Smallest Countries in the World

By Matt Rosenberg, About.com Guide

While the fictitious island in the image above might look like paradise, it is not that far from the truth. Six of the world's smallest countries are island nations. These ten smallest independent countries range in size from 108 acres (a good sized shopping mall) to 115 square miles (slightly smaller than the city limits of Little Rock, Arkansas).

All but one of these smallest independent countries are full-fledged members of the United Nations and the one outlier is a non-member by choice, not by inability. There are those who will argue that there are other, smaller microstates that exist in the world (such as Sealand or the Sovereign Military Order of Malta) however, these tiny "countries" are not fully independent as the following ten are.

Enjoy the gallery and information I've provided about each of these tiny countries.