It makes a great trivia interrogative sentence : What are the world’ssmallest countries ? You could decide to calculate at universe or the actual region the country worry . By either mensuration , the No . 1 smallest country in the world is the same .
10 Smallest Countries in the World by Area
10. Malta: 122 square miles (316 square km)
The Republic of Malta is a small island body politic on the Mediterranean Sea located between the Italian island of Sicily and the North African country Tunisia and Libya . Malta is actually an archipelago of five island , only three of which are inhabited : Malta , Gozo and Comino .
Malta ’s strategic location between Europe and Africa made it attractive to foreign power .
In 218 B.C.E. Malta come under control of the Roman Empire , and the country went through a serial of foreign occupation until it at long last became independent of Britain in 1964 . Malta has been a member of theEuropean Union(EU ) since 2004 .
Malta is known for its megalithic temple which , according toUNESCO , " rank amongst the early free - brook stone buildings in the world . "
9. Maldives: 116 square miles (300 square km)
The Maldives is democratic tourist terminus in the Indian Ocean , thanks to its picturesque ashen sandy beaches . The rural area lie of about 1,200 coral islands , 185 of which are home to about 550,000 mass . With the magniloquent of these minor island only 1.8 meters ( 6 foot ) eminent , the Maldives is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels .
main from Britain since 1965 , touristry describe for almost one - third of the Maldives ' economy , agree to theWorld Bank . The Maldives is also one of13 countries with unripe , snowy , and red pin .
8. Saint Kitts and Nevis: 101 square miles (261 square km)
These two adjacent island place in the Caribbean Sea make their independency from the United Kingdom in 1983 . Separated by 3 kilometers ( 2 miles ) of water , Saint Kitts ( formerly Saint Christopher ) and Nevis were united with Anguilla by the British .
According to theCIA World Factbook , Saint Kitts and Nevis is little nation in the Western Hemisphere by both area and universe ( 54,817 inhabitants ) .
Saint Kitts is rest home to a dormant volcano , Mount Liamuiga . Nevis has its own volcano , Nevis Peak . According to theUniversity of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre , " Nevis is a ‘ live ’ volcano that will likely erupt in the future . "
7. Marshall Islands: 70 square miles (181 square km)
The Marshall Islands are a collection of about 1,200 islands in the Micronesia region ofOceania . From 1947 to 1986 , the Marshall Islands were part of the United States ' Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands .
During that clip , the U.S. tested atomic weapons on the Bikini and Enewetak atolls . Despite cleanup try , radiation levels on Bikini remain too high for resettlement , and the Marshallese keep to crusade for recompense . ( On a weak note , SpongeBob SquarePants ' fictitious home of Bikini Bottom was inspired by the atoll . )
In 1991 , the Marshall Islands became a member of the United Nations ( U.N. ) . Now , the small island land face a unexampled challenge : rise ocean spirit level .
6. Liechtenstein: 62 square miles (160 square km)
site in Western Europe between Austria and Switzerland , Liechtenstein is smaller in size than Washington , D.C. but one of therichest body politic in the world(by GDP per caput ) thanks to its low tax rate .
Despite its plain wealth , Liechtenstein " has no rude resources of commercial value , " accord toBritannica . Its forested surface area are protect , so Liechtenstein must import all innate imagination , include wood , from its neighbors .
Liechtenstein connect the U.N. in 1991 . In 2008 , the land was involved in a major tax evasion scandal ; it has since work to rectify its banking policies .
5. San Marino: 24 square miles (61 square km)
The fifth smallest land in the world is San Marino , a mountainous country within north - cardinal Italy . With a constitution dating back to 1600 , San Marino is the old republic in the world and the only continue city state in the neighborhood .
Its mountainous location keep the small country protected for century , and when Napoleon intrude on Italy , he respected San Marino ’s robust history as a self-governing state .
4. Tuvalu: 10 square miles (26 square km)
Tuvalu , a nine - island state in the south Pacific ocean , is the 4th smallest country in the world — and its shrinkage . Tuvalu once consisted of 11 island , but two of them are gone , due to rising tide .
TheNew York Timesquoted Prime Minister Kausea Natano : “ It ’s a matter of disappearing from the surface of this earth . ”
In November 2023 , the Polynesian area entered into an agreement with Australia that would reserve 208 Tuvaluans to move to Australia each year . The arrangement also provides backing for reclaim earth around the main island of Funafati and other climate base that will hopefully keep Tuvaluans in their home plate .
3. Nauru: 8 square miles (21 square km)
Nauru , a tiny island in the southwest Pacific Ocean , is the third smallest country in the world . With just 10,876 inhabitants , Nauru is also one of the least populated state in the cosmos .
Unlike other spots on this lean , Nauru is n’t a tourer destination . The small island country in the Micronesia area has no harbors , and two - thirds of its surface arena is covered in John Rock orthophosphate . There are no river or steams ; water is spell and collected during rainfall .
accord toBritannica , " Phosphate mining has ravage the interior of the island , leaving about four - fifths of it uninhabitable and uncultivable . " The island is also home to an Australian immigration hold center .
2. Monaco: 0.78 square miles (2.02 square km)
The 2d small land in the world , this princedom on the French Riviera is also one of therichest countries in the world(by GDP per capita ) . It ’s a flyspeck strip of Mediterranean coastline environ on all sides by France , close to the metropolis of Nice and the Gallic - Italian border .
Monaco is famous for its resorts , the Casino de Monte - Carlo and the Monaco Grand Prix , a Formula 1 car race .
Like fellow tiny tax haven Liechtenstein , Monaco was blacklisted by the Organisation for Economic Co - surgical operation and Development ( OECD ) until it agreed to bank reform in 2009 .
1. Vatican City: 0.19 square miles (0.49 square km)
The small sovereign country in the world , both by land country and universe , is Vatican City .
So , on the button how diminutive is this singular country ? Vatican City is smaller than New York City ’s Central Park . Nevertheless , it has its own post billet , telephone system , radio receiver post , banking system and even its own up-to-dateness , theVatican euro .
About 800 people live here , 75 pct of whom are phallus of the clergy .
While Vatican City is a bona fide country , it ’s not recognized by the U.N. , the world ’s largest intergovernmental organization . or else , it ’s conceive apermanent , nonmember observer , which mean it ’s welcome to sit in the U.N. ’s General Assembly and access most U.N. service of process and welfare , but it ca n’t cast a vote . And that ’s just okay with Vatican City .
Unlike its only other U.N. counterpart , Palestine , which has repeatedly applied to become a full U.N. fellow member , Vatican City has never done so . In fact , it ’s the only independent commonwealth to ever pass up U.N. rank .
Experts believe it has eschewed membership because the pope does n’t wish to direct intervene in external policies . In addition , if it were to apply for membership , the U.N. might challenge the musical theme that it ’s a true country per the U.N. ’s definition , which includes the power to attend to with global security . alternatively , the U.N. could argue it is simply a religious organization .
5 Smallest Countries by Population
If you ’re looking atpopulation , you ’ll see some conversant name .
5.San Marino : 34,017 inhabitants
4.Palau : 18,169 inhabitants
3.Tuvalu : 11,931 inhabitants
2.Nauru : 10,876 inhabitants
1.Vatican City : approximately 800 inhabitants
Honorable Mention: Pitcairn Island
Pitcairn Island has a population ofjust 50 people , but since it is a British Overseas Territory , rather than an autonomous country , we ’ve excluded it from our lean of smallest countries .
No. 1 Most Densely Populated Country
Although Monaco is the second smallest nation in the worldly concern , its population is 39,783 , making it the most thickly populated country on Earth , harmonize to World Population Review .
