What Is the Smallest Country in the World?

How small is Vatican City in area and population?

Vatican City State describes itself as the smallest independent state in the world, in both population and territory.^[3] Its territory covers 0.44 square kilometres, which is 44 hectares.^[1] A U.S. Department of State profile from December 2008 gives the same area as 109 acres, or 0.17 square miles.^[4] UNESCO and the United Nations Demographic Yearbook list matching figures of 44 hectares and 0.44 km².^[5][6] One page of the Vatican's own website prints the area as "0.44 hectares", which does not match its geography page or these other sources.^[3][1]

The population is counted in hundreds rather than thousands.^[2] The state's own statistics, updated to 31 December 2024, record 882 residents, a total that covers both citizens and non-citizens.^[2] Vatican City has 673 citizens, and 458 of them live inside the walls, including 120 members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.^[2] About 30% of its citizens live in other countries, mostly because of their jobs, in particular diplomatic posts.^[2]

Where is Vatican City, and where are its borders?

Vatican City lies in the centre of Rome, close to the right bank of the Tiber River, on a small hill that covers part of the ancient Vatican Hill.^[1][5] Walls surround part of the territory.^[1] In Saint Peter's Square the border is a white marble line that joins the two wings of the colonnade.^[3] People can cross that boundary freely, and although the square belongs to Vatican City, it is supervised by the police of the Italian Republic.^[1]

The state has five entrances, guarded by the Pontifical Swiss Guard and the Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City.^[1] Because the territory is so limited, many offices of the Holy See are housed in buildings elsewhere in Rome.^[1] Under the Lateran Treaty these properties have the same immunity as foreign embassies, and they are commonly called extraterritorial areas.^[1]

How did Vatican City become an independent state?

The popes once ruled far more land.^[4] From the 8th century to the middle of the 19th century they held the Papal States, a broad band of territory across central Italy.^[4] In 1860 the army of Victor Emmanuel seized the Papal States, leaving only Rome and the surrounding coastal regions under papal control, and in 1870 he captured Rome and declared it the new capital of Italy.^[4] Pope Pius IX and his successors disputed these acts and called themselves "prisoners" in the Vatican.^[4]

The dispute ended in 1929, when the Italian government and the Holy See signed three agreements.^[4] One was a treaty that recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Holy See and created the State of the Vatican City.^[4] The others were a concordat on relations between the government and the church in Italy, and a financial convention that compensated the Holy See for its losses in 1870.^[4]

That treaty, the Lateran Treaty, was signed on 11 February 1929 and recognized Vatican City as a sovereign state subject to international law.^[3][4] According to its preamble, the state was created to give the Holy See an "absolute and visible independence".^[3] The Holy See is the government of the Catholic Church; it operates from Vatican City, and the Pope rules both.^[4]

Who governs Vatican City?

Vatican City is an absolute monarchy.^[3] The Pope is the head of state and holds full legislative, executive and judicial power.^[3] When the papal seat is vacant, these powers pass to the College of Cardinals.^[3]

Laws are also made in the Pope's name by a commission of cardinals and other members, appointed for a five-year term.^[3] The commission's president holds executive power, with the title President of the Governorate.^[3]

The state has its own flag, mints its own euro coins and issues its own postage stamps.^[3] Security is provided by the Pontifical Swiss Guard, founded in 1506, and by the Pontifical Gendarmerie Corps, which serves as the police.^[3]

What can visitors see in Vatican City?

The whole territory of Vatican City is a UNESCO World Heritage property, inscribed in 1984.^[5] At its centre is Saint Peter's Basilica, built over the tomb of Saint Peter the Apostle, which UNESCO calls the largest religious building in the world.^[5] The present basilica was completed in 1626 and draws on the work of Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini, Maderno and Della Porta.^[5] The walled city opens toward Rome through Bernini's colonnade around Saint Peter's Square, which visitors can enter freely.^[5][1]

The Vatican Museums are entered from Viale Vaticano.^[1] UNESCO's description singles out the Stanze of Raphael and the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo painted the ceiling frescoes and the Last Judgement.^[5]

Which countries are the next smallest?

The UN Demographic Yearbook, which lists surface area by country or area, gives 2 km² for Monaco, 21 km² for Nauru, 26 km² for Tuvalu and 61 km² for San Marino.^[6] The chart compares those figures with Vatican City's 0.44 km².^[6]

• Vatican City0.44 km²
• Monaco2 km²
• Nauru (Naoero)21 km²
• Tuvalu26 km²
• San Marino61 km²

Source: United Nations Statistics Division [6]

Al Jazeera describes Nauru as the world's third-smallest nation, after Vatican City and Monaco.^[7] Its report, published on 31 July 2026, covered the island's official change of name to the Republic of Naoero, with "Naoero" as the short form; the UN table lists the country as Nauru.^[7][6] The United Nations describes Tuvalu as the fourth-smallest country in the world, with 26 km² of land.^[8]

These island countries are tiny in area but have far more people than Vatican City.^[7][8] The UN gives Tuvalu's population as 11,396 and Al Jazeera puts Naoero's at roughly 12,000, compared with 882 residents in Vatican City.^[8][7][2]