Smallest Countries in the World

By Matt Rosenberg, About.com Guide

At 104 square miles (slightly smaller than the city of Fresno, California), Saint Kitts and Nevis is a Caribbean island country of 50,000 that gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1983. Of the two primary islands that make up Saint Kitts and Nevis, Nevis is the smaller island of the two and is guaranteed the right to secede from the union. Saint Kitts and Nevis is considered the smallest country in the Americas based on its area and population. Saint Kitts and Nevis are located in the Caribbean Sea between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago.