Which is the smallest sovereign state in the world by land area, covering less than half a square kilometre?
- Monaco
- San Marino
- Nauru
- Vatican City
Why D? And why not the others?
Correct answer: D. Vatican City
Vatican City covers only about 44 hectares (0.44 square kilometres, roughly the footprint of 49 American football fields), making it the smallest internationally recognised sovereign state on Earth. It became fully independent in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, after centuries in which the pope's territory had shrunk from the once-sprawling Papal States to nothing at all following Italian unification. Monaco is the classic runner-up in 'smallest country' trivia, but at roughly 2 square kilometres it is still more than four times the Vatican's size. San Marino, an ancient microstate perched in the Apennine mountains, covers about 61 square kilometres, and Nauru — the smallest island nation — is a comparatively vast 21 square kilometres.
Source: Britannica: Vatican City (area; 1929 Lateran Treaty); CIA World Factbook: Holy See (Vatican City)