Top 20 Smallest Countries In The World (Area & Population) 2023

Here are the smallest countries in the world by total area and the smallest countries by population, globally.

There is a huge difference between a small country by the number of people living in the country and the area by which a country’s land covers.

In this article, we have ranked both the smallest countries in the world by population and the small countries by area.

Vatican City has a total area of 0.49 km²/0.17 mi² making the country the smallest country in the world by size while still holding the smallest (least) populated country with only around 800 citizens.

With that being said, below are the top smallest counties in the world by size in total area per km²/mi².

World’s Smallest Counties By Total Area in km²/mi²:

1. Vatican City 🇻🇦  — 0.49 km²/0.17 mi²
2. Monaco 🇲🇨  — 2 km²/0.78 mi²
3. Nauru 🇳🇷  — 20 km²/8.1 mi²
4. Tuvalu 🇹🇻  — 30 km²/11.6 mi²
5. San Marino — 60 km²/24 mi²
6. Liechtenstein 🇱🇮 — 160 km²/62 mi²
7. Marshall Islands — 180 km²/70 mi²
8. Saint Kitts and Nevis — 260 km²/101 mi²
9. Maldives 🇲🇻  — 300 km²/116 mi²
10. Malta 🇲🇹  — 320 km²/122 mi²

What is the least populated country in the world?

Below are the top smallest countries in the world by the number of population in the country.

Smallest Countries In The World By Population:

1. Vatican City 🇻🇦 — 800 population
2. Nauru 🇳🇷 — 10,876 population
3. Tuvalu 🇹🇻 — 11,931 population
4. Palau 🇵🇼  — 18,169 population
5. San Marino — 34,017 population
6. Liechtenstein 🇱🇮 — 38,250 population
7. Monaco 🇲🇨 — 39,511 population
8. Saint Kitts and Nevis — 53,544 population
9. Marshall Islands — 59,610 population
10. Dominica 🇩🇲  — 72,167 population