Shown above is a pictogram of the 100 smallest countries in the world.
The maps of every listed country are listed in three ways, depending on their land area. Many of them are shown to scale, but in the case of very small countries, their maps are magnified accordingly.
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. The city-state, located inside the city of Rome in Italy, measures just 0.19 square miles (sq mi).
Situated in the south of France, Monaco is the second-smallest nation. Its land area is 0.78 sq mi and is the only other country that has a land area of less than 1 sq mi.
The Pacific island country of Nauru is at a very distant third, with an 8.1 sq mi land area. The country has some bragging rights, listed as “the smallest island country, smallest republic, and smallest country that is not a city-state”.
Some of the other notable countries in the list include:
- (4) Tuvalu: The smallest of all the Commonwealth nations
- (8) Saint Kitts and Nevis: The smallest country in the Americas and Western Hemisphere
- (9) Maldives: The smallest country in Asia
- (10) Malta: The smallest European Union (EU) member state
- (15) Seychelles: The smallest country in Africa
- (28) Luxembourg: The smallest country that is not a European microstate or island country
- (36) The Gambia: The smallest country in mainland Africa
Visiting any of these small countries soon? Take a tour and plan ahead by browsing these books:
- Visiting the Vatican
- Lonely Planet: Pocket Nice & Monaco
- Lonely Planet Maldives (Country Guide)
- Fodor’s In Focus Singapore (Full-color Travel Guide)
- Moon: Jamaica (Travel Guide)
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