Sounds like a job for pivot table!
Your example is broken up into a format where you really only need to count a specific column (header:Belgium for instance), so I don't understand the particular need for the sumifs().
I could see using a sum of vlookups, or using an offset, but I think your best bet is probably a pivot table here.
Row labels filtered for 2005, for example, and then a sum for each country:
![enter image description here](../../I/static/images/26a945c1b70c5c443cd1e71d3a608913e54f6eb2180df4bec4e8cf8db7b5a872.png)
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your request, but pivot tables are usually very powerful when working with data sets this size or larger, rather than using formulas. Perhaps my pivot table isn't exactly what you want, but they are very versatile and will most likely be able to provide you with the characteristics of the data that you want.
2Posting a question with an external link and then killing that link is not how SU works. Now your problem is solved but nobody else benefits. You should have put the relevant information in your question from the start. – Jan Doggen – 2014-09-17T11:08:46.697
@JanDoggen I apologize, I had the xls file in my dropbox public folder which I regularly delete. I did not realize I had one link here. But what I was asking is answered with picture included that comes from the example ( I don't have it anymore). And also why is unclear what I am asking if I had already accepted answer. Please excuse my linguistic inability to clearly express myself in English language as it not my mother tongue. – cgnx – 2014-09-17T14:21:01.523