The IRS does allow "Various" when reporting for the most part. The country-by-country accounting would be required in cases of taxes paid to sanctioned countries (such as Cuba) or are subject to "High tax kickout" (HTKO) rules. HIgh tax kickout occurs when the tax paid to the other country exceeds the highest possible tax rate on the same category of income.
For example, if a taxpayer sells a capital asset in a country where capital gains tax is 50%, the tax credit will take into account that the income won't be taxed at a rate higher than 20% in the US.
The country-specific reporting could also be necessary when reporting income from countries with which the US has a tax treaty that lowers the rate of tax on a particular type of income. It won't always be required in this case, but is required if the mandatory withholding rate on the income is higher than the actual tax allowed by treaty.
That income would need to be reported separately for the credit to be calculated properly.
Individual stock holdings could be aggregated together in some cases, but not in others. Brokerage firms vary in the way that they handle and report foreign taxes paid.
If there is doubt about whether or not any of the taxes could require a credit adjustment based on HTKO or treaty rates, then it is best to report them separately.
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