There are seventeen of the world’s smallest countries, each with less than 200 square miles of sovereign land. Singapore is not included, since it had 246 square miles of land. The combined land mass of the entire group of countries would be just a bit larger than Rhode Island. Ten of the countries are covered here.
Vatican City is .2 square miles. It surrounds St. Peter’s Basilica and has a population of 700. Vatican City, in turn, is surrounded by Rome. This tiny country is the religious center for over 1 billion people worldwide.
Monaco is known for the fairytale gone wrong for Princess Grace. This tiny principality of 32,000 residents has been in existence since the 13th century. It hugs the hills over the Mediterranean and is near Nice, France.
At 8.5 square miles of Pacific Island real estate, with 13,000 residents the country of Naru live just southwest of Hawaii and near the equator.
Tuvalu is the former Elice Islands, several coral atolls, totaling 9 square miles, spread out over 300 miles or so, with a population of 12,000. Tuvalu is North of Fiji, and East of the Solomon Islands.
San Marino was founded in the 4th century and boasts of being the oldest city in Europe. With fewer than 30,000 residents, San Marino’s 24 square miles sits on a mountain and is breathtaking as the mountain sits in the mountainous area of North central Italy.
Liechtenstein is an alpine dream of a country that sits between Innsbruck and Zurich. At 62 square miles, Liechtenstein requires no income tax, has a healthy, happy population of 34,000, and is a must see for everyone who travels to Europe. This neutral tax haven is sandwiched between Switzerland to the West and Austria to the East.
The Marshall Islands are administered by the United States. A series of atolls, the real estate covers seventy square miles. Near Australia, these little gems do not even show up on the Google map.
St Kitts and Nevis. These two Carribean islands add up to a whopping 106 square miles. (Nevis has the right to secede if it wants to) and became independent in 1983.
Seychelles gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1976. With 81,000 in population, this island country is located in the Indian ocean.
Maldives gained independence in in 1965. This country is composed of over 2000 islands, with only 200 of them occupied by its 340,000 residents. Maldives sits in the Indian Ocean, way out there in the water, south and slightly west of India. President Mohammed Nasheed plans to levy a climate tax of $3 per day on tourists to help fund renewable energy projects.
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