Countries

The Countries settings control which countries are available in JEM country selectors and country filters. In JEM 5.0.0 this area is managed from a dedicated country tree grouped by continent, making it easier to keep country lists short and relevant for the site.

Disabling a country does not modify existing venues. It only removes that country from selectable country lists and filters where JEM uses the published country list.

Where to Find These Options

Open the Joomla administrator and go to Components → JEM → Settings → Countries.

The Countries tab shows countries grouped by continent. Each country can be enabled or disabled with a checkbox. Continents show an active count, for example how many countries are currently active out of the total countries in that continent.

When to Use These Settings

Use these settings when the site only needs countries relevant to its events, venues, or maps. Reducing the list can make venue editing, frontend filters, and map filters easier to use.

Scenario	Recommended use	Why
Local or regional event site	Enable only the countries where events or venues are expected.	Keeps country selectors short and avoids irrelevant filter values.
International event directory	Keep all required continents and countries enabled.	Allows venues and filters to cover the full event area.
Map-based venue browsing	Enable only countries that should be available in country map filters.	Helps visitors narrow map results without seeing unused countries.
Frontend venue submission	Disable countries that frontend users should not select.	Reduces incorrect venue country entries.
Testing or demo site	Use Select all countries, then narrow the list later.	Useful while sample data or test venues are still changing.

Country Tree

Countries are displayed inside expandable continent groups. Each continent can be opened to view the countries inside it. Countries show their name and ISO code, and can also display a flag icon when the flag image is available.

Continent checkbox: enable or disable all countries in that continent.
Country checkbox: enable or disable one country.
Active count: shows how many countries are active inside the continent.
Partial state: a continent can be partly active when only some countries are enabled.

A continent group may open automatically when it contains a mixture of enabled and disabled countries. This helps administrators notice partial selections.

Select All and Unselect All

The Countries tab includes quick actions for large changes:

Select all countries: enables all countries in the list.
Unselect all countries: disables all countries in the list.
Continent checkbox: enables or disables all countries in one continent.

If all countries are disabled, country selectors and filters may become empty or much less useful. Keep at least the countries required by your venue data and frontend workflows enabled.

Effect on Existing Venues

Disabling a country does not change existing venue records. A venue that already has a disabled country stored in its address keeps that value in the database.

The disabled country is removed from country selection lists and filters that use the active country list. This means administrators can restrict future selections without rewriting old venue data.

If an existing venue uses a country that has been disabled, review the venue manually before editing it. Depending on the form and workflow, you may need to re-enable the country temporarily.

Default Country and Flag Icons

The Countries tab works together with other country-related settings in JEM.

Setting	Where	Purpose
Default Country	Settings → Basic Settings	Sets the default country selected for new venues, when configured.
Flag Icons Folder Path	Settings → Basic Settings	Defines the media path used for country flag icons.
Published countries	Settings → Countries	Controls which countries appear in JEM country selectors and filters.

If the default country is disabled in the Countries tab, review the setting before saving new venues. The default should normally remain enabled.

Country Filters

Published countries can be used by country filters in JEM views and modules. This is especially useful for venues and map-based displays.

Venue lists can use country-related display and ordering options.
Search views can show a country filter when enabled.
Venue map and event map views can use country filters for map results.
Modules that provide country filtering depend on available country data.

Some filters only show countries that are both enabled and actually used by published venues. If a country has no published venues, it may not appear in a frontend filter even if it is enabled.

Recommended Configurations

Site type	Recommended country setup	Notes
Single-country site	Enable only the site country and set it as Default Country.	Best for local event calendars and regional organizations.
European event site	Enable Europe, then disable countries not used by the site.	Keeps the list broad enough without showing every country worldwide.
Worldwide event portal	Keep all relevant countries enabled.	Review filters if the country list becomes too long for visitors.
Venue-heavy site	Enable all countries used by existing venues before editing venue records.	Prevents editors from losing valid country choices during venue maintenance.

After Updating JEM

Review the Countries tab after updating to JEM 5.0.0, especially if the site uses country filters, map views, or frontend venue submission.

Check that countries needed by existing venues are still enabled.
Check the Default Country setting if the site uses one.
Check country filters in frontend venue lists, maps, search, and modules.
Check that flag icons appear if the site displays flags.
Save the settings after making country changes.

Troubleshooting

A country does not appear in a selector

Check whether the country is enabled in Settings → Countries.
Check whether the form or field only shows countries that are relevant for that view.
Clear Joomla cache if the selector still shows old values.

A country does not appear in a frontend filter

Confirm that the country is enabled in the Countries tab.
Check whether there are published venues using that country.
Check venue access levels, publication state, language settings, and map coordinates if the filter belongs to a map view.

Flags are missing

Check the Flag Icons Folder Path setting.
Confirm that the flag image files exist in the configured media folder.
Check file permissions and browser console errors if images do not load.

Existing venues use disabled countries

Re-enable the country temporarily, review or update the affected venues, then disable the country again if it should no longer be available for new selections.

Related Project Notes

#1134 explains the long-term goal of using the countries database table as the main source for country data.
#1490 discusses shortening country names, which is relevant when country lists are shown to editors or visitors.
#2091 relates to country filter availability in a JEM module.
#2076 documents a saving problem around the Default Country setting during early JEM 5 testing.