
The 30 smallest countries
With only 0.44 km², Vatican City in the heart of Rome is by far the smallest country in the world. In second place is the city-state of Monaco on the French Mediterranean coast at 2.0 km².Determining third place is more difficult because Gibraltar, which is also located in southern Europe, is a "country", depending on the definition, but not a sovereign state. If one only takes sovereign states, Nauru and Tuvalu would follow next.
▼ Smallest countries by area
▼ Smallest countries by population
► List of the largest countries
The smallest countries by area
We have marked with an asterisk (explanation at the end of the page) all those countries that are not independent and sovereign states. In this table it is clearly noticeable that a significant portion of the smallest "countries" are dependent on other states. A full 21 out of 30 countries are not independent states. After all, seven of them are in Europe, and eight are in the Caribbean. A full 21 are small island states.Rank | Country | Area | Population | Population per km² |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Vatican | 0.4 km² | 1,000 | 2,272.73 |
2 | Monaco | 2.0 km² | 36,686 | 18,161.39 |
3 | Gibraltar * | 6.8 km² | 32,669 | 4,804.26 |
4 | Tokelau * | 12.2 km² | 1,647 | 135.00 |
5 | Cocos Islands * | 14.2 km² | 596 | 41.97 |
6 | Saint Barthelemy * | 21.0 km² | 7,103 | 338.24 |
7 | Nauru | 21.1 km² | 12,511 | 592.94 |
8 | Tuvalu | 26.0 km² | 11,204 | 430.92 |
9 | Macao * | 30.4 km² | 686,607 | 22,585.76 |
10 | Saint Martin * | 34.0 km² | 42,846 | 1,260.18 |
11 | Norfolk Island * | 34.6 km² | 1,748 | 50.52 |
12 | Pitcairn Islands * | 49.0 km² | 50 | 1.02 |
13 | Bermuda * | 53.2 km² | 63,867 | 1,200.51 |
14 | St. Martin * | 53.2 km² | 31,948 | 600.53 |
15 | San Marino | 61.2 km² | 33,745 | 551.48 |
16 | British Indian Ocean Territory * | 63.2 km² | 3,500 | 55.41 |
17 | Guernsey * | 78.0 km² | 67,491 | 865.27 |
18 | Anguilla * | 96.0 km² | 18,741 | 195.22 |
19 | Montserrat * | 102.0 km² | 5,414 | 53.08 |
20 | Jersey * | 119.6 km² | 102,146 | 854.06 |
21 | Christmas Island * | 135.0 km² | 2,205 | 16.33 |
22 | Wallis and Futuna * | 142.0 km² | 15,891 | 111.91 |
23 | British Virgin Islands * | 150.0 km² | 31,122 | 207.48 |
24 | Liechtenstein | 160.5 km² | 39,039 | 243.23 |
25 | Aruba * | 178.9 km² | 106,537 | 595.48 |
26 | Marshall Islands | 181.4 km² | 42,050 | 231.78 |
27 | American Samoa * | 199.0 km² | 45,035 | 226.31 |
28 | Cook Islands | 241.7 km² | 8,128 | 33.63 |
29 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon * | 242.0 km² | 5,257 | 21.72 |
30 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 260.0 km² | 47,606 | 183.10 |
The smallest countries by population
A somewhat different picture emerges when the smallest countries in the world are calculated according to their number of inhabitants. Many of the small island states reappear. In addition, there are countries with a large surface area, but which are extremely sparsely populated. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands lie deep in the south near Antarctica and are largely covered with ice. The Falkland Islands lie only a little further north. Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and Jan Mayen lie high in the north and are sparsely inhabited due to their proximity to the Arctic for the same reasons. Only 2,926 people share an area of over 62,000 km² here.
Rank | Country | Population | Area | Population per km² |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Georgia * | 30 | 3,903.0 km² | 0.01 |
2 | Pitcairn Islands * | 50 | 49.0 km² | 1.02 |
3 | Cocos Islands * | 596 | 14.2 km² | 41.97 |
4 | Vatican | 1,000 | 0.4 km² | 2,272.73 |
5 | Tokelau * | 1,647 | 12.2 km² | 135.00 |
6 | Norfolk Island * | 1,748 | 34.6 km² | 50.52 |
7 | Niue | 2,000 | 261.5 km² | 7.65 |
8 | Christmas Island * | 2,205 | 135.0 km² | 16.33 |
9 | Svalbard * | 2,926 | 62,045.0 km² | 0.05 |
10 | Falkland Islands * | 3,198 | 12,173.0 km² | 0.26 |
11 | British Indian Ocean Territory * | 3,500 | 63.2 km² | 55.41 |
12 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon * | 5,257 | 242.0 km² | 21.72 |
13 | Montserrat * | 5,414 | 102.0 km² | 53.08 |
14 | Saint Barthelemy * | 7,103 | 21.0 km² | 338.24 |
15 | Saint Helena * | 7,925 | 391.0 km² | 20.27 |
16 | Cook Islands | 8,128 | 241.7 km² | 33.63 |
17 | Tuvalu | 11,204 | 26.0 km² | 430.92 |
18 | Nauru | 12,511 | 21.1 km² | 592.94 |
19 | Wallis and Futuna * | 15,891 | 142.0 km² | 111.91 |
20 | Palau | 18,024 | 460.0 km² | 39.18 |
21 | Anguilla * | 18,741 | 96.0 km² | 195.22 |
22 | Caribbean Netherlands * | 24,548 | 322.0 km² | 76.24 |
23 | Åland * | 29,013 | 1,580.0 km² | 18.36 |
24 | British Virgin Islands * | 31,122 | 150.0 km² | 207.48 |
25 | St. Martin * | 31,948 | 53.2 km² | 600.53 |
26 | Gibraltar * | 32,669 | 6.8 km² | 4,804.26 |
27 | San Marino | 33,745 | 61.2 km² | 551.48 |
28 | Monaco | 36,686 | 2.0 km² | 18,161.39 |
29 | Liechtenstein | 39,039 | 160.5 km² | 243.23 |
30 | Marshall Islands | 42,050 | 181.4 km² | 231.78 |
Dwarf states are often former colonies
It is not only striking that the smallest countries are often (still) dependent foreign territories. The microstates that are considered sovereign are also often former colonies of other countries. Far ahead are the external territories of France and the British Empire. As a rule, these were small islands that could be captured without much military effort and were simply overrun by large colonial powers hundreds of years ago. However, over time, in most cases within the last 50 to 100 years, they were given back their independence.* The marked countries are not independent and sovereign states, but dependent territories of other states. Cf. also our article What is a country?