Ranked: World’s Smallest Countries and Territories, by Population

Ranked: The World’s Smallest Countries, by Population

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There’s always a lot of chatter and focus on the world’s most populous countries.

And for good reason. More people (usually) means more trade, commerce, and demand for goods and services.

But what about the other end of the spectrum?

We looked into the smallest countries and territories in the world by population and ranked them in this article. Data is sourced from the UN World Population Prospects’ estimates for 2025.

The Smallest Countries and Territories, by People

With just 500 residents, Vatican City is the world’s least populous sovereign nation. It is also the world’s smallest country by land area.

We take a closer look into the Vatican in the next section.

Ranked second, Niue has roughly 1,800 residents. The small self-governing island is in “free association” with New Zealand, which means they share a head of state.

At third place, Tokelau, another New Zealand territory, has roughly 2,500 residents.

In fact, most of the places on this list are all overseas territories of some sort.

Ranked eighth, Tuvalu is the least populous sovereign nation. It also has the smallest economy ($79 million) in the world.

So… People Live in the Vatican?

It’s not easy to just move to the Vatican.

The majority of the Vatican’s inhabitants are clergy, and members of the Swiss Guard who provide security for the Pope.

Which means some sort of church role is required before residency is allowed.

Also, one can technically acquire Vatican City citizenship and passport. But it’s not based on birth.

In fact, there are no hospitals or delivery rooms within the 0.19 sq. mile country.

Instead, citizenship is conferred based on responsibilities within the church or state, meaning that many citizens work directly for the Holy See.

For reference, 19,000 tourists visit the Vatican every day, nearly 38x the actual population.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Need some more country ranks? Check out: The World’s Shortest Countries and the average height of men and women who live in them.