Vatican City is the smallest sovereign country in the world, covering just 0.49 km² (about 121 acres) entirely within Rome, Italy.
Vatican City has been an independent city-state since the Lateran Treaty of 1929, governed by the Holy See as the spiritual and administrative center of the Catholic Church. Its population is only a few hundred people, most of them clergy and Swiss Guard.
By population rather than area, Vatican City is also the smallest, with roughly 800 residents — far fewer than Nauru or Tuvalu, which have several thousand.
Last reviewed: September 2026