5 Smallest countries in the world

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1 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

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The 5 Smallest Countries in the World.

1. Vatican City

Size: 0.17 sq. mi. (0.44 km²)Population: 783 (2005 census)

Location: Rome, Italy

The size of a golf course, the Vatican City [wiki | official website] is the smallest countryin the world. It’s basically a walled enclave inside of Rome, Italy. It’s so small that theentire country does not have a single street address.

The Vatican City may be small, but it is very powerful. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See, or the seat of the Catholic Church (basically its central government), which has

over 1 billion people (about 1 in 6 people on the planet) as constituents.

The Vatican City was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty (which was signed by one of

history’s most repressive dictators, Benito Mussolini) and is ruled by the Pope, basicallya non-hereditary, elected monarch who rules with absolute authority (he’s the

legislative, executive and judiciary all rolled into one) - indeed, the Pope is the onlyabsolute monarch in Europe.

Another unique thing about the smallest country in the world is that it has no permanent citizens. Citizenship of the Vatican City is conferred upon those who work at the Vatican (as well as their spouses and children) and is revoked when they stop working there.

The Vatican City is guarded by the smallest and oldest

regular army in the world, the Swiss Guard [wiki]. It was

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2 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

originally made up of Swiss mercenaries in 1506, now thearmy (also personal bodyguards of the Pope) number 100,

all of which are Catholic unmarried male Swiss citizens. TheSwiss Guard’s Renaissance-style uniform was commonly

attributed as to have been designed by Michelangelo - thiswas actually incorrect: the large "skirt" pants were acommon style during the Renaissance. Only their uniforms

seem antiquated: most of the Swiss Guards carry pistols andsubmachine-guns.

The official languages of the Vatican City are Latin and Italian. In fact, its ATMs are theonly ones in the world that offer services in Latin! And here you thought that Latin is a

dead language…

For a country that has no street address, the Vatican City has a very efficient post office:

an international mail dropped in the Vatican will get there faster than one dropped in Italy just a few hundred yard away - in fact, there is more mail sent annually per inhabitant from this country (7,200 mails per person) than anywhere else in the world.

The Vatican City has a country code top level domain of .va - currently there are only 9 publicly known .va domains [wiki]. It also has a radio broadcasting service, called

Vatican Radio [wiki], which was set up by Guglielmo Marconi (the Father of Radio) himself!

The country’s economy is unique: it is the only non-commercial economy in the world.Instead, the Vatican City is supported financially by contributions of Catholics worldwide

(called Peter’s Pence - hey, even the Pope accepts credit cards!), the sale of postage stamps and publications, and tourism.

Lastly, as an ecclesiastical paradise, the Vatican City has no taxes.

2. Monaco

Size: 0.8 sq. mi. (1.96 km²)

Population: 35,657 (2006 estimate)Location: French Riviera on the Mediterranean

Monaco [wiki | official website] is the second smallest country on Earth (it’s roughly thesize of New York’s Central Park), yet it’s the most densely populated (23,660 people perkm²). Actually, Monaco used to be much smaller than it is now - about 100 acres were

reclaimed from the sea and added to its land size. At the narrowest, Monaco is only 382yards wide!

The Principality of Monaco, its formal name, means that the territory is ruled by a prince. For the last seven centuries,

Monaco was ruled by princes of the Grimaldi family from Genoa. (The whole thing started one night in 1297 whenFrançois Grimaldi disguised himself as a monk and led a

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3 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

small army to conquer the fortress guarding the Rock of Monaco. The coat of arms of the Grimaldi bears the image of

monks with swords!) Now, the Prince shares legislative authority with a National Council.

In 1861, Monaco relinquished half of its territory to France in exchange for cash andindependence. When the reigning prince realized that most of Monaco’s natural

resources were on the land that got bartered away, he decided to bet the wholeeconomy on … what else, gambling (see, casinos aren’t only for American Indians, it’s atime-tested, universal solution!)

And so began Monte Carlo [wiki], a region of Monaco well known for its glamorouscasinos (a setting for Ian Fleming’s first James Bond Novel Casino Royale [wiki]) and its

Formula One Grand Prix.

In 1918, Monaco entered a treaty with France for military

protection - the treaty, however, also stipulated that Monacowould lose its independence (and become French) should

the reigning Grimaldi prince died without leaving a maleheir! When Prince Rainier III took over, he was a bachelorand most Monegasques (that means people of Monaco) were

gloomy about the country’s future. However, he ended upmarrying Hollywood actress Grace Kelly [wiki] - the

marriage not only produced a male heir, it also helpedburnish Monaco’s image as a glamorous place to be for thewealthy. (Monaco can rest easy now, a new treaty with

France stated that the Principality will remain independenteven without a male heir).

For a long time, Monaco had no income taxes and was a tax haven for wealthyforeigners and international corporations. This caused a unique thing about Monaco’s

population: most of its residents are not native - in fact, only about 1 in 5 people arenative Monegasques. After a long dispute with France, Monaco started to impose income

taxes on all of its residents who are not born there. Its natural citizens are forbiddenfrom entering casinos, but to make up for it, they do not have to pay any income taxes.

3. Nauru

Size: 8 sq. mi (21 km²)

Population: 13,005 (2005 estimate)Location: Western Pacific Ocean

Nauru [wiki] is the world’s smallest island nation, the smallest independent republic, and


4 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

the only republic in the world without an official capital.

Nauru only has one significant source of income: phosphates from thousands of years’worth of guano or bird droppings. This proved to be both a boon and a bane forNauruans - for a long time, its residents enjoyed a relatively high level of income as the

country exported its phosphate like there’s no tomorrow.

The government employed 95% of Nauruans, and lavished free medical care and

schooling for its citizens. Most didn’t take advantage of this offer: only one-third ofchildren went on to secondary school. The adults didn’t really work, either - office hours

were flexible and the most popular pastime was drinking beer and driving the20-minute circuit around the island. For a while, Nauru was a paradise - for a briefmoment in 1970s, Nauruans were even amongst the richest people on the planet.

Nothing lasts forever and sure enough, Nauru’s phosphate reserves soon dried up andleft 90% of the island as a barren, jagged mining wasteland. Wasteful investments (like

buying hotels only to leave them to rot) and gross incompetence by the government(former presidents used to commandeer Air Nauru’s planes for holidays, leaving paying

customers stranded on the tarmac!) didn’t help either.

As if that’s not bad enough, Nauru is also beset by obesity problem. Decades of leisurely

lifestyle and high consumption of alcohol and fatty foods have left as many as 9 out of 10people overweight! Nauru also has the world’s highest level of type 2 diabetes - over

40% of its population is affected.

So now, Nauruans are poverty-stricken and fat - but they are trying to turn things

around. With no natural resource left, in the 1990s, Nauru decided to become a tax haven and offered passports to foreign nationals for a fee. This attracted the wrong kind of money (but a lot of it): the Russian mafia funneled over $70 billion to the tiny island

nation. Things got so bad that most big banks refused to handle transactions involving Nauru because of money laundering problems.

This led Nauru to another extraordinary money-making scheme: it became a detention camp for people applying for asylum to Australia!

4. Tuvalu

Size: 9 sq. mi. (26 km²)

Population: 10,441 (2005 estimate)Location: South Pacific

Tuvalu [wiki] is basically a chain of low-lying coral islands, with its highest elevation being 16 feet or 5 meters above seal level. With total land area of just 9 square miles, Tuvalu is not only a teeny tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, it may not even exist in the

next 50 years if sea level continue to rise (a controversial claim, nonetheless there were evacuation plans to New Zealand and other Pacific Islands). Even if the sea level does

not rise, other problems such as population growth and coastal erosion still make Tuvalu a very vulnerable country.

During World War II, thousands of American troops were stationed on the islands of


5 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

Tuvalu and the island became an Allied base. Airfields were quickly constructed and after the war, abandoned. In fact, today rusting wrecks can be found on the islands, a

constant reminder of its role in the War.

Today, Tuvalu also derives income from renting out its Internet country code top-level

domain .tv, as it is the abbreviation of the word ‘television’. This scheme got off to arocky start (the original company who tried to do it failed to raise the necessary funds),

but finally proved to be the largest source of income for the country.

5. San Marino

Size: 24 sq. mi. (61 km²)Population: 28,117 (2005 estimate)

Location: North-central Italy near the Adriatic coast.

With the formal name of The Most Serene Republic of San Marino [wiki], it’s notsurprising that San Marino has got lots of charms. Founded in AD 301 by a Christianstonecutter named (what else) Marino (or Marinus, depending on who you ask), who

along with a small group of Christians, was seeking escape from religious persecution,San Marino is the world’s oldest republic.

Its history belies its simple motto: "Liberty." Indeed, San Marino was such a good neighbor that it was hardly ever conquered by larger enemies (it was briefly conquered

in the 1500s and the 1700s, for like a month each). Even when Napoleon gobbled most of Europe, he left San Marino alone, saying it was a model republic!

San Marino takes its government seriously: for such a tiny country, San Marino has a very complex government structure, based on a constitution written in 1600. The country is ruled by an elected Council of 60, who appoints 2 captain regents (from opposing

political parties, no less) to administer governmental affairs for six-month term. Talk about preserving liberties through division of authority!

Before World War II, San Marino was amongst the poorest countries in Europe. Today,with more than 3 million tourists visiting every year (half of San Marino’s income is

derived from tourism), the people of San Marino are amongst the world’s richest people.

Posted on Thursday, January 4th, 2007 at 4:50 am by AlexCategory: Travel & Places, Neatorama Only. Feed: RSS 2.0

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57 Comments to “The 5 Smallest Countries in the World.”

Miss Cellania Says: January 4th, 2007 at 6:26 am

How does Sealand stack up against these?

1.

Chris Says:

January 4th, 2007 at 8:51 am

Umm what about Bermuda were only 21sq miles?

http://bermuda-online.org/population.htm

2.

bob Says:


this list is wrong.. all wrong.

you missed out sealandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand

the knights hospitaller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Military_Hospitaller_Order_of_S t._John_of_Jerusalem_of_Rhodes_and_of_Malta

and Bassas Da indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassas_da_India

3.

Dave Says: January 4th, 2007 at 9:30 am

Nauru has also become known as the Tele marketing scam capital of the world alongside Sao Tome! There are believed to be potentially 100’s of scam opperationsdirectly linked to online gambling and porn that operate out of Nauru. Don’t be

suprised to see 1000’s in long distance charges on your phone bill if you are still ondial up internet. Your local phone company won’t help you with these charges either.

4.

yayo Says: January 4th, 2007 at 9:58 am

And Andorra?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra

5.

brem Says:


Yeah, was going to say, you forgot Sealand!!!!

6.

Shane Says:


But what of Liechtenstein? What? I beg of you- think of the poor Liechtensteinianers.

7.

Luxe Says: January 4th, 2007 at 12:08 pm

Luxemburg??? And Liechtenstein and Andorra indeed! I think they are not realycountry’s but some kind of states?!

8.

Andrew Says:

January 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

do your research. Andorra is 181 sqMiles

9.


7 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

Alex Says: January 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

Luxembourg is 999 sq. mi., so it’s a giant compared to these tiny countries.Liechtenstein is 62 sq. mi., so it would have been #6 on this list (I only listed the Top

5). Andora is 181 sq. mi. - it’s also small, but not as small.

Bermuda is not a country - it’s a territory of the UK. Plus, it’s not a single island, but a

collection of 138 islands comprising of 27.7 sq. mi.

Had Sealand been recognized as a real country, it would have been the smallest (at

550 550 m²!). But alas, it’s only an old sea fort in the UK.

Ditto Sovereign Military Order of Malta, it’s not a “true” sovereign, i.e. it has noterritory.

Bassas da India, in addition to not being a country, is just a tiny island. It’s

uninhabited, to boot. Plus at 80 km², it wouldn’t have made it anyway.

10.

Alex Says: January 4th, 2007 at 12:39 pm

Here’s the list of the 17 smallest countries: Link.

And here’s the list of countries and territories by area: Link.

11.

Rob Says:


The casino in Casino Royale is in Montenegro, not Monaco.

12.

Jacob Says: January 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm

Sealand is a micronation, not a country.

13.

bob Says: January 4th, 2007 at 12:55 pm

sealand is recognised by both the UK government and the UN.

14.

dead_red_eyes Says:


Sealand is a joke, and we all know it.

15.

Shelley Says:


Would everyone leave this person alone. The list is right, and really kind of cool.

Thanks!

16.

Joel Says:


Err… Gibraltar?

2.5 sq miles.

17.

Chris Says: January 4th, 2007 at 3:28 pm

Bermuda is not a country??? Umm I live here and yes we are a territory of the UK but we are also a country.

18.

Chris Says: January 4th, 2007 at 3:30 pm

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bd.html#Govt

19.

Michael Says:


Err … Gibraltar is not a country. It’s a colony of the United Kingdom!

20.

Malos Says: January 4th, 2007 at 4:31 pm

21.


8 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

Bermuda doesn’t count because your damn triangle killed off all the explorers…

mo Says: January 4th, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Great article.. Bermuda sux and is not a country..

22.

Michael Says:


You forgot Petoria.

23.

Robert Says: January 4th, 2007 at 5:14 pm

Great list. Some people just like to heckle. Anyways, as you should know Michael,Petoria is no longer a country. After its attack on the United States Peter (President of

Petoria) was forced to surrender to the United States and give up his country’sindependence. The inhabitants of the small country inside Rhode Island included only

1 person at the time and 1 talking dog. (The first lady and 3 children had all left thecountry).

24.

Matt Says: January 4th, 2007 at 5:59 pm

What, no Paris Hilton’s vagina? Or is that only a city-state?

25.

Nicolae Guta Says:


lol rob aka. 12. casino royale was in monaco, if you have actually read the original

book from which all the bond movies were made then you would know this. nice trylil guy…. oh and alex good job on this i loved reading the part when you actually got

the info for all these countries that people think were smaller. i commend you, way tomake people look stupid for acting like they know what theyre talking about…… goodjob.

26.

Aslan Says: January 4th, 2007 at 10:09 pm

what about Narnia?!

27.

Frodo Says: January 4th, 2007 at 10:11 pm

what about The Shire!? We got big feet!

28.

no one Says:


nothing

29.

someone Says:


something

30.

yourmom Says: January 4th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

what about your wienerland? its one square centimeter!

31.

Luigi ! Says: January 4th, 2007 at 11:43 pm

Marioland?

32.

Napolean Says:


Nerdland

33.

Napolean Says: January 5th, 2007 at 1:02 am

nomansland

34.


9 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

Pedro Says: January 5th, 2007 at 1:06 am

ive got a sledgehammer man its gnarly stuff

35.

Name (required) Says: January 5th, 2007 at 1:08 am

(.)(.)

36.

dev Says:


yah petoria! come on the once great citisens!Peter and Brian,the first lady on

petoria,lois(and wife of the presadent)(and first lady),meg,chris(space program)AND STEWIE!!Wolrd conqering child genious!

37.

Thomas Says: January 5th, 2007 at 2:50 am

If the Vatican City was created in 1929, then how is it that it has been guarded by the Swiss Guard for 500 years?

38.

Nick Says: January 5th, 2007 at 8:00 am

K Sealand is not a micronation, because that would count as a micronation is just a small country. It is a principality which means nothing for this. Bassas Da india is an

uninhabited island which makes it hard to be country because there are no people. And it means the Swiss Gaurd is 500 years old, not that the Swiss Guard has been

protecting the Vatican for that long.

39.

yayo Says:


“How sweet is to be an idiot” Monty Pythons sang

40.

jony Says: January 5th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

The Swiss gaurd have been protecting the Vatican since 1506 (according to a vaticanwebsite). However, the Vatican hasn’t been a nation since 1506. Just as there was a

King of France long before France became a nation-state. Before 1929 the Vaticanmight have been a part of Italy (though still defended by its own military) or it might

simply have not been defined as a nation. Having focused my studies on the middleages I’m not sure on the matter.

41.

babbu Says: January 7th, 2007 at 7:07 am

where is MALTA!!

42.

REmdco Says:


Legoland?

43.

AW Says: January 9th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

Land van Ooit

44.

Err... Says: January 10th, 2007 at 5:28 am

Pangaea!! smallest evar!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea

45.

Yonda Says: January 12th, 2007 at 3:45 am

Spam spam. Please flame me.

46.

Shoop Shoop Says: January 13th, 2007 at 7:26 am

47.


10 of 11 2/1/07 2:14 AM

You’re all wrong, China is the smallest country in the world. Bloody retards!!!

Phil Says: January 21st, 2007 at 12:43 am

go sealand!!! yes it is a country and you all know it. when i am famous i will buy it. umm ya everyone that reads this has no life. ok byby

48.

the gnat Says: January 21st, 2007 at 3:28 am

i love how everyone is freaking about this list. you all need to build yourself a little bridge and get over it!!! your all freaks. thanx to whoever wrote that

49.

Cody Says: January 21st, 2007 at 4:12 am

******* hell! who cares about this?!Alex Trebek should slap you, child!

50.

^_^ Says:


That list was awesome I definitely learned alot.

And Sealand really is a joke. Don’t try to promote it. It’s just pathetic. The “royal”

family doesn’t even live there.

51.

Chacal Says:


Sealand will be regarded as a real country only when its ruler marries into

Hollywood royalty. Maybe Jennifer Lopez. How long must he wait before his number eventually comes up? Not long.

52.

afroncioni Says: January 31st, 2007 at 11:57 am

Bermuda is a country by the way, we have our own curency and national anthem. We are the oldest british colony in the world though we are considered a country and are

part of the comonwealth. If we were not a country we would be part of englnd when we went to the olympics and any other big games.

53.

afroncioni Says: January 31st, 2007 at 12:02 pm

to make it clear we are an INDEPENDANT british terretory

54.

AUK Says:

January 31st, 2007 at 2:03 pm

Bermuda is not a country. Just because they come out on their own during the

Olympics means nothing. Puerto Rico does the same and they are not a country. Bermuda is a colony that reject independence from the U.K. in 1994.

Check the link.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/3552771.stm

55.

Snor Says: January 31st, 2007 at 2:30 pm

Hey! You Forgot Poland!

56.

lowang Says: January 31st, 2007 at 7:09 pm

People of Monaco are Monegasques?Man that’s cool.

-j

57.

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