The world contains billions
upon billions of people spread far and wide over this big green and blue orb,
and just like the people themselves the countries can be rather strange and
hold some very interesting facts. I often wonder what’s the largest, longest,
lowest or most luxurious country in the world and what wonders does that
particular country hold. Here we’re going to look at 10 of the world’s smallest
countries but don’t be fooled by their size, these places hold some fascinating
bits of information from the people to the landscape.
Grenada
Grenada, or the Spice of the
Caribbean, is the tenth smallest country in the world. As of January 1st 2016, Grenada has a population of over
107,000 and compared to some of the countries to come, is a reasonably lower
populated location measuring 133 sq. mile (344 sq. km). Grenada is known as the
Spice of the Caribbean as its one of the largest producers of nutmeg and mace
in the world, with inhabitants saying the smell wafts around the island. The
most popular sport in the country is cricket.
Malta
When compared to Grenada’s
population of 107,000, Malta is practically a bustling empire, with over
419,500 people as of January 1st 2016,
this makes it one of Europe’s most populated countries. The republic of Malta
is made of 3 separate parts; Gozo, Comino and Malta. According to a 2013 report
by the UN, Malta is the 48thhappiest country in the world. Malta is
home to Calypso cave, a cave that overlooks Sandy Beach, Ramla Bay, this
apparently features in Homers ‘The Odyssey’ as the location Calypso kept
Odysseus locked up as a ‘prisoner of love’ for seven years, She guaranteed him
immortality if he stayed with her but he ran away to his wife Penelope. Size: 122 Square Mile
Maldives
The Maldives is an archipelago of 1,192 coral islands grouped into 26 coral atolls, of which 200
are inhabited; this makes the Maldives the most dispersed country in Asia. The
Maldives became an independent country in 1965 and as of the 1st January 2016 the population was just
under 367,000. Climate change is a serious issue when it comes to this area, in
2009 the then-president and 13 other officials sat at desks at the bottom of
the sea dressed in full scuba gear to raise awareness about the potential
dangers the islands face. Size: 116 Square Mile
Saint Kitts and Nevis
This two-island country is
located in the Eastern Caribbean and as of the 1st January 2016, the population is over 6
times less than the Maldives at 55,000 and is just 15 sq.
miles smaller, this shows the sheer secluded nature of the beautiful
place. There are some much respected figures who have at one stage called this
island home, Alexander Hamilton one of the founding fathers of the US for
example was born here. Size: 101 Square Mile
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is an incredibly
interesting country with some very weird occurrences over its lifetime. As of
January 2016, the population was just 37,000, that’s 10 times smaller than the
Maldives. Found between Switzerland and Austria the country is an incredibly
safe one, crime rate is drastically low with the last murder occurring in 1997!
Lichtenstein have a weird history when it comes to the military as well, in
March 2007 the country was accidentally invaded by the Swiss army when 170
armed soldiers wandered 1 mile across an unmarked border. Size: 62 Square Mile
San Marino
San Marino claim to be the
oldest surviving sovereign state and with a population of around 32,000 people
as of January 1st 2016,
it’s not hard to see that this is a fairly small country that’s actually quite
densely populated when compared to Saint Kitts and Nevis which has an extra
77.5 square miles and only 13,000 more people! San Marino has a rather
strange relationship with the US, in 1861 the San Marino government wrote to
then-president Abraham Lincoln asking if he would like to form an alliance and
in turn they would give him honorary San Marino citizenship, Lincoln accepted
this offer. When it comes to sports though, and particularly that of football,
San Marino aren’t that successful, after forming in 1990 their first
international win didn’t come until 2004 when they beat Liechtenstein 1-0!
Size: 23.5 Square Mile
Tuvalu
Tuvalu was previously known as
the Ellice Islands (no not that Ellis Island) just off the North East of
Australia. There is just one 1 hospital on the island for its population of
just under 10,000 as of January 1st 2016, that’s 384 people per sq. km!
The island is quite a low lying one with the highest point being just 16ft
above sea-level. Tuvalu is a reasonably secluded location with only 2,000
visitors in 2010 and 65% of those were for business. However it does hold a
rather strange caving system; in 1986, 2 scuba divers discovered underwater
caves, this is of course not that strange but when they noticed dark patches
similar to that of fire scorching, eyebrows were raised. It’s believed that
many thousands of years ago the island was that much higher out of the sea
compared to today, theoretically showing just how much sea-levels have varied.
Size: 10 Square Mile
Nauru
Nauru is an island east of
Australia, it’s the smallest island country and with a population of around
10,200 people as of January 1st 2016,
it’s obviously not that lowly-populated compared to earlier examples. The
country, even though stunningly beautiful, has a real issue with unemployment,
only 10% of the residents are apparently employed, all of them are by the
government. The island has a serious problem with obesity, it’s often
categorized as the most obese island nation, with 97% of men and 93% of women
affected, due to this type 2 diabetes is also very prominent in Nauru, with 40%
of people suffering. Size: 8 Square
Mile
Monaco
Monaco are a very wealthy
country as we are all aware; hosting Grand Prix’s and numerous other events.
The country is bordered by France and its flag is very similar to that
of Indonesia, the difference being that the Indonesian flag is wider.
AS Monaco, the country’s major football club, play in the flag’s red and
white and are called Les Rouge et Blanc or the red and whites. AS Monaco’s
stadium Stade Louis II is able to fit over half of the country’s population,
which as of January 1st 2016
was over 37,500! Size: – 0.75 Square Mile
State of the Vatican City
Located in Rome, Italy, the
Vatican City is the home of the Pope and many other religious figures. With
a population of just 800 and of those only 450 hold actual citizenship, many
citizens actually live elsewhere. Its sovereignty was recognized by Italian
government under Lateran Treaty on 11th February 1929. The Vatican prints its
own stamps, issues passports and number plates, mints its own euros and
has its own flag and anthem, the one ability it does lack is that of taxation.
The Swiss Guard protect the Vatican City, its main purpose is to protect the
Pope and has been since 1506 when the then-Pope Julius II hired the Swiss as
his own protectors.
So
there we have it, whether you’re religious and view the State of the Vatican
City simply for its significance in the church, or whether you merely love the
sheer quirkiness of the isolated tiny country, I strongly believe everyone
should visit just to say you’ve done so. Even when you disregard that of
Vatican City, the other countries on this list are well worth a visit, be it
for the beauty, the culture or for the smell (in Grenada’s case). Size: 0.17 Square
Miles.
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