The Peace Corps is a program that was launched by the U.S. government in 1961. The program went into effect after an executive order was signed by President John F. Kennedy and was later authorized by Congress through the passage of the Peace Corps Act.
The goal of the Peace Corps is to provide technical assistance to other nations to bolster social and economic development. The Peace Corps also aims to promote mutual understanding between Americans and the natives of the countries that the program serves.
The Peace Corps is a volunteer program. Most volunteers are citizens of the U.S. who train for three months before traveling overseas for two years. Volunteers go abroad to work with entrepreneurs, nonprofits, schools, governments, and other organizations.
Volunteers from the Peace Corps have served over 141 countries since the program’s inception. Over 235,000 volunteers have joined and provided services abroad through the Peace Corps.
Since it was first launched, Peace Corps volunteers have visited these nations:
Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia Fiji Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana Haiti, Honduras, Hungary India, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast Jamaica, Jordan Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niue, Niger, Nigeria Oman Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland Romania, Russia, Rwanda Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam Tanzania, Thailand, Timor Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Tuvalu Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan Vanuatu, Venezuela Yemen Zambia, Zimbabwe