2012: Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, considered to be the gateway to Southeast Asia from the Pacific, contains one of the most heterogenous indigenous populations in the world with over 800 spoken languages. Papua New Guinea is a very isolated country given    its rugged mountainous terrain and it being an archipelagic state. Papua New Guinea gained independence on September 16, 1975.

2011: Namibia

Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa, was colonized by Germany, and following WWI South Africa undertook full administrative responsibility for the territory under artice 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations and a mandate agreement by the League Council. Not until an ICJ advisory opinion in 1971 was it determined that South Africa's presence in Namibia was illegal. Namibia was granted independence in 1990 following the negotiations that culminated into the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and the withdrawal South African troops from Namibia.

2011: Barbados

A former British colony which was once heavily dependent upon the production of sugar in slave-run plantations, Barbados is now an upper-middle income country in which tourism plays a significant role in the country's economy. Due to its geographic location in the Caribbean Sea, Barbados is one of the few islands that is rarely affected by hurricanes.

 2010: Mozambique

2010: Finland

Occupied by Sweden until the early 1800s, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy with connections to the Russian empire and became independent in 1917. Finland is now a highly industrialized, free market economy with many political and individual freedoms. The blue in the flag represents the thousands of lakes in the country while the white represents the cold temperature. 

2007: Madagascar

Madagascar is an island located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of southeast Africa and existed as an independent kingdom until 1885 when the French established a protectorate over the territory. Madagascar gained independence in 1960 after the Malagasy posed significant opposition to the French troops. There are over 200,000 species of plants and animals found in Madagascar and nowhere else; making the country one of the top three "hot spots" for biodiversity.

2007: Barbados

A former British colony which was once heavily dependent upon the production of sugar in slave-run plantations, Barbados is now an upper-middle income country in which tourism plays a significant role in the country's economy. Due to its geographic location in the Caribbean Sea, Barbados is one of the few islands that is rarely affected by hurricanes.

2006: Benin

This small African Country is boardered by Nigeria to the West, Togo to the East, Burkina Faso and Niger to the North, and the Atlanic Ocean to the South. Once the Kingdom of Dahomey, Benin is the Birthplace of Voodoo, the location of the Kingdom of Dahomey has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Benin has had more coups than anyother African country, with 17, and was one of the few African countries to have once been communist.

2005: Mozambique

After five centuries as a Portuguese colony, Mozambique gained its independence in 1975. Follwoing a prolonged civil war, the country's development was severily hindered. The ruling FRELIMO party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between warrying parties ended the fighting in 1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim Chissano steped down after 18 years in office. His newly elected successor has promised to continue the sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment.

2005: World Vision International

Established in 1950 to care for orphans in Asia, World Vision International is a Christian relief and development organisation working for the well being of all people, especially children. Through emergency relief, education, health care, economic development and promotion of justice, World Vision helps communities help themselves.

2004: Uganda

Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.

2003: South Africa

After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.

2002: Burkino Faso

Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana.

2001: Benin

This small African Country is boardered by Nigeria to the West, Togo to the East, Burkina Faso and Niger to the North, and the Atlanic Ocean to the South. Once the Kingdom of Dahomey, Benin is the Birthplace of Voodoo, the location of the Kingdom of Dahomey has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Benin has had more coups than anyother African country, with 17, and was one of the few African countries to have once been communist.

2000: Gambia

The smallest country on continental Africa, The Gambia is boardered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West, and surounded to the North, South, and East by Senegal.

1999: Algeria

Algeria is one of the Largest African countries and was recently head of the Organization of African Unity.

1998: Zambia

Zambia is one of the oddest-shaped countries in the world, with a small section of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) jutting into the middle of it, forming two distinct lobes. This little section of the DRC is known as the Congo Pedicle, and was the result from old claims from the era of European Imperialism.

1997: Egypt

Although the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is a well-known title, few people can actually name off all seven of the wonders. One wonder that people almost universally can remember is the Great Pyramid in Giza, built as a tomb for the Pharoh Khufu. For a period spanning well over 3000 years, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in existance. It remains today the only remaining Wonder to still be standing.

1996: Uganda

In the Eastern part of Uganda, nestled among the hills and valleys of that region, live a community of native Ugandans that practice the Jewish religion. These Ugandan Jews are known as the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda, and live in a collection of 4 villages surrounding the small town of Mbale. These Jews exist because of the conversion of a man named Semei Kakungulu, who, through resistance to European conquest and religion, read of the Jewish faith and invited a Jewish trader to come and teach the faith to his villiage.

1995: Nigeria

The Nigerian flag predates the country's independence, as it was designed by Taiwo Akinkunmi in 1958. The flag is subdivided into 3 vertical stripes equal in size, with 2 green stripes on the outside, and one white stripe on the inside. The green stripes represent agriculture, and the middle white stripe represents unity and peace.

1994: Gabon

In the late 15th century, explorers from the Iberian Penninsula (Portugal and Spain) set sail down the African coast in search of new trade routes. The Spanish settled on a small island of Tomé, and in 1473, discovered the estuary of the river Como. The shape of the estuary reminded the Spanish of a caban, and gave it the name "Rio di Gaboa." In time, this name transformed itself into the present-day name of "Gabon."

1993: Botswana

A large portion of Bostwana is taken up by the Kalahari Desert, a region inhabited by the !Kung San, known to outsiders as Bushmen. One !Kung man, known as N!xau, starred in the international hit comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy, directed by Jamie Uys. N!xau was chosen from among the !Kung by Uys himself, who needed a !Kung who was just as unaware of the outside world as his character Xi would be in the movie.

1992: Zambia

The Zambian flag is exceptional in having its charges located on the fly half. The red stands for the struggle for freedom, the black for the Zambian people, and the orange for natural resources and mineral wealth. The eagle is representative of the people's ability to rise above the nation's problems.

1991: Cote d'Ivoire

In 1984, the country then known as the Ivory Coast announced to the world that it wanted to be known to all countries, no matter what the native tongue, as "Côte d'Ivoire." Hence, English-language maps made since then usually label the co untry as "Côte d'Ivoire," despite the fact that a large portion of English-speaking people, especially in the United States, do not know what it means. Nationals of Côte d'Ivoire are called "Ivorians"

1990: Senegal

The flag of Senegal is virtually identical with the flag of Mali, with the only difference coming from the star located in the center of the Senegalese flag. The similarities are due to the former federation bewteen the two countries, which lasted only a few months.

1989: Saudi Arabia

The Arab inscription on the Saudi Arabian flag reads "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet", and is the shahada, or profession of faith in Islam. Special techniques had to be developed to manufacture the flag, to keep the inscription on the reverse side from reading backwards.

1988: Zambia

To the South of Zambia flows the Zambezi river, which gave Zambia its name. The Zambezi played an important role in David Livingstone's famous journeys into and across Africa, and he named the spectacular Victoria Falls which is located on a stretch of Zambezi between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Livingstone ended his days in Northern Rhodesia, the land that is called Zambia today.

1987: Indonesia

The nation of Indonesia encompasses most of the archipelago known as the East Indies. The archipelago is the largest known in the world, and many of the world's largest islands make a part of Indonesia. The English word "java" was derived from the Indonesian island of the same name, known for its fine coffees.

1986: Tunisia

Tunisia encompasses the land that was once the core of Carthaginian territory before its defeat to Rome in the three Punic Wars. The present capital of Tunis is located very near the ruins of the once-mighty Carthage. The infamous Vandals also held control of the area, until the Byzantine Emperor Justinian defeated them.

1985: United Arab Emirates

Formerly called the Trucial States, the United Arab Emirates is a federation of 7 emirates located in the southern portion of the Arabian Penninsula.