Smallest countries by area
Vatican City is so small that 80 of them would fit inside Central Park.
Headline finding
Vatican City leads the world for smallest countries by area at 0.49 km².
The full top 25: Smallest countries by area
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 Vatican City 0.49
- 2 Monaco 2.02
- 3 Nauru 21
- 4 Tuvalu 26
- 5 San Marino 61
- 6 Liechtenstein 160
- 7 Marshall Islands 181
- 8 St Kitts & Nevis 261
- 9 Maldives 298
- 10 Malta 316
- 11 Grenada 344
- 12 St Vincent & the Grenadines 389
- 13 Barbados 430
- 14 Antigua & Barbuda 442
- 15 Seychelles 455
- 16 Palau 459
- 17 Andorra 468
- 18 Saint Lucia 616
- 19 Singapore 728
- 20 Micronesia 702
- 21 Tonga 747
- 22 Dominica 751
- 23 Bahrain 765
- 24 Kiribati 811
- 25 São Tomé & Príncipe 964
What the numbers show
Vatican City's lead at the top of this ranking is -75.7% above the second-place country — a margin tight enough that the top spot has changed hands within the last five years and could change again.
The five countries leading the table — Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu, San Marino — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with São Tomé & Príncipe anchoring the list at 964.
Figures are drawn from CIA World Factbook 2024. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- km²
- Source
- CIA World Factbook 2024
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for countries by area?
Vatican City leads with 0.49 km². Monaco is second at 2.02, with Nauru in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the countries by area ranking?
The figures come from CIA World Factbook 2024. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the countries by area figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.