Geography & Countries

The Smallest Countries in the World

Every country smaller than 1,000 km² — 25 of them, ranked by area. Half of the ten smallest are European, the smallest of all is smaller than most golf courses, and two of the list's city-sized states, Singapore and Bahrain, are still growing out into the sea.

Vatican City travel guide video thumbnail

Pictured: Vatican City, #1 at just 0.44 km².

Rank Country Area Region
1Vatican City0.44 km²Europe
2Monaco2.1 km²Europe
3Nauru21 km²Oceania
4Tuvalu26 km²Oceania
5San Marino61 km²Europe
6Liechtenstein160 km²Europe
7Marshall Islands181 km²Oceania
8Saint Kitts and Nevis263 km²Caribbean
9Maldives298 km²Asia
10Malta315 km²Europe
11Grenada344 km²Caribbean
12Saint Vincent and the Grenadines389 km²Caribbean
13Barbados430 km²Caribbean
14Antigua and Barbuda443 km²Caribbean
15Seychelles455 km²Africa
16Palau459 km²Oceania
17Andorra468 km²Europe
18Saint Lucia616 km²Caribbean
19Federated States of Micronesia702 km²Oceania
20Singapore744.3 km²Asia
21Tonga747 km²Oceania
22Dominica751 km²Caribbean
23Bahrain760 km²Asia
24Kiribati811 km²Oceania
25São Tomé and Príncipe964 km²Africa

The Top 10

#1

Vatican City — 0.44 km²

The smallest internationally recognized state in the world, entirely enclosed by the city of Rome. Its population — well under 1,000 — is mostly clergy.[1]

#2

Monaco — 2.1 km²

Only the second smallest, but one of the most densely populated places on Earth, packing roughly 38,000 people into just over two square kilometers — including the famous Monte Carlo casino district. It's been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi seized the fortress disguised as a monk, making it the oldest ruling dynasty in Europe.[1]

#3

Nauru — 21 km²

The smallest island nation and the smallest republic in the world. Decades of phosphate mining briefly made it one of the richest countries per capita — and left much of the island's interior unusable.[1]

#4

Tuvalu — 26 km²

Made up of nine low-lying coral atolls and islands, with a maximum elevation of only a few meters — making it one of the countries most vulnerable to sea-level rise. Its name means "eight islands" in Tuvaluan even though the country actually spans nine, and it didn't join the United Nations until 2000, as the 189th member state.[1]

#5

San Marino — 61 km²

By tradition, founded in the year 301 — which would make it the world's oldest surviving republic. It's entirely surrounded by Italy.[1]

#6

Liechtenstein — 160 km²

Doubly landlocked — bordered only by Switzerland and Austria, both themselves landlocked. Favorable tax laws mean it has more registered companies than citizens.[1]

#7

Marshall Islands — 181 km²

A nation of more than 1,000 islands and islets scattered across a vast stretch of the Pacific despite its tiny total land area. Its Bikini Atoll was the site of major U.S. nuclear weapons testing in the mid-20th century.[1]

#8

Saint Kitts and Nevis — 263 km²

The smallest sovereign state in the Americas by both area and population — just two volcanic islands separated by a narrow channel known as The Narrows. Columbus named the larger island after his patron saint on his second voyage in 1493, and when English settlers arrived in 1623, it became the first English colony in the Caribbean.[1]

#9

Maldives — 298 km²

The lowest-lying country on Earth, with an average elevation of only about 1.5 meters above sea level, spread across roughly 1,200 coral islands. Organized tourism didn't begin until 1972, when its first island resort opened — the industry now accounts for roughly a third of the country's GDP.[1]

#10

Malta — 315 km²

One of the most densely populated countries in the world for its size, with a capital, Valletta, that's an entire UNESCO World Heritage city. The Knights of St John ruled the islands from 1530 to 1798, granted the territory by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in exchange for an annual tribute of a single live Maltese falcon.[1]

Geography Countries

Sources

  1. General geographic reference (CIA World Factbook-style land area figures, as commonly aggregated by sites like WorldAtlas), plus historical background for each country aggregated from general reference sources.
  2. Ranks 11–25 except Singapore: CIA World Factbook, total area (land plus inland water). Bahrain's 760 km² is the Factbook figure; land reclamation has since pushed it to roughly 780–785 km² by other estimates, which doesn't change its rank. Singapore (#20): Singapore Land Authority via data.gov.sg, 744.3 km² at the end of 2025, up from about 582 km² in the 1960s thanks to land reclamation (the Factbook's older 719 km² figure predates the latest projects). The table covers the 193 UN member states plus Vatican City, so self-governing territories such as the Cook Islands and Niue aren't ranked. By land area alone, Tonga (717 km² of land, 747 km² in all) would rank just ahead of Singapore. The next-smallest country after São Tomé and Príncipe is Mauritius, at 2,040 km².