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Country | Area (km²)↑ | Population | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Vatican City | < 1 | 501 |
![]() | Monaco | 2 | 38,341 |
![]() | Gibraltar | 7 | 40,126 |
![]() | Tokelau | 12 | 2,608 |
![]() | Nauru | 21 | 12,025 |
![]() | Saint Barthelemy | 21 | 11,414 |
![]() | Tuvalu | 26 | 9,492 |
![]() | Macau | 33 | 722,007 |
![]() | Sint Maarten | 34 | 43,923 |
![]() | Saint Martin | 53 | 24,941 |
![]() | Bermuda | 54 | 64,555 |
![]() | San Marino | 61 | 33,572 |
![]() | Guernsey | 78 | 64,477 |
![]() | Anguilla | 91 | 14,728 |
![]() | Montserrat | 102 | 4,359 |
![]() | Jersey | 116 | 103,989 |
![]() | British Virgin Islands | 151 | 39,732 |
![]() | Liechtenstein | 160 | 40,128 |
![]() | Aruba | 180 | 108,147 |
![]() | Marshall Islands | 181 | 36,282 |
![]() | American Samoa | 199 | 46,029 |
![]() | Cook Islands | 240 | 13,263 |
![]() | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 242 | 5,574 |
![]() | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 261 | 46,922 |
![]() | Niue | 261 | 1,821 |
![]() | Cayman Islands | 264 | 75,844 |
![]() | Wallis and Futuna | 274 | 11,194 |
![]() | Maldives | 300 | 529,676 |
![]() | Malta | 316 | 545,405 |
![]() | Grenada | 344 | 117,303 |
![]() | United States Virgin Islands | 347 | 84,138 |
![]() | Mayotte | 374 | 337,011 |
![]() | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 389 | 99,924 |
![]() | Barbados | 430 | 282,623 |
![]() | Antigua and Barbuda | 442 | 94,209 |
![]() | Curacao | 444 | 185,487 |
![]() | Seychelles | 452 | 132,779 |
![]() | Palau | 459 | 17,663 |
![]() | Northern Mariana Islands | 464 | 43,541 |
![]() | Andorra | 468 | 82,904 |
![]() | Guam | 549 | 168,999 |
![]() | Isle of Man | 572 | 84,118 |
![]() | Saint Lucia | 616 | 180,149 |
![]() | Micronesia | 702 | 113,683 |
![]() | Singapore | 710 | 5,870,750 |
![]() | Tonga | 747 | 103,742 |
![]() | Dominica | 751 | 65,871 |
![]() | Bahrain | 765 | 1,643,330 |
![]() | Kiribati | 811 | 136,488 |
![]() | Turks and Caicos Islands | 948 | 46,855 |
![]() | Sao Tome and Principe | 964 | 240,254 |
![]() | Hong Kong | 1.1K | 7,396,080 |
![]() | Martinique | 1.1K | 340,439 |
![]() | Faroe Islands | 1.4K | 56,002 |
![]() | Guadeloupe | 1.6K | 373,791 |
![]() | Comoros | 1.9K | 882,847 |
![]() | Mauritius | 2K | 1,268,280 |
![]() | Reunion | 2.5K | 882,405 |
![]() | Luxembourg | 2.6K | 680,453 |
![]() | Samoa | 2.8K | 219,306 |
![]() | Cape Verde | 4K | 527,326 |
![]() | French Polynesia | 4.2K | 282,465 |
![]() | Trinidad and Tobago | 5.1K | 1,511,160 |
![]() | Brunei | 5.8K | 466,330 |
![]() | Palestine | 6.2K | 5,589,620 |
![]() | Puerto Rico | 8.9K | 3,235,290 |
![]() | Cyprus | 9.3K | 1,370,750 |
![]() | Lebanon | 10.5K | 5,849,420 |
![]() | Gambia | 10.7K | 2,822,090 |
![]() | Jamaica | 11K | 2,837,080 |
![]() | Qatar | 11.6K | 3,115,890 |
![]() | Falkland Islands | 12.2K | 3,469 |
![]() | Vanuatu | 12.2K | 335,169 |
![]() | Montenegro | 13.8K | 632,729 |
![]() | Bahamas | 13.9K | 403,033 |
![]() | Timor Leste | 14.9K | 1,418,520 |
![]() | Eswatini | 17.4K | 1,256,170 |
![]() | Kuwait | 17.8K | 5,026,080 |
![]() | Fiji | 18.3K | 933,154 |
![]() | New Caledonia | 18.6K | 295,333 |
![]() | Slovenia | 20.3K | 2,117,070 |
![]() | Israel | 20.8K | 9,517,180 |
![]() | El Salvador | 21K | 6,365,500 |
![]() | Belize | 23K | 422,924 |
![]() | Djibouti | 23.2K | 1,184,080 |
![]() | North Macedonia | 25.7K | 1,813,790 |
![]() | Rwanda | 26.3K | 14,569,300 |
![]() | Haiti | 27.8K | 11,906,100 |
![]() | Burundi | 27.8K | 14,390,000 |
![]() | Equatorial Guinea | 28.1K | 1,938,430 |
![]() | Albania | 28.7K | 2,771,510 |
![]() | Solomon Islands | 28.9K | 838,645 |
![]() | Armenia | 29.7K | 2,952,360 |
![]() | Lesotho | 30.4K | 2,363,320 |
![]() | Belgium | 30.5K | 11,758,600 |
![]() | Moldova | 33.8K | 2,996,110 |
![]() | Guinea Bissau | 36.1K | 2,249,520 |
![]() | Taiwan | 36.2K | 23,112,800 |
![]() | Bhutan | 38.4K | 796,682 |
![]() | Switzerland | 41.3K | 8,967,410 |
![]() | Netherlands | 41.9K | 18,346,800 |
![]() | Denmark | 43.1K | 6,002,510 |
![]() | Estonia | 45.2K | 1,344,230 |
![]() | Dominican Republic | 48.7K | 11,520,500 |
![]() | Slovakia | 49K | 5,474,880 |
![]() | Costa Rica | 51.1K | 5,152,950 |
![]() | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 51.2K | 3,140,100 |
![]() | Croatia | 56.6K | 3,848,160 |
![]() | Togo | 56.8K | 9,721,610 |
![]() | Latvia | 64.6K | 1,853,560 |
![]() | Lithuania | 65.3K | 2,830,140 |
![]() | Sri Lanka | 65.6K | 23,229,500 |
![]() | Georgia | 69.7K | 3,806,670 |
![]() | Ireland | 70.3K | 5,308,040 |
![]() | Sierra Leone | 71.7K | 8,819,790 |
![]() | Panama | 75.4K | 4,571,190 |
![]() | Czech Republic | 78.9K | 10,609,200 |
![]() | French Guiana | 83.5K | 313,666 |
![]() | United Arab Emirates | 83.6K | 11,346,000 |
![]() | Austria | 83.9K | 9,113,570 |
![]() | Azerbaijan | 86.6K | 10,397,700 |
![]() | Serbia | 88.4K | 6,689,040 |
![]() | Jordan | 89.3K | 11,520,700 |
![]() | Portugal | 92.1K | 10,411,800 |
![]() | Hungary | 93K | 9,632,290 |
![]() | South Korea | 100.2K | 51,667,000 |
![]() | Iceland | 103K | 398,266 |
![]() | Guatemala | 108.9K | 18,687,900 |
![]() | Cuba | 109.9K | 10,937,200 |
![]() | Bulgaria | 110.9K | 6,714,560 |
![]() | Liberia | 111.4K | 5,731,210 |
![]() | Honduras | 112.5K | 11,005,800 |
![]() | Benin | 112.6K | 14,814,500 |
![]() | Eritrea | 117.6K | 3,607,000 |
![]() | Malawi | 118.5K | 22,216,100 |
![]() | North Korea | 120.5K | 26,571,000 |
![]() | Nicaragua | 130.4K | 7,007,500 |
![]() | Greece | 132K | 9,938,840 |
![]() | Tajikistan | 143.1K | 10,786,700 |
![]() | Nepal | 147.2K | 29,618,100 |
![]() | Bangladesh | 147.6K | 175,687,000 |
![]() | Tunisia | 163.6K | 12,348,600 |
![]() | Suriname | 163.8K | 639,850 |
![]() | Uruguay | 181K | 3,384,690 |
![]() | Cambodia | 181K | 17,848,000 |
![]() | Syria | 185.2K | 25,620,400 |
![]() | Senegal | 196.7K | 18,932,000 |
![]() | Kyrgyzstan | 200K | 7,295,030 |
![]() | Belarus | 207.6K | 8,997,600 |
![]() | Guyana | 215K | 835,986 |
![]() | Laos | 236.8K | 7,873,050 |
![]() | Romania | 238.4K | 18,908,600 |
![]() | Ghana | 238.5K | 35,064,300 |
![]() | Uganda | 241.6K | 51,384,900 |
![]() | United Kingdom | 242.9K | 69,551,300 |
![]() | Guinea | 245.9K | 15,099,700 |
![]() | Western Sahara | 266K | 600,904 |
![]() | Gabon | 267.7K | 2,593,130 |
![]() | New Zealand | 270.5K | 5,251,900 |
![]() | Burkina Faso | 273K | 24,074,600 |
![]() | Ecuador | 276.8K | 18,289,900 |
![]() | Italy | 301.3K | 59,146,300 |
![]() | Oman | 309.5K | 5,494,690 |
![]() | Poland | 312.7K | 38,140,900 |
![]() | Ivory Coast | 322.5K | 32,711,500 |
![]() | Norway | 323.8K | 5,623,070 |
![]() | Malaysia | 330.8K | 35,977,800 |
![]() | Vietnam | 331.2K | 101,599,000 |
![]() | Finland | 338.4K | 5,623,330 |
![]() | Republic of the Congo | 342K | 6,484,440 |
![]() | Philippines | 342.4K | 116,787,000 |
![]() | Germany | 357.1K | 84,075,100 |
![]() | Japan | 377.9K | 123,103,000 |
![]() | Zimbabwe | 390.8K | 16,950,800 |
![]() | Paraguay | 406.8K | 7,013,080 |
![]() | Iraq | 438.3K | 47,020,800 |
![]() | Morocco | 446.6K | 38,430,800 |
![]() | Uzbekistan | 447.4K | 37,053,400 |
![]() | Sweden | 450.3K | 10,656,600 |
![]() | Papua New Guinea | 462.8K | 10,762,800 |
![]() | Cameroon | 475.4K | 29,879,300 |
![]() | Turkmenistan | 488.1K | 7,618,850 |
![]() | Spain | 506K | 47,890,000 |
![]() | Thailand | 513.1K | 71,619,900 |
![]() | Yemen | 528K | 41,773,900 |
![]() | France | 551.7K | 66,650,800 |
![]() | Kenya | 580.4K | 57,532,500 |
![]() | Botswana | 582K | 2,562,120 |
![]() | Madagascar | 587K | 32,740,700 |
![]() | Ukraine | 603.5K | 38,980,400 |
![]() | South Sudan | 619.7K | 12,188,800 |
![]() | Central African Republic | 623K | 5,513,280 |
![]() | Somalia | 637.7K | 19,654,700 |
![]() | Afghanistan | 652.2K | 43,844,100 |
![]() | Myanmar | 676.6K | 54,850,600 |
![]() | Zambia | 752.6K | 21,913,900 |
![]() | Chile | 756.1K | 19,859,900 |
![]() | Turkey | 783.6K | 87,685,400 |
![]() | Mozambique | 801.6K | 35,631,700 |
![]() | Namibia | 825.6K | 3,092,820 |
![]() | Pakistan | 881.9K | 255,220,000 |
![]() | Venezuela | 916.4K | 28,516,900 |
![]() | Nigeria | 923.8K | 237,528,000 |
![]() | Tanzania | 945.1K | 70,545,900 |
![]() | Egypt | 1M | 118,366,000 |
![]() | Mauritania | 1M | 5,315,060 |
![]() | Bolivia | 1.1M | 12,581,800 |
![]() | Ethiopia | 1.1M | 135,472,000 |
![]() | Colombia | 1.1M | 53,425,600 |
![]() | South Africa | 1.2M | 64,747,300 |
![]() | Mali | 1.2M | 25,198,800 |
![]() | Angola | 1.2M | 39,040,000 |
![]() | Niger | 1.3M | 27,917,800 |
![]() | Chad | 1.3M | 21,003,700 |
![]() | Peru | 1.3M | 34,576,700 |
![]() | Mongolia | 1.6M | 3,517,100 |
![]() | Iran | 1.6M | 92,417,700 |
![]() | Libya | 1.8M | 7,458,560 |
![]() | Sudan | 1.9M | 51,662,100 |
![]() | Indonesia | 1.9M | 285,721,000 |
![]() | Mexico | 2M | 131,947,000 |
![]() | Saudi Arabia | 2.1M | 34,566,300 |
![]() | Greenland | 2.2M | 55,745 |
![]() | DR Congo | 2.3M | 112,832,000 |
![]() | Algeria | 2.4M | 47,435,300 |
![]() | Kazakhstan | 2.7M | 20,843,800 |
![]() | Argentina | 2.8M | 45,851,400 |
![]() | India | 3.3M | 1,463,870,000 |
![]() | Australia | 7.7M | 26,974,000 |
![]() | Brazil | 8.5M | 212,812,000 |
![]() | United States | 9.4M | 347,276,000 |
![]() | China | 9.7M | 1,416,100,000 |
![]() | Canada | 10M | 40,126,700 |
![]() | Russia | 17.1M | 143,997,000 |
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 usually does not change 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.
Country | Area (km²) |
---|---|
Vatican City | < 1 |
Monaco | 2 |
Gibraltar | 7 |
Tokelau | 12 |
Nauru | 21 |
Saint Barthelemy | 21 |
Tuvalu | 26 |
Macau | 33 |
Sint Maarten | 34 |
Saint Martin | 53 |
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. Note that 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 smallest country in the world in terms of population is Vatican City, which has approximately 496 citizens. This is far and away the smallest population of any country, although as before, several territories come close: Niue (New Zealand territory) with 1,819 people, Tokelau (New Zealand territory) with 2,506 people, Falkland Islands (UK territory) with 3,470 people, Montserrat (UK territory) with 4,389 people, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French territory) with 5,628 people. Even restricting the list to only U.N.-recognized independent countries, populations in some nations are small enough to fit into a football stadium:
Country | Population |
---|---|
Vatican City | 501 |
Niue | 1,821 |
Tokelau | 2,608 |
Falkland Islands | 3,469 |
Montserrat | 4,359 |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 5,574 |
Tuvalu | 9,492 |
Wallis and Futuna | 11,194 |
Saint Barthelemy | 11,414 |
Nauru | 12,025 |
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.