Curious what the smallest countries in the world are? It is time for a brief geography lesson. Did you know there are quite a few nations on the globe that are smaller, in terms of surface, than your average city? Wondering what these countries are? We have compiled a list of the 12 smallest countries in the world, ranking them according to their surface in square miles (check out our list of the most powerful countries in the world).
Let’s take a look at the countdown:
No. 12: Grenada
Photo Credit: Roger Wollstadt
Surface (square miles): 133
Population: 90,000
The “largest” country in our countdown is a whopping 133 square miles in surface. This Caribbean state, a former British territory, is situated very close to Venezuela.
See the rest of the world’s smallest countries on the following pages:
No. 11: Malta
Photo Credit: Trish Hartmann
Surface (square miles): 122
Population: 400,000
Malta is an island situated just south of Sicily. The Island was once a British territory but it has now been independent from the United Kingdom since 1964.
No. 10: Maldives
Photo Credit: Christian Jensen
Surface (square miles): 115
Population: 340,000
There are no less than 2000 islands in the Indian Ocean that are commonly referred to as the Maldives. However, only 200 of them are inhabited.
No. 9: Seychelles
Photo Credit: Fabio Achilli
Surface (square miles): 107
Population: 81,000
This particular tourist hot spot gained its independence from the United Kingdom back in 1976.
No. 8: Saint Kitts and Nevis
Photo Credit: Jeremy T. Hetzel
Surface (square miles): 104
Population: 39,000
Saint Kitts and Nevis are a Caribbean state, made up by the two islands that give its name. This nation became an independent state in 1983.
No. 7: Marshall Islands
Photo Credit: Stefan Lins
Surface (square miles): 70
Population: 58,000
The Marshall Islands consist of 34 island territories, various reefs, and several atolls, including the largest one in the world, the Kwajalein atoll. The Islands gained their independence from the US back in 1986.
No. 6: Liechtenstein
Photo Credit: Phyllis Buchanan
MSurface (square miles): 62
Population: 34,000
This tiny European state is situated on the Rhone River and is neighbor to Austria and Switzerland.
No. 5: San Marino
Photo Credit: Vlad Ivanov
Surface (square miles): 24
Population: 29,000
This particular small country was established somewhere in the 14th century, which makes it one of the oldest states within Europe. San Marino is located on top of Mount Titano, in the northern region of Italy.
No. 4: Tuvalu
Photo Credit: Stefan Lins
Surface (square miles): 9
Population: 12,000
Independent since 1978, Tuvalu is basically comprised of nine coral atolls somewhere off the Polynesian coast. Before proclaiming independence, Tuvalu was part of the Ellice Islands.
No. 3: Nauru
Photo Credit: Tatiana Gerus
Surface (square miles): 8.5
Population: 13,000
Once upon a time, this South Pacific state was nicknamed “the Pleasant Island”. Nowadays, however, this country is anything but pleasant as it has the highest unemployment rate worldwide and its residents have to rely on scarce and diminishing resources.
No. 2: Monaco
Photo Credit: John Robinson
Surface (square miles): 0.7
Population: 32,000
Monaco is best known for its world renowned casinos, beaches, and, of course, Princess Grace. Although this state has a surface of less than a mile, a little more than 30,000 people live here. Kind of impressive.
No. 1: The Vatican
Photo Credit: Anna Harris
Surface (square miles): 0.2
Population: 770
The Vatican is basically a state within another state. This tiny little nation, also referred to as the spiritual center for all Roman Catholics, is surrounded by Italy’s capital, Rome. None of the 770 people living in the Vatican are permanent residents.
