Small Countries Most People Don’t Even Know Exist

Many people might be surprised to learn there are 234 countries worldwide. While it’s easy to think of all the nations we can name, quite a few go unrecognized. Nations like Holy See, Saint Helena, and Niue are names people don’t recognize, and there is very little chance anyone could point them out on a map. 

With this in mind, we’ll look at the 15 smallest countries people don’t even know exist. To do so, we’ll rank them from largest to smallest using data from Worldometers and examine the population change from July 2022 to June 2023.

15. Caribbean Netherlands

• Population: 27,148
• Net change: +122
• What Is It: Consisting of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, the islands are classified as part of the Netherlands. 

14. Palau

• Population: 18,058
• Net change: +3
• What Is it: Palau consists of around 340 small islands with a total area of around 180 square miles. It shares coastal waters with Micronesia and the Philippines. 

13. Cook Islands

• Population: 17,044
• Net change: +33
• What Is It: The Cook Islands are located in the South Pacific and are considered part of New Zealand, though it has been self-governed since the start of the 21st century. 

12. Anguilla

• Population: 15,899
• Net change: +42
• What Is It: Located in the Caribbean, Anguilla is a UK territory heavily reliant on tourism as the backbone of its economy. 

11. Nauru

• Population: 12,780
• Net change: +112
• What Is It: Known as the Republic of Nauru, the island country is only 8.1 square miles, making it the third smallest country by land size. 

10. Wallis & Futuna

• Population: 11,502
• Net change: -70
• What Is It: A French territory, Wallis & Futuna is located between Tuvalu, Fiji, and Tonga and offers around 55 square miles of land. 

9. Tuvalu

• Population: 11,396
• Net change: +84
• What Is It: An island country in the South Pacific, Tuvalu comprises three reef islands and six atolls with 10 square miles of land. 

8. Saint Barthelemy

• Population: 10,994
• Net change: +27
• What Is It: A volcanic island, Saint Barthelemy’s culture, cuisine, and language are distinctly French, as the island is a territory of France. 

7. Saint Pierre & Miquelon

• Population: 5,840
• Net change: -22
• What Is It: A self-governing French territory, Saint Pierre and Miquelon is an archipelago with eight separate islands. Its inhabitants are considered French residents. 

6. Saint Helena

• Population: 5,314
• Net change: -60
• What Is It: A tropical island in the South Atlantic, Saint Helena is located about 1,210 miles west off the coast of South Africa. 

5. Montserrat

• Population: 4,386
• Net change: -4
• What Is It: Part of the Leeward Islands, Montserrat, is 10 miles long and 7 miles wide and has a coastline around 25 miles long. 

4. Falkland Islands

• Population: 3,791
• Net change: +11
• What Is It: The Falkland Islands is a self-governing disputed territory between the UK and Argentina located off the coast of South America. 

3. Niue

• Population: 1,935
• Net change: +1
• What Is It: A self-governing country near Samoa, Niue is part of Polynesia, and its residents primarily identify as Polynesians. 

2. Tokelau

• Population: 1,893
• Net change: +22
• What Is It: Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand located in the southern Pacific with a combined area of four square miles. 

1. Holy See

• Population: 518
• Net change: +8
• What Is It: The Holy See is considered the area of land under the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the Bishop of Rome. 

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