2008 (What if we were all countries?)

2008 (MMVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2008th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 8th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 9th year of the 2000s decade.

2008 is notorious for the Sichuan earthquake in China, the exploration of Mercury, Kosovo declaring independence, Cyclone Nargis, the MSA crisis, and the 2008 Summer Olympics.