Exploration Merit Badge History
Earned through 202010,012
Best year20183,351 earned
All-time popularity#211official, as of 2020#196by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 2017. Peak year 2018 with 3,351. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
Known count No data available
"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#97 of 141" means the badge was number 97 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.
20172,090#124 of 139
20183,351#105 of 139
20193,107#109 of 139
20201,464#127 of 137
2021—#108 of 137
2022—#106 of 138
2023—#96 of 138
2024—#95 of 138
2025—#97 of 141
Grand total through 2020:
This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.