A study by British historian Stuart Leckcock found that Britain invaded nearly 90% of the planet's countries at various times in its history. Lycock analyzed the history of about 200 countries around the world to determine which of them had been invaded by Britain. He found that only 22 countries had not been invaded by the British.
In the course of Britain's massive expansion of its colonies, countries that have been spared are often far away, such as the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, but also neighbors like Luxembourg. At the height of the British Empire, the 22 countries that Britain did not invade included Andorra, Belarus, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Sweden, and the Vatican in Europe, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Paraguay in Latin America, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Sao Tome and Principe in Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.
Only a small number of the countries that Britain invaded are known to have gone on to become Commonwealth countries. In fact, Britain has imposed short- or long-term military occupation over a wider area through military coercion, negotiation or dealing. In addition, piracy, privateer ships and armed explorers sanctioned by the British Government were also acts of aggression. As a result, many former Spanish colonies, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, and El Salvador, although seemingly unconnected to Britain, were repeatedly invaded by British sailors.
Some of the countries that were invaded by Britain were indeed unexpected. In 1741, British Admiral Vernon invaded Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and renamed it Cumberland Bay. Soon, due to the resistance of the natives and the spread of disease among the troops, Vernon was forced to retreat. In 1940, Iceland was invaded by Britain because it insisted on its neutrality and refused to join the Allies.
Since the 17th century, Vietnam has been invaded by the British, most recently in 1945 and 1946, when the British tried to combat communist forces in the country, but the British invasion was covered up by the subsequent invasion of Vietnam by France and the United States. Lecock believes that there may be more countries that Britain invaded, but there is still a lack of conclusive historical evidence.