The 12 smallest islands and countries in the world

Some are remote islands in the Pacific or Indian Ocean. Others are long-standing European monarchies or republics. Some are financial or tourism centers and others are simple producers of raw materials. Some are famous and others are almost unknown.

But they all have in common that they are among the nations with the smallest surface area and population on the planet. Knowing them, even just at a glance, is an invitation to immerse yourself in almost tiny territories, often known as micronations.

This selection covers a dozen of these countries, presented from largest to smallest. That is, from the largest of the boys to the smallest of all, which covers only half a square kilometre.

The smallest countries in the world that perhaps you didn’t know.

12. Luxembourg

The Grand Duchy is the seventh smallest country in Europe (2,586 km2) and one of the richest on the continent (its per capita income amounts to 101,000 euros). Luxembourg It features forests, mountains and a medieval capital, which boasts of being the seventh largest financial center in the world. With 634,000 inhabitants, it is a parliamentary monarchy, which achieved its autonomy during the Congress of Vienna (1815). In the 20th century it was one of the countries promoting the European Union and the Schengen Treaty.

11. Andorra

In the Pyrenees, the principality of Andorra It features steep peaks, narrow valleys and lakes located between Spain and France. It occupies 468 km2 and has 81,500 inhabitants. His government is particular because it is led by two co-princes: the president of France and the bishop of Seu d’Urgell. Considered a “tax haven” until 2018, it no longer guarantees banking secrecy, but maintains attractive tax rates. It is an excellent place for winter sports.

10. Malta

The smallest country in the European Union, malt It is an archipelago of 319 km2, located in the Mediterranean Sea, whose main islands are Malta, Gozo and Comino, where approximately 514,000 people live. Trade in goods and services is its main economic activity. It gained independence in 1964 and remained within the Commonwealth of Nations until 1979, when it became a republic, with Valletta as its capital.

9. Maldives

Located in the Indian Ocean, this Islamic republic is a tourist paradise, famous for its luxury resorts and stunning beaches. Maldives It is also the flattest country in the world, with a maximum altitude of just 2.3 meters above sea level. An archipelago made up of 1,192 coral islands (only 203 inhabited), it achieved independence in 1965. It has around 500,000 inhabitants, occupies 298 km2 and its capital is Malé.

8. Saint Kitts and Nevis

These two Caribbean islands, discovered by Columbus in 1493, form the smallest country in America (261 km2 and 50,000 inhabitants). Saint Kitts and Nevis It has been independent since 1983 and belongs to the British Commonwealth of Nations, so the British monarch appoints the governor while the citizens elect the prime minister. Sugarcane was its main economic resource, but tourism now predominates.

7. Marshall Islands

In the Pacific Ocean, the Republic of the Marshall Islands It covers 29 coral atolls and 1,156 islands and islets (181 km2 and 68,000 inhabitants). It gained independence from the United States in 1990 and its capital is Majuro, which occupies an atoll made up of 64 smaller islands. With few natural resources, much of its income comes from leasing an atoll as a U.S. military base.

6.Liechtenstein

Another principality that seems straight out of a fairy tale, just like Monaco. The country occupies 160 km2, dominated by the Alps, between Switzerland and Austria, and has 38,000 inhabitants, among the richest in the world with an annual income of 185,000 euros (2018). The ruling family has reigned on the throne for three centuries, and its capital is Vaduz. Finance, tourism and industry are its main economic resources. Liechtenstein.

5. San Marino

Medieval city built on Monte Titano (739 m) and located on the Italian peninsula, it occupies a large part of the 62 km2 of the oldest republic in the world founded in 1243. The curiosity is that it has two Heads of State who alternate in government positions every six months . It is less surprising that its main source of income is tourism, because the small city-state of San Marinowith 33,000 inhabitants, it receives almost two million visitors a year.

4. Tuvalu

The nine Ellice Islands, also in the Pacific, became the Republic of Tuvalu in 1978. The archipelago occupies an area of ​​26 km2, where approximately 10,000 inhabitants live, mainly in the capital Funafuti. Its main assets are copra cultivation and the sale of its Internet domain (.tv) to a company in the United States. Since its maximum height only reaches six meters, rising sea levels pose a risk to its existence.

3. Nauru

This Pacific atoll occupies an area of ​​21 km2, where approximately 11,000 people live. The main economic activity of Nauru is the mining of phosphate and the export of frozen fish. It is a republic that became independent from Australia in 1968 and, although it has no official capital, has most of its government offices in Yaren.

2. Munich

This principality is really small (only two square kilometers) and also very famous, thanks to the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Monte Carlo Casino, the always glamorous life of the ruling family (the Grimaldis) and for exhibiting a high concentration of millionaires . . The Grimaldis occupied the territory in 1297, but it achieved independence only in 1861, under the protection of France. It is a constitutional monarchy, where only 7,000 of the 38,000 inhabitants can vote to elect members of Parliament. MonkIt is also a world center of the most sophisticated tourism.

1. Vatican City

With only half a square kilometre, around 800 inhabitants and surrounded by walls, in the heart of Rome, it is the smallest country and, at the same time, one of the most influential, because from there Pope Francis governs the Catholic Church, which numbers around 1, 3 billion faithful. Dominated by St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican CITY Its main source of income is ticket sales for its museums. It was born thanks to the Lateran Pacts in 1929. Its currency is the euro, it has a post office, pharmacy, 300 m of railway, newspaper (L`Osservatore Romano), radio and television. Security is ensured by the Swiss Guard, created in 1506, and the Vatican Gendarmerie, which carries out police functions.