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The smallest countries in the world are located in Europe, Oceania, and North America. The smallest countries by land mass include Holy See/Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Niue, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Maldives, and Malta. The smallest countries by population include Holy See/Vatican City, Niue, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, Cook Islands, San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Marshall Islands, and Dominica. Some countries are not represented due to their small size or large population.
The smallest countries in the world can be judged by size or by population. Looked at in both cases, the smallest countries are located in areas classified as belonging to Europe, Oceania and North America.
Here are the world’s smallest countries by land mass. Note that many of them are islands or groups of islands, and some of these have only come into self-government relatively recently, while San Marino, founded in AD 301, claims to be the oldest republic in the world. Nauru is the smallest independent republic in the world.
THE SMALLEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD BY LAND MASS
OrderCountry NameAreaIslands? Date of self-government 1.Holy See/Vatican City0.17 square miles (0.44 sq km)No19292.Monaco0.75 square miles (1.95 sq km)NoOriginally – 14893.Nauru8.1 square miles (21 sq km)Yes19684.Tuvalu10 square miles (26 sq km)Yes19785.San Marino23.6 square miles (61.2 sq km)No301 6.Liechtenstein62 square miles (160 sq km)No18067.Marshall Islands70 square miles (181.3 sq km)Yes19868.Cook Islands93 square miles (240 sq km)Yes19659.Niue100 miles square (260 sq km)Yes197410.Saint Kitts and Nevis101 square miles (261 sq km)Yes198311.Maldives116 square miles (300 sq km)Yes196812.Malta122 square miles (316 sq km)Yes1964
Looking at the population graph, we see that some of the world’s smallest countries by population are not represented in the smallest countries by land mass graph: namely Palau and Dominica – while Malta and the Maldives do not appear. The explanations are, first, that Palau and Dominica, while not much larger – 177 square miles (458 sq km) and 291 square miles (754 sq km), respectively, have relatively small populations; and secondly, the Maldives and Malta each have relatively large populations for their size compared to the others: 359,008 and 400,214 respectively.
THE SMALLEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD BY POPULATION
OrderCountry NamePopulation (July 2006 est.)1.Holy See/Vatican City9322.Niue2,1663.Tuvalu11,8104.Nauru13,2875.Palau20,5796.Cook Islands21,3887.San Marino29,2518.Monaco32,5439.Liechtenstein33,98710. St. Kitts and Nevis38,12911.Marshall Islands60,42212.Dominica68,910
