Geography Now

Last updated

Geography Now!
YouTube Icon for Geography Now.png
The Geography Now! logo on YouTube
Personal information
Nationality American
Website www.geographynow.com
YouTube information
Channels
Created byPaul Barbato
Years active2014–present
Genre Education
Subscribers3.76 million
Views603.5 million
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2016
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2018

Last updated: August 3, 2025 [1]

Geography Now (also stylized as Geography Now!) is an American educational YouTube channel and web series created and hosted by Paul Barbato. It profiled UN-recognized countries in the world in alphabetical order, a series which finished in October 2024. It now covers additional topics related to physical and political geography. The channel was started in August 2014, and as of August 2025, it has over 3.75 million subscribers and 603.5 million views.

Contents

Team

Main hosts, co-hosts, and crews

If the specified co-host does not appear for their segment, it will either be covered by Barbato or filled in by another crew member of Geography Now!.

Whenever possible, the channel also features guest contributors from the country being profiled. For example, Kierkels appeared in the Netherlands episode, Donnelly in the Ireland episode, and O'Donnell in the Philippines episode. Fellow internet personality Jay Foreman co-hosted the United Kingdom episode, while Barbato's mother co-hosted the South Korea episode.

Some episodes, especially ones with native co-hosts, were filmed in a makeshift studio inside the country. The Zimbabwe episode is the only one not filmed in a studio, instead taking place in the Zimbabwean countryside.

Channel

Geography Now!

The channel series began on October 15, 2014, with the country of Afghanistan and concluded on October 15, 2024, with the country of Zimbabwe. The member states of the United Nations were covered in alphabetical order, with a few exceptions, such as when the country formerly named Swaziland changed its name to Eswatini after the letter E had already been passed. [8] Another exception was the North Macedonia episode, which was released under F, because at the time, the UN listed its name as "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" to avoid controversy with Greek viewers, who consider the name "Macedonia" to be exclusively Greek. English names were also used for country titles; for example, the episode is titled "Ivory Coast" rather than "Côte d'Ivoire." Barbato has stated that he maintains a fast pace in his videos while incorporating visual graphics to enhance accessibility. [5]

Over the course of the channel's history, the duration of the episodes increased, with more topics and information included in each episode. While early episodes typically lasted 7-10 minutes, later episodes usually ran 30-40 minutes. As of October 15, 2024, the Zimbabwe episode is the newest and final episode covering a UN-listed country. The episode on the United States of America lasted 65 minutes, making it the longest episode by far.

A "new chapter" was announced at the end of the Zimbabwe episode. [10]

Flag/Fan Days

Flag/Fan Days, previously known as Flag/Fan Friday, were companion videos to the main episodes. In these videos, a country's flag and coat of arms are explained. Barbato also sometimes uses this opportunity to discuss topics he did not cover in the original video or to correct and clarify details. Afterward, he calls crew members and opens fan mail.

There is a recurring animation in most episodes of Flag/Fan Days where the red in a country's flag symbolizes the "blood of those who fight for their freedom", which has since become a running gag whenever the red on a country's flag is said to represent the blood of those who fought for the country in the past.

Following the release of the Venezuela–Zambia episodes, Paul Barbato decided to turn four Flag/Fan Day videos into YouTube Shorts due to the long time it took to research, film, and produce the videos.

Geography Now! episodes

The countries discussed in each episode follow the United Nations alphabetical list of members and go through them in the respective order.

Episodes

#CountryDate published
1Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg Afghanistan October 15, 2014
2Flag of Albania.svg Albania October 21, 2014
3Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria October 30, 2014
4Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra November 12, 2014
5Flag of Angola.svg Angola November 26, 2014
6Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg Antigua and Barbuda December 17, 2014
7Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina January 5, 2015
8Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia January 16, 2015
9Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia January 24, 2015
10Flag of Austria.svg Austria February 6, 2015
11Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan February 26, 2015
12Flag of the Bahamas.svg The Bahamas March 16, 2015
13Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain April 10, 2015
14Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh April 18, 2015
15Flag of Barbados.svg Barbados April 25, 2015
16Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus May 15, 2015
17Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium May 20, 2015
18Flag of Belize.svg Belize May 25, 2015
19Flag of Benin.svg Benin May 31, 2015
20Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan June 26, 2015
21Flag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia June 30, 2015
22Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina July 9, 2015
23Flag of Botswana.svg Botswana July 18, 2015
24Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil August 15, 2015
25Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei August 29, 2015
26Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria September 6, 2015
27Flag of Burkina Faso.svg Burkina Faso September 15, 2015
28Flag of Burundi.svg Burundi October 1, 2015
29Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia October 10, 2015
30Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon October 21, 2015
31Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada November 10, 2015
32Flag of Cape Verde.svg Cape Verde December 12, 2015
33Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Central African Republic December 21, 2015
34Flag of Chad.svg Chad January 8, 2016
35Flag of Chile.svg Chile January 17, 2016
36Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China February 7, 2016
37Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia February 27, 2016
38Flag of the Comoros.svg Comoros March 9, 2016
39Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Democratic Republic of the Congo March 29, 2016
40Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg Republic of the Congo April 14, 2016
41Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica May 7, 2016
42Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia May 11, 2016
43Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba May 18, 2016
44Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus May 25, 2016
45Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic June 1, 2016
46Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark June 15, 2016
47Flag of Djibouti.svg Djibouti June 22, 2016
48Flag of Dominica.svg Dominica June 29, 2016
49Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic July 6, 2016
50Flag of East Timor.svg East Timor August 3, 2016
51Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador August 10, 2016
52Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt August 24, 2016
53Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador August 31, 2016
54Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg Equatorial Guinea September 21, 2016
55Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrea September 28, 2016
56Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia October 5, 2016
57Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia October 12, 2016
58Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji November 15, 2016
59Flag of Finland.svg Finland November 23, 2016
60Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia November 30, 2016
61Flag of France.svg France December 7, 2016
62Flag of Gabon.svg Gabon January 18, 2017
63Flag of The Gambia.svg The Gambia January 25, 2017
64Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia February 1, 2017
65Flag of Germany.svg Germany February 8, 2017
66Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana March 22, 2017
67Flag of Greece.svg Greece March 29, 2017
68Flag of Grenada.svg Grenada April 5, 2017
69Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala April 12, 2017
70Flag of Guinea.svg Guinea May 10, 2017
71Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg Guinea-Bissau May 17, 2017
72Flag of Guyana.svg Guyana May 24, 2017
73Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti May 31, 2017
74Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg Honduras June 28, 2017
75Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary July 5, 2017
76Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland July 12, 2017
77Flag of India.svg India July 19, 2017
78Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia August 2, 2017
79Flag of Iran.svg Iran August 9, 2017
80Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq August 16, 2017
81Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland August 30, 2017
82Flag of Israel.svg Israel (& Flag of Palestine.svg Palestine Territories)September 20, 2017
83Flag of Italy.svg Italy September 27, 2017
84Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Ivory Coast October 4, 2017
85Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica October 11, 2017
86Flag of Japan.svg Japan October 20, 2017
87Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan November 1, 2017
88Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan November 15, 2017
89Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya November 22, 2017
90Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati November 29, 2017
91Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea December 13, 2017
92Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea December 20, 2017
93Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait January 17, 2018
94Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg Kyrgyzstan January 24, 2018
95Flag of Laos.svg Laos January 31, 2018
96Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia February 7, 2018
97Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon February 28, 2018
98Flag of Lesotho.svg Lesotho March 7, 2018
99Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia March 14, 2018
100Flag of Libya.svg Libya March 21, 2018
101Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Liechtenstein March 28, 2018
102Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania April 25, 2018
103Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg May 2, 2018
104Flag of Madagascar.svg Madagascar May 23, 2018
105Flag of Malawi.svg Malawi May 30, 2018
106Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia June 6, 2018
107Flag of Eswatini.svg Eswatini June 27, 2018
108Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives July 4, 2018
109Flag of Mali.svg Mali July 11, 2018
110Flag of Malta.svg Malta August 15, 2018
111Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands August 22, 2018
112Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania August 29, 2018
113Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius September 5, 2018
114Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico September 26, 2018
115Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg Federated States of Micronesia October 10, 2018
116Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova October 17, 2018
117Flag of Monaco.svg Monaco November 7, 2018
118Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia November 14, 2018
119Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro December 5, 2018
120Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco December 12, 2018
121Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique December 19, 2018
122Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar January 9, 2019
123Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia January 16, 2019
124Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru January 30, 2019
125Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal February 6, 2019
126Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands February 27, 2019
127Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand April 3, 2019
128Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua April 10, 2019
129Flag of Niger.svg Niger April 24, 2019
130Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria May 1, 2019
131Flag of Norway.svg Norway May 22, 2019
132Flag of Oman.svg Oman June 12, 2019
133Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan June 19, 2019
134Flag of Palau.svg Palau July 31, 2019
135Flag of Panama.svg Panama August 7, 2019
136Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg Papua New Guinea August 28, 2019
137Flag of Paraguay.svg Paraguay September 4, 2019
138Flag of Peru.svg Peru September 25, 2019
139Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines October 2, 2019
140Flag of Poland.svg Poland October 30, 2019
141Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal November 6, 2019
142Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar December 4, 2019
143Flag of Romania.svg Romania December 11, 2019
144Flag of Russia.svg Russia January 15, 2020
145Flag of Rwanda.svg Rwanda January 29, 2020
146Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg Saint Kitts and Nevis February 19, 2020
147Flag of Saint Lucia.svg Saint Lucia March 11, 2020
148Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg Saint Vincent and the Grenadines March 18, 2020
149Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa April 15, 2020
150Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino May 6, 2020
151Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg São Tomé and Príncipe May 18, 2020
152Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia June 3, 2020
153Flag of Senegal.svg Senegal July 1, 2020
154Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia July 22, 2020
155Flag of Seychelles.svg Seychelles August 12, 2020
156Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Sierra Leone September 2, 2020
157Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore September 23, 2020
158Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia December 30, 2020
159Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia January 6, 2021
160Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg Solomon Islands January 20, 2021
161Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia February 24, 2021
162Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa March 17, 2021
163Flag of Spain.svg Spain April 21, 2021
164Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka May 26, 2021
165Flag of Sudan.svg Sudan June 23, 2021
166Flag of South Sudan.svg South Sudan August 4, 2021
167Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname September 1, 2021
168Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden September 22, 2021
169Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland October 28, 2021
170Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958-1971), Flag of Syria (1980-2024).svg Syria December 8, 2021
171Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan January 19, 2022
172Flag of Tanzania.svg Tanzania February 23, 2022
173Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand March 27, 2022
174Flag of Togo (3-2).svg Togo April 29, 2022
175Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga June 9, 2022
176Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago July 6, 2022
177Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia August 4, 2022
178Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey September 3, 2022
179Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan October 19, 2022
180Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu November 23, 2022
181Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda January 18, 2023
182Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine March 9, 2023
183Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates March 30, 2023
184Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom May 30, 2023
185Flag of the United States.svg United States of America July 4, 2023
186Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay September 4, 2023
187Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan October 31, 2023
188Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu December 7, 2023
189Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela February 6, 2024
190Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam April 3, 2024
191Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen June 19, 2024
192Flag of Zambia.svg Zambia August 13, 2024
193Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe October 15, 2024
Gray Zone (Partially Recognized)
194Flag of Kosovo.svg Kosovo July 29, 2025

Other content

Filler week videos occurred when the team was in the process of researching and creating scripts for upcoming episodes. Topics discussed in these videos included states or subregions of countries, current or cultural events, physical geography, specific ethnic groups, and infrastructure innovations.

Geography Go is the channel's travel vlog series. Countries visited include Qatar, Finland, Estonia, Greenland, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Singapore, and many more. Paul Barbato also later started posting YouTube Shorts on his channel about his travels to other countries like Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Croatia, the Central African Republic, Togo, and many others.

A Geograbee is the geography equivalent of a spelling bee, where participants are tested on geography. So far, Barbato has hosted these events in Hargeisa in Somaliland, Somalia, and Alaska. [11] Other educational content is also uploaded. [12]

For April Fools' Day, Geography Now! uploaded videos profiling fictional countries created by Barbato (with the exception of the 2016 and 2017 videos). These included:

Reception

Geography Now! generally receives positive feedback from newspapers and magazines in the countries covered, such as Japan Today , [13] Télérama , [14] Dutch Metro , [15] RTL, [16] Nezavisne Novine , [17] Life in Norway, [18] Lovin Malta, [19] and Zoznam. [20] It has also received endorsements from educators and travel writers. [21] [22] The channel has appeared on several lists of recommended educational YouTube channels, [23] [24] [25] including one by the Van Andel Institute. [26] [27]

A few criticisms typically relate to tone and pronunciation, particularly in earlier episodes. [28]

References

  1. "Geography Now". YouTube. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  2. "My DNA Heritage test results (I WAS SHOCKED)". YouTube . May 8, 2022.
  3. "Paul 'Barbs' Barbato on the importance of geography & exploration". October 22, 2024.
  4. "I've traveled to 99 countries and learned we all seek the same things". Newsweek . October 15, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Episode 19 - Geography Now!". The Lost Geographer (Podcast). Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. Barbato, Paul (October 15, 2024). "I Traveled to 99 Countries and Learned We All Seek the Same Things". Newsweek. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  7. Heath, Victoria (October 22, 2024). "Paul 'Barbs' Barbato on the importance of geography & exploration". Geographical. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. Aronow, Sam (June 22, 2018). "Geography Now! Night Thread". The Avocado. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  9. "Educational YouTuber Covers the Philippines". DG Briones. October 3, 2019. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  10. Glaze, Virginia (October 15, 2024). "Meet the YouTuber who spent 10 years profiling every country on Earth". Dexerto. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  11. Schirm, Cassie (March 3, 2018). "Youtube star hosts GeograBee at Gruening Middle School". KTVA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  12. "GEOGRAPHY NOW: BARBS' 10-YEAR GLOBAL JOURNEY – EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW". The Travel Pocket Guide. October 15, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  13. Ruide, Koh (February 17, 2018). "Informative video condenses everything about Japan into 16 minutes of pure gold". Japan Today. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  14. "La France vue de l'extérieur". Télérama (in French). December 9, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  15. Visser, Jemel (February 27, 2019). "Geography Now lanceert uitlegvideo over Nederland". Metro (in Dutch). Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  16. "Kako nas Amerikanci vide: pogledajte što sve znaju o nama". RTL (in Croatian). May 16, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  17. "Kako stranci vide BiH: Icar konzerve, piramide i tri jezika". Nezavisne Novine (in Bosnian). July 10, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  18. Nikel, David (May 23, 2019). "Geography Now Comes To Norway". Life in Norway. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  19. Micallef, Chiara (August 19, 2018). "WATCH: Malta Featured On Popular Youtube Series About Countries And Geography". Lovin Malta. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  20. "Státisíce videní za pár dní: Toto video o Slovensku je absolútnym hitom!". Zoznam: Hashtag (in Slovak). January 4, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  21. "YouTube Excellence #2: Geography Now". Tome of Trovius. March 27, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  22. "Geography Now Videos". Laddingford St Mary's C of E Primary School. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  23. Nicholas Pardini, Brian Peotter (September 15, 2018). "82. Geography Now with Paul Barbato". Nothing Exempt (Podcast). Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  24. Stoyanof, Tania (December 14, 2016). "Lights, Camera, Action….Geography Now!". Black Label. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  25. Lawton, Georgina (February 2, 2017). "7 YouTube Channels Everyone Should Follow, According To Reddit". Bustle. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  26. "5 Useful (and Fun) YouTube Channels for Your Classroom". Van Andel Institute. February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  27. Lee, Joshua (January 12, 2018). "From maths and science to liberal studies, these are the 7 best YouTube channels that will improve your grades". YoungPost. South China Morning Post. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  28. "My thoughts about Geography Now". Medium. January 26, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.