- As small as these countries are,
they do some pretty incredible things.
But yeah they're super small.
The Maldives is made up of a chain
of 1,192 islands in the Indian ocean.
It's one of the most spread out nations
in the world
with the islands covering an area
of nearly 35,000 square miles.
But despite that,
the islands themselves only have a total area
of 115 square miles
making it the smallest country in Asia.
Most of the islands are uninhabited
and the population was under 400,000 in 2015.
The Maldives was settled in 300 BC
by fishermen from India
and Sri Lanka.
It was mostly Buddhist until Islam was
introduced in the 12th century.
Since then,
ownership was passed between
the Portuguese and Dutch
and British empires for centuries.
It wasn't until 1965 that it finally
gained its independence
and was a member of the Commonwealth until 2016.
Unfortunately back in December of 2004,
the country was badly damaged by the Boxing Day
earthquake and tsunami in the Indian ocean
that killed over 110 people.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a two island
state in the West Indies.
It's only 101 square miles
making it the smallest country in the Caribbean
and all of the Americas.
The two islands are only about two miles apart each
and are separated by a channel
known as the narrows.
The islands were formed by volcanoes
which have been dormant for over 200 years.
Well, that seems kinda risky to live there.
Native Americans inhabited them
for over 5,000 years before
the explorer Christopher Columbus
and the Europeans showed up in 1493.
Making it the Caribbean's oldest colonized territory.
For years, the French and English fought over
Saint Kitts and Nevis
until they were put under British rule
before gaining independence in 1983.
But it's still a member of the Commonwealth.
The islands are known for their sugar cane crops
which is how it got the nickname sugar city.
But today tourism is the biggest contributor
to the economy.
This country's so small,
how sweet.
Get it?
Sweet, sugar canes, moving on.
Liechtenstein is double landlocked by Austria
and Switzerland
and is only 62 square miles.
It was founded as part of the Roman empire back
in 1719 and was owned by Germany until it got
its independence in 1866.
The country has a population of about 37,000 people
and is ruled by a constitutional monarchy
headed by Prince Hans Adam the second.
In 2003,
the country voted to give the monarchy
the power to veto parliamentary decisions
and to even get rid of them if they wanted to.
Liechtenstein remained neutral during World War Two
but in March of 2007 it was accidentally invaded
by Europe's most famous neutral country,
Switzerland.
170 armed Swiss troops had wandered over
the border and traveled a mile before even realizing it.
But Liechtenstein didn't even notice
and that's good because they don't even have an army
so they let it slide.
But one benefit to being so small
is that every single year
all of Liechtenstein's citizens
are invited to Vaduz castle for a huge garden party.
Think of as like a block party
but the entire country's invited.
Located in the northeast Caribbean,
about 190 miles east of Puerto Rico,
is the island of Saint Martin.
It's part of the Leeward Island chain
and at only 34 square miles,
it's the smallest inhabited island to be divided
by two countries.
Today the island has a total population
of nearly 78,000 people
and is split between France
and the Netherlands.
Saint Martin was first settled around 800 BC
by Arawak Indians from South America
and Christopher Columbus was the first European
to claim it in 1493.
During the 17th century,
the French and Dutch
had occupied it
and were fighting over its salt mines.
In 1648,
they agreed to divide the country.
But the way they did it's a little funky.
To do so, each country chose a man
who were placed back to back on one side
of the island.
They ran them in opposite directions along
the coast until they met
and the border was drawn between the two points.
The French won that race
and have 60% of the island
while the Dutch have the other 40.
As you can see unit of measurements
weren't exactly an exact science
back in the day.
With an area of only 23.6 square miles,
San Marino is a micro state
completely surrounded by Italy.
Hundreds of years ago,
city states were common in Europe.
But over time they were taken over
or formed into larger countries.
But San Marino has managed to maintain its independence.
The country claims to be the oldest sovereign state
in the world
and is still governed by the earliest written constitution.
Its official founding date was September 3, 301 AD
by the Christian stone mason named Marinus
who was fleeing persecution.
He founded San Marino on top of Monte Titano
where he built a chapel and monastery
and lived as a hermit.
The pope recognized its independence back in 1631
and even Napoleon's armies respected
its boundaries during the Napoleonic wars.
It has a population of just over 33,000 people
and with one of the lowest unemployment rates
in Europe it's also super wealthy
and has one of the lowest GDPs in the world.
The Pitcairn Islands is a British overseas territory
located in the South Pacific.
And it only takes two plane rides,
a ferry, and a 32 hour ocean crossing to get there.
Not exactly convenient.
The territory is made up of four islands
that have a total land area
of only 18 square miles.
Only one of the four islands,
Pitcairn,
is inhabited.
It's the least populated nation in the world
with only 50 permanent residents.
50.
Those people are actually the descendants
of four main families that settled
on Pitcairn in 1790
and were formed by nine mutineers
from the HMS Bounty
and a group of native Tahitians
that were with them.
The population was at its highest in the 1930s
when it reached about 300 people.
But inbreeding was a big problem
on the island
and the population is dying out.
For years there have been efforts
to repopulate the nation,
but despite free land
and amazing climate,
there haven't been any takers.
And with that crazy commute,
it hasn't developed a tourist industry either.
Yeah, I don't care how nice the beaches are,
two plane rides, a ferry,
and a 30 hour ride.
No thanks,
you keep it,
no good.
Nauru is located in Micronesia
in the central Pacific
and is the third smallest country in the world
at 8.1 square miles
as well as the smallest island country in the world.
Micronesian and Polynesian tribes
had populated Nauru for thousands
of years before the British sea captain John Fearn
found it in 1798.
After World War One,
it was captured by Australia
and became a member of the British Commonwealth.
In the 1980s,
Nauru had an economic boom
when it began mining phosphate
but the resource quickly disappeared
and there's now a 90% unemployment rate.
Since then,
it's become a tax haven
and hot spot for money laundering.
Nauru may be one of the smallest countries
but its citizens are the biggest.
It's considered the most obese nation
and has the highest level of type two diabetes
in the world.
In 2001,
Australia controversially began paying Nauru
to house a detention camp for asylum seekers.
It was closed in 2008,
but reopened in 2012.
I just want to go back for a second,
no wonder everyone's obese,
everyone's unemployed.
I'd be obese, too, if I was laying out
on the beach all day,
drinking coconuts,
hanging with monkeys.
Sounds nice actually.
Monaco is located in the Mediterranean sea.
It is the second smallest country in the world.
This micro state is only 0.78 square miles.
And it's so small,
you can literally walk across it in an hour.
It's also the most densely populated country
in the world,
with a population of 36,000.
It was founded in 1215
and has been ruled by the Grimaldi family since 1297.
For centuries,
it was passed between France, Genoa,
and Sardinia,
until it finally gained its independence in 1861.
Monaco is known for its wealth
and the infamous Monte Carlo casino.
For years,
it's lived off its earnings
and was actually tax free.
But to make sure citizens didn't lose all that money,
it was made illegal for them to gamble
or even go inside the casino.
France was actually going to take over Monaco
if there were no heirs to the throne.
But luckily for them,
current head of state,
Prince Albert the second,
son of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly,
had his first legitimate children
in December of 2014.
I say legitimate cause dude just be
populating everything.
Getting busy but they weren't legitimate.
Despite its name,
Vatican City isn't a city at all.
It's actually a walled in city state
within Rome Italy,
though it's only 0.17 square miles in size.
In 320 AD,
work began on Saint Peter's Basilica
over Saint Peter's tomb.
And a century later,
a palace for the pope was built.
But it wasn't until 1377 that the Vatican
became the official residence for the pope.
When it gained independence from Italy in 1929,
all state power was given to the pope
and it's been ruled as an absolute monarchy ever since.
It's population is only about 1,000 people
but most actually don't live there full time.
There are no state taxes
and the economy is run by the sale of stamps,
tourist goods,
and museum entrance fees.
Oh, and of course, whatever's put
in the collection basket on Sundays
by the one billion members
of the Roman Catholic church around the world.
And having one of the biggest
and most impressive art collections in the world
doesn't hurt the bank either.
The pope be balling,
shot calling.
I'm sorry pope,
I don't want to go to hell,
praise to you.
Officially known as the principality of Sealand,
Sealand is technically the smallest nation
in the world.
The micronation is located 12 miles off the coast
of Suffolk England in the North sea
on the HM Fort Roughs
better known as Roughs Towers.
The platform was built in 1943 by the British
during World War Two
and was used as an anti aircraft gun defensive.
After the war,
the towers which were in international waters
were empty until Sealand was founded
on September 2, 1967
when Paddy Roy Bates took them over
to broadcast his pirate radio station
Radio Essex.
Though he never actually broadcast a thing.
He claimed that Sealand was a sovereign state
and that he was the prince.
In the '60s and '70s,
armed forces tried to take Sealand over
but with no luck.
Though it's not officially recognized
as a country,
it's been treated as one by both Britain
and Germany in legal matters.
In 2007,
it was put up for sale
and could be yours for the low, low price
of $977 million.
But hold up,
is it that easy that you can just go
into international waters
and be like okay everyone,
this cube,
this square right here,
it's mine.
See, I'm swimming in it.
Doggy paddling.
And that's it.
I hope you guys enjoyed this.
And just a reminder that my brand new,
limited edition t-shirt is only available
until this Monday, June 5.
And once they're gone,
they're gone forever.
So, make sure you get yours now
before it sells out by clicking the little I
on your screen right now,
or the link under this video.
And don't forget,
I'll have a brand new video for you tomorrow
at three Eastern Standard Time.
So, make sure you come by then.
Have a great day.