Life Travels - nation and continent totals

Year	Total Nations * in year	Total Continents * in year	Total Nations lifetime	Total Continents lifetime
2012	2 out of 196	1 out of 7	75 out of 196	5 out of 7
2011	9 out of 196	3 out of 7	75 out of 196	5 out of 7
2010	9 out of 196	3 out of 7	72 out of 196	5 out of 7
2009	8 out of 196	3 out of 7	70 out of 196	5 out of 7
2008	11 out of 196	3 out of 7	68 out of 196	5 out of 7
2007	11 out of 196	2 out of 7	65 out of 196	5 out of 7
2006	9 out of 196	2 out of 7	60 out of 196	5 out of 7
2005	12 out of 195	2 out of 7	54 out of 195	5 out of 7
2004	10 out of 195	2 out of 7	47 out of 195	5 out of 7
2003	11 out of 195	3 out of 7	42 out of 195	5 out of 7
2002	7 out of 195	2 out of 7	36 out of 195	5 out of 7
2001	11 out of 194	3 out of 7	32 out of 194	5 out of 7
2000	6 out of 194	3 out of 7	26 out of 194	5 out of 7
1999	10 out of 194	3 out of 7	22 out of 194	5 out of 7
1998	6 out of 194	2 out of 7	15 out of 194	4 out of 7
1997	5 out of 194	3 out of 7	11 out of 194	3 out of 7
1996	6 out of 194	1 out of 7	7 out of 194	1 out of 7
1995	2 out of 194	1 out of 7	3 out of 194	1 out of 7
1982-1995	2 (U.K. & France)	1 (Europe) out of 7	2 (U.K. & France)	1 (Europe) out of 7
pre-1982	1 (U.K.)	1 (Europe) out of 7	1 (U.K.)	1 (Europe) out of 7

Notes

The current tally of 196 nations includes the 192 sovereign members of the United Nations (www.un.org/en/members) plus:

Vatican City	Ecclesiastical city state governed by papal commission; the smallest sovereign state in the world.
Palestine	Self-ruling (limited) democracy; Gaza, Jericho, West Bank regions; nation status not globally acknowledged.
Taiwan	Self-ruling island republic; nation status not globally acknowledged.
Western Sahara	Disputed territory under Moroccan military jurisdiction; nation status not globally acknowledged.

Variations during previous years:

2006	Montenegro - declared independence on 3 June 2006; joined the United Nations on 28 June 2006.
2002	East Timor - gained independence on 20 May 2002; joined the United Nations on 27 September 2002. Switzerland - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 10 September 2002.
2000	Yugoslavia - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 1 November 2000. Tuvalu - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 5 September 2000.
1999	Kiribati - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 14 September 1999. Nauru - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 14 September 1999. Tonga - independent sovereign state; joined the United Nations on 14 September 1999.
1995	184 sovereign members of the United Nations at the beginning of 1995, plus: Kiribati - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Nauru - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Switzerland - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Tonga - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Tuvalu - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Yugoslavia - independent sovereign state; non-member of the United Nations. Vatican City - ecclesiastical city state governed by papal commission; the smallest sovereign state in the world. Palestine - self-ruling (limited) democracy; Gaza, Jericho, West Bank regions; nation status not globally acknowledged. Taiwan - self-ruling island republic; nation status not globally acknowledged. Western Sahara - disputed territory under Moroccan military jurisdiction; nation status not globally acknowledged.

* Totals of nations / continents visited each year include place of residence (United Kingdom / Europe), plus occasional airport transfers.