World Scouting

Brownsea Island-where it all began From Brownsea Island in 1907, Scouting has spread to almost every country in the world. Indeed, most countries have more than one national Scouting association. While a majority of the world's Scouts belong to national associations affiliated with the two largest international Scouting organizations, there are dozens of national and local associations affiliated with several other international Scouting bodies, and more that are independent of any international organization. There is also a number of organizations that do not consider themselves to be Scouting organizations (they sometimes refer to themselves as "Scout-like" organizations), but nevertheless base their program ultimately on Baden-Powell's Scouting concepts.

So who is a "Scout"? The words "scout" and "scouting" are fairly broad terms that are used by many organizations. And there are non-Scouting organizations that include "scout-like" activities such as camping, hiking, and outdoor skills (some even wear a Scout-type uniform). For simplicity, I include in "Scouting" any organization that labels itself a Scouting program and which bases its program on Baden-Powell's Scouting concepts and ideals. I include both males and females in the definition of "Scout", and I include male-only, female-only, and coed associations in the definition of "Scouting".

There are a number of individual Scout groups (especially in Germany) that operate their own local program independent of any national or regional association. These are difficult to find and track, and they frequently go into or out of existence when leadership changes. So I list the unaffiliated single groups I have discovered separately, and do not count them in the "organization" totals.

Here are links to our pages that describe the many interesting aspects of a Scouting world that is probably more varied and dynamic than you thought:

International Scouting Organizations (think there's one or two?—we've found seven, including one just for adults!)
Non-aligned Scouting Associations (82 associations in 21 countries)
Unaffiliated Single Groups (56 groups in 4 countries)
Adult-only Scouting Associations (96 associations in 57 countries)
Scout-like Organizations (we've found 10—there've got to be more)
All National (and local) Scouting Associations in Every Country (all 193 countries in the world, listing all known Scouting associations in each—521 associations at latest count)

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