Smallest Countries 2026

Countries can be ranked according to which has the smallest population or by which has the smallest total land area. Although many countries that appear on one list also appear on the other, the order varies depending on the statistic. The total area of a country refers to how much area (both land and water) is encompassed by the country’s borders. Often denoted in terms of miles squared or kilometers squared, its total area is a numerical value of its physical size. Some of the largest countries globally are Russia (6.59 million square miles), Canada (3.85 million square miles), and China (3.75 million square miles). Unlike the population, the total area of countries rarely changes from one year to the next.

Total area and population size are often loosely connected—after all, the greater the area, the more people can fit in it. However, the type and climate of the land (mountainous vs plains, swamps, deserts, etc), the development level (cities vs towns vs rural) and function of the land (farming vs forestry, manufacture, residential, etc) also have a significant impact upon the population of that land. Therefore, a country with a massive area is not guaranteed to have a massive population, and a country with very little area may pack an impressive number of citizens into its space.

The Country with the Smallest Area in the World

The country with the smallest area is Vatican City, which spans over just 0.19 square miles (.49 square kilometers). Ultra-luxurious Monaco comes in second with 0.78 mi²/2.02 km², and San Marino right behind at 24 mi²/60 km². This list includes only countries. Territories such as Tokelau (New Zealand), Saint Barthélemy (France), and Macau (China) are comparably tiny, but not independent countries, and are therefore ineligible.

The Least Populated Country in the World

The smallest country in the world in terms of population is Vatican City, which has approximately 501 citizens. This is far and away the smallest population of any country, although several territories come close: Niue (New Zealand territory) with 1,821 people, Tokelau (New Zealand territory) with 2,608 people, Falkland Islands (UK territory) with 3,469 people, Montserrat (UK territory) with 4,359 people, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French territory) with 5,574 people. Even if the list is restricted to only U.N.-recognized independent countries, populations in some nations are small enough to fit into a football stadium:

The Census and Population Trends in the United States

The first US census was conducted on August 2, 1790, and is conducted every ten years. In other words, the Census Bureau of the United States of America performs a decennial census. Before the official decennial census, there were similar acts of counting the number of people in the US and recording the population. These documents are kept safe by the National Archives and Records Administration of the USA. The results of the United States’ census offer an example of how a population can change and grow over the course of several decades: in 1940, the US population was 132,164,569 people, and in 2020, it was 331,449,281 people.

While most countries see population growth over the years, several nations are experiencing population decline. This is due to lower birth rates (especially in developed countries, where young couples may prioritize careers over children), negative net migration, and higher death rates, particularly as the post-WWII “baby boomer” generation enters old age.