Schengen member Zone
Schengen Countries comprise of world’s largest visa-free zone.
There are 29 Schengen countries also called member states currently, which allow you to get a Schengen visa for one country and then travel to all others with open permission. In total, the Schengen zone comprises 425 Million EU Citizens. Approximately, 3.5 Million people cross Schengen borders every day which makes it to 1.25 Billion entries per year.
Important Statistics of Schengen Countries
Economic Powerhouses
Travel and tourism inject a staggering 1.9 trillion USD into Europe’s GDP, supporting the livelihoods of 34.8 million individuals.
Visitor Magnet
Europe/Schengen Zone attracts a colossal 700 million international tourists annually, with France emerging as the continent’s most popular destination.
Financial Fortitude
The tourism sector witnesses substantial international spending, tallying up to 524 billion USD, while Spain alone garners 73 billion USD in tourism receipts.
Projected Growth
Outbound tourism in Europe is uniform for an impressive 12.2% surge, with the UK accounting for 19.1 million outbound trips.
Spending Titans
Germany leads in outbound tourism expenditure, while domestically, Europe’s tourism industry flourishes with 1.1 trillion USD in expenditure, including 317 billion USD from Germany alone.
Homebound Explorers
Approximately 25.7% of European travelers are gearing up for domestic escapades in the coming six months, highlighting the enduring allure of local adventures.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu
List of Schengen Countries
| Austria | Greece | Malta, | Slovakia |
| Belgium | Iceland | Netherlands | Slovenia |
| Croatia | Italy | Norway | Spain |
| Denmark | Latvia, | Poland | The Czech Republic |
| Estonia | Liechtenstein, | Portugal | Hungary |
| Finland | Lithuania | Sweden | Germany |
| France | Luxembourg | Switzerland | Romania |
| Bulgaria |
All above-mentioned countries have joined the Schengen Agreement and this is why these are called Schengen countries. Citizens, and visa holders (either temporary or permanent) of these 29 countries are allowed to visit each other’s country without official border control and additional visa and documents.
25 of the above-mentioned countries are of the 27 EU member states. Whereas all member states of the European Free Trade Association Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland are also part of the Schengen member zone.
History of Schengen Zone
Schengen name itself comes from a small village name in Luxembourg. Zone means the area of countries that have signed the agreement to be a part of it. Originally, the concept of free movement was to enable the European working population to freely travel and settle in any EU State, but it fell short of abolishing border controls within the Union. Initially starting from 7 countries, now it has become a group of 29 countries.
The first achievement this global achieved in 1985 in Schengen, with the signing of the agreement on the gradual abolition of checks at common borders, followed by the signing of the Convention implementing that Agreement in 1990. The implementation of the Schengen Agreements started in 1995, initially involving seven EU countries.
Entry of non-EU into Schengen Countries
All member states of the Schengen zone allow the non-EU national to visit through one common visa called a Schengen visa which can be used for:
- Short-time stay in the Schengen countries and is called a “C” type visa. This allows the bearer to do Tourism, Meet Family, or perform business activities.
- Long stay Schengen visa is called a “D” type visa which allows the bearer to stay for longer than three months for study, family reunification, business, or work purposes.
Newly added Schengen Member States
Croatia joined the Schengen member zone on 1 January 2023. On the other hand, Bulgaria and Romania are the latest addition to this list. This means on 30 December 2023, the Council unanimously agreed on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. This makes sure that as of 31 March 2024, both Member States will start applying Schengen rules. Immigration and travel Controls at internal air and sea borders between Bulgaria and Romania and countries of the Schengen area will be lifted as of 31 March 2024. The Council agreed that a further decision should be taken at an appropriate date for the lifting checks at internal land borders.
Next to join the Schengen Zone
Cyprus has also applied the Schengen acquis. The Schengen evaluation process to assess the readiness to join the Schengen area is under process. The Schengen Information System in Cyprus was put into operation last year in July. This process was already verified by a dedicated Schengen evaluation in the same year. Ireland and the UK are also not a part of the Schengen zone. Ireland on the other hand is still a part of the European Union.
List of EU countries
27 countries are a part of the European Union (EU). These are as follows:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
From this list, Ireland and Cyprus are not a part of the Schengen Zone.
List of EFTA countries
There are four European Free Trade Association (EFTA). These are not a part of the European Union but are Schengen countries:
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Switzerland
List of EEA countries
European Economic Area stands for EEA. All 27 EU countries are part of the EEA whereas Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein are not a part of the EU. Overall, there are 30 countries part of the EEA those are as follows:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
Countries that wish to join the EU
To be a part of the EU, countries willing to be included must incorporate the EU legislation into the national registration. Following are the countries that wish to be a part of the EU shortly but they have not completely implemented the EU laws:
- Albania
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Serbia
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
Georgia and Kosovo wish to become candidate countries but do not meet the requirements for EU membership.
Country Codes of EU Members
Country codes of EU countries are written in capital letters and are used in documents, legislations, or for international references. The EU member states have the following country codes consisting of two letters each:
| Belgium | (BE) | Greece | (EL) | Lithuania | (LT) | Portugal | (PT) |
| Bulgaria | (BG) | Spain | (ES) | Luxembourg | (LU) | Romania | (RO) |
| Czechia | (CZ) | France | (FR) | Hungary | (HU) | Slovenia | (SI) |
| Denmark | (DK) | Croatia | (HR) | Malta | (MT) | Slovakia | (SK) |
| Germany | (DE) | Italy | (IT) | Netherlands | (NL) | Finland | (FI) |
| Estonia | (EE) | Cyprus | (CY) | Austria | (AT) | Sweden | (SE) |
| Ireland | (IE) | Latvia | (LV) | Poland | (PL) |
Country codes of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members
| Iceland | (IS) | Norway | (NO) |
| Liechtenstein | (LI) | Switzerland | (CH) |