countries were visited in total.
That’s 59% of the world’s countries.
Leaving 41% unvisited.
Individual President Foreign Trip Maps
Foreign Trips by Woodrow Wilson
Foreign Trips by Calvin Coolidge
Foreign Trips by Herbert C. Hoover
Foreign Trips by Franklin D. Roosevelt
Foreign Trips by Harry S. Truman
Foreign Trips by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Foreign Trips by John F. Kennedy
Foreign Trips by Lyndon B. Johnson
Foreign Trips by Richard M. Nixon
Foreign Trips by Gerald R. Ford
Foreign Trips by Jimmy Carter
Foreign Trips by Ronald Reagan
Foreign Trips by George H.W. Bush
Foreign Trips by Bill Clinton
Foreign Trips by George W. Bush
Foreign Trips by Barrack Obama
Foreign Trips by Donald J. Trump
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_trips_made_by_presidents_of_the_United_States
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidential_trips_made_by_Donald_Trump_(2019)
https://www.worldometers.info/
Have you traveled more than our Presidents?
Let us know in the comments below.
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