small state A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state with either a very small population or a very small geographic area, usually both. The difference between the terms “state” and “very small state” is not well defined in international law. Recent attempts, since 2010, to define the micro-state have focused on identifying political entities with unique qualitative features linked to geographic or demographic constraints. According to a qualitative definition, small states are “protected modern states, that is, sovereign states that have been able to delegate certain features of sovereignty to larger powers in return for providing benign protection for the continuation of their political and economic rule against their geographical or demographic limitations.” Consistent with this and most other definitions, examples of small states include Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, the Cook Islands, Niue, and the Federated States of Micronesia.^[1][2]

Vatican City is the smallest political unit recognized as a sovereign state, with 842 citizens, according to July 2013 statistics, with an area of ​​only 44 hectares (110 acres). However, some scholars dispute that it is considered a state, arguing that it does not meet the “traditional criteria for statehood” and that “the special status of Vatican City is probably seen as a means of ensuring the Pope’s free exercise of his spiritual functions and, in this respect, very similar to that of the headquarters of international organizations.” .^[3]

Small states or “micro-states” differ from small nations, which are not recognized as sovereign states. Nor are special regions without full sovereignty considered small states, such as the British Crown Dependencies, the Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, and the overseas territories of Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Norway, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Quantitative definitions of small states and their boundaries[عدل]

Most researchers define small states using a quantitative threshold applied to either a single variable (such as its land area or population) or a combination of different variables. While scholars agree that microstates are the smallest states in existence, there is no consensus on which variable (or variables) or cut-off point should be used to determine which political units should be described as “small states” (as opposed to “ordinary” small states).

Using simple quantitative standards may seem obvious, but it can also be seen as a potential source of problems. According to some scholars, the quantitative approach to defining small states suffers from problems such as “inconsistency, arbitrariness, ambiguity, and the inability to meaningfully isolate qualitatively distinct political units”.

Qualitative tariffs[عدل]

In response to the problems associated with quantitative definitions of small states, some academics have proposed defining these states according to their unique characteristics related to how small their area or population is. Modern methods suggested looking at the behavior of these countries or their ability to operate in the international arena with the aim of determining which countries deserve the status of small states. Until now, some have argued that such approaches can lead to either confusing small states with weak states (or “failed states”) or relying too much on personal perceptions.^[2]

Sovereign states narrower than 1000 km²[عدل]

Sovereign states with an area of ​​less than 1000 km².^[4][5]

arrangement	The state/entity	Area (km²)	Location
1	Vatican	0.44	south of Europe
2	Monaco	1.95	south of Europe
3	Nauru	21	Oceania – Micronesia
4	Tuvalu	26	Oceania – Polynesia
5	San Marino	61	Southern Europe
6	Liechtenstein	164	Central Europe
7	Marshall Islands	181	Oceania – Micronesia
8	Saint Kitts and Nevis	261	caribbean
9	Maldives	298	South Asia – Indian Ocean
10	Malta	316	Southern Europe – Mediterranean
11	Grenada	344	caribbean
12	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	388	caribbean
13	Barbados	430	caribbean
14	Antigua and Barbuda	442	caribbean
15	Seychelles	455	Indian Ocean/Africa
16	up and	459	Oceania – Micronesia
17	Andorra	468	Southern Europe
18	Saint Lucia	539	caribbean
19	Singapore	683	Southeast Asia
20	the two seas	694	Asia – the Arabian Gulf
21	Federated States of Micronesia	702	Oceania – Micronesia
22	Kiribati	726	Oceania – Micronesia
23	Tonga	747	Oceania – Polynesia
24	Dominica	751	caribbean
25	Turkmen Eli	999	Middle east

Sovereign countries with a population of less than one million[عدل]

arrangement	State/Entity	population	History	percentage of the world’s population	Source
41	Cyprus	855,000[6]		0.013%	United Nations appreciation
40	Diameter	841,000[7]		0.013%	United Nations appreciation
39	Djibouti	833,000		0.012%	United Nations appreciation
38	Fiji	827,900	2007	0.013%	Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics
37	Guyana	738,000		0.011%	United Nations appreciation
36	Comoros	682,000[8]	July 2007	0.01%	World Gazetteer projection. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012.
35	the black Mountain	620,000		0.009%	United Nations appreciation
34	green head	530,000		0.008%	United Nations appreciation
33	Equatorial Guinea[9]	507,000		0.008%	United Nations appreciation
32	Solomon Islands	506,992		0.007%	[2]
31	Luxembourg	483,800	January 1, 2008	0.007%	The Luxembourg statistics portal
30	Suriname	458,000		0.007%	United Nations appreciation
29	Malta	407,000		0.006%	United Nations appreciation
28	Brunei	390,000		0.006%	United Nations appreciation
27	Bahamas	331,000		0.005%	United Nations appreciation
26	Iceland	316,252	April 1, 2008	0.005%	Statistics Iceland
25	Maldives	306,000		0.005%	United Nations appreciation
24	Barbados	294,000		0.004%	United Nations appreciation
23	Belize	288,000		0.004%	United Nations appreciation
22	Vanuatu	226,000		0.003%	United Nations appreciation
21	Samoa	188,540	2008	0.003%	Samoa Statistics Department
20	Saint Lucia	165,000		0.002%	United Nations appreciation
19	Sao Tome and Principe	158,000		0.002%	United Nations appreciation
18	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	120,000		0.002%	United Nations appreciation
17	Federated States of Micronesia	111,000		0.002%	United Nations appreciation
16	Grenada	106,000		0.002%	United Nations appreciation
15	Tonga	100,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
14	Kiribati	95,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
13	Seychelles	87,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
12	Antigua and Barbuda	85,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
11	Andorra	83,137	December 31, 2007	0.001%	[3]
10	Dominica	67,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
9	Marshall Islands	59,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
8	Saint Kitts and Nevis	50,000		0.001%	United Nations appreciation
7	Liechtenstein	35,365	December 31, 2007	0.0005%	Statistics Liechtenstein
6	Monaco	33,000		0.0005%	United Nations appreciation
5	San Marino	31,000		0.0005%	United Nations appreciation
4	up and	20,000		0.0003%	United Nations appreciation
3	Tuvalu	11,000		0.0002%	United Nations appreciation
2	Nauru	10,000		0.0001%	United Nations appreciation
1	Vatican	900		0.00002%	United Nations appreciation

See also[عدل]

• List of countries by population
• List of countries by area
• microscopic state

Resources[عدل]

• Geography portal
• Policy portal

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