Home › All Countries › Least Populated Countries in the World Least Populated Countries in the World The world's least populated countries are a fascinating mix of tiny city-states, remote island nations, and microstates. Vatican City, with fewer than 1,000 residents, is the smallest by population, followed by island nations like Nauru, Tuvalu, and Palau. Many of these countries face unique challenges including vulnerability to climate change, limited economic diversification, and dependence on foreign aid. Despite their small size, several of these nations play important roles in international diplomacy, holding equal votes in the United Nations General Assembly.
Complete ranking # Country Capital Population Area Region 1 Pitcairn Islands Adamstown 35 47 km² Oceania 2 French Southern and Antarctic Lands Port-aux-Français 400 7,747 km² Antarctic 3 Cocos (Keeling) Islands West Island 593 14 km² Oceania 4 Vatican City Vatican City 882 0.49 km² Europe 5 Antarctica — 1.3K 14,000,000 km² Antarctic 6 Niue Alofi 1.7K 260 km² Oceania 7 Christmas Island Flying Fish Cove 1.7K 135 km² Oceania 8 Norfolk Island Kingston 2.2K 36 km² Oceania 9 Svalbard and Jan Mayen Longyearbyen 2.5K 61,399 km² Europe 10 Tokelau Fakaofo 2.6K 12 km² Oceania 11 Falkland Islands Stanley 3.7K 12,173 km² Americas 12 Montserrat Plymouth 4.4K 102 km² Americas 13 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Jamestown 5.7K 394 km² Africa 14 Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint-Pierre 5.8K 242 km² Americas 15 Saint Barthélemy Gustavia 10.6K 21 km² Americas 16 Tuvalu Funafuti 10.6K 26 km² Oceania 17 Wallis and Futuna Mata-Utu 11.6K 142 km² Oceania 18 Nauru Yaren 11.7K 21 km² Oceania 19 Cook Islands Avarua 15.0K 236 km² Oceania 20 Anguilla The Valley 16.0K 91 km² Americas 21 Palau Ngerulmud 16.7K 459 km² Oceania 22 Åland Islands Mariehamn 30.7K 1,580 km² Europe 23 Saint Martin Marigot 31.5K 53 km² Americas 24 Caribbean Netherlands Kralendijk 32.0K 328 km² Americas 25 San Marino City of San Marino 34.1K 61 km² Europe 26 Gibraltar Gibraltar 38.0K 6 km² Europe 27 Monaco Monaco 38.4K 2.02 km² Europe 28 British Virgin Islands Road Town 39.5K 151 km² Americas 29 Liechtenstein Vaduz 40.9K 160 km² Europe 30 Sint Maarten Philipsburg 41.3K 34 km² Americas 31 Marshall Islands Majuro 42.4K 181 km² Oceania 32 Northern Mariana Islands Saipan 47.3K 464 km² Oceania 33 American Samoa Pago Pago 49.7K 199 km² Oceania 34 Turks and Caicos Islands Cockburn Town 50.8K 948 km² Americas 35 Saint Kitts and Nevis Basseterre 51.3K 261 km² Americas 36 Faroe Islands Tórshavn 54.9K 1,393 km² Europe 37 Greenland Nuuk 56.5K 2,166,086 km² Americas 38 Bermuda Hamilton 64.1K 54 km² Americas 39 Guernsey St. Peter Port 64.8K 78 km² Europe 40 Dominica Roseau 67.4K 751 km² Americas 41 Isle of Man Douglas 84.5K 572 km² Europe 42 Cayman Islands George Town 84.7K 264 km² Americas 43 United States Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie 87.1K 347 km² Americas 44 Andorra Andorra la Vella 88.4K 468 km² Europe 45 Tonga Nuku'alofa 100.2K 747 km² Oceania 46 Jersey Saint Helier 103.3K 116 km² Europe 47 Antigua and Barbuda Saint John's 103.6K 442 km² Americas 48 Micronesia Palikir 105.6K 702 km² Oceania 49 Aruba Oranjestad 107.6K 180 km² Americas 50 Grenada St. George's 109.0K 344 km² Americas 51 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Kingstown 110.9K 389 km² Americas 52 Kiribati South Tarawa 120.7K 811 km² Oceania 53 Seychelles Victoria 122.7K 452 km² Africa 54 Guam Hagåtña 153.8K 549 km² Oceania 55 Curaçao Willemstad 156.1K 444 km² Americas 56 Saint Lucia Castries 184.1K 616 km² Americas 57 Samoa Apia 205.6K 2,842 km² Oceania 58 São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé 209.6K 964 km² Africa 59 New Caledonia Nouméa 264.6K 18,575 km² Oceania 60 Barbados Bridgetown 267.8K 430 km² Americas 61 French Polynesia Papeetē 279.5K 4,167 km² Oceania 62 French Guiana Cayenne 292.4K 83,534 km² Americas 63 Mayotte Mamoudzou 320.9K 374 km² Africa 64 Vanuatu Port Vila 321.4K 12,189 km² Oceania 65 Martinique Fort-de-France 349.9K 1,128 km² Americas 66 Guadeloupe Basse-Terre 378.6K 1,628 km² Americas 67 Iceland Reykjavik 391.8K 103,000 km² Europe 68 Bahamas Nassau 398.2K 13,943 km² Americas 69 Belize Belmopan 417.6K 22,966 km² Americas 70 Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan 455.5K 5,765 km² Asia 71 Cape Verde Praia 491.2K 4,033 km² Africa 72 Maldives Malé 515.1K 300 km² Asia 73 Malta Valletta 574.3K 316 km² Europe 74 Western Sahara El Aaiún 600.9K 266,000 km² Africa 75 Suriname Paramaribo 616.5K 163,820 km² Americas 76 Montenegro Podgorica 623.3K 13,812 km² Europe 77 Luxembourg Luxembourg 682.0K 2,586 km² Europe 78 Macau — 685.9K 30 km² Asia 79 Solomon Islands Honiara 750.3K 28,896 km² Oceania 80 Guyana Georgetown 773.0K 214,969 km² Americas 81 Bhutan Thimphu 784.0K 38,394 km² Asia 82 Réunion Saint-Denis 896.2K 2,511 km² Africa 83 Fiji Suva 900.9K 18,272 km² Oceania 84 Comoros Moroni 919.9K 1,862 km² Africa 85 Djibouti Djibouti 1.07M 23,200 km² Africa 86 Eswatini Mbabane 1.24M 17,364 km² Africa 87 Mauritius Port Louis 1.24M 2,040 km² Africa 88 Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain 1.37M 5,130 km² Americas 89 Estonia Tallinn 1.37M 45,227 km² Europe 90 Timor-Leste Dili 1.39M 14,874 km² Asia 91 Cyprus Nicosia 1.44M 9,251 km² Europe 92 Kosovo Pristina 1.59M 10,908 km² Europe 93 Bahrain Manama 1.59M 765 km² Asia 94 Equatorial Guinea Ciudad de la Paz 1.67M 28,051 km² Africa 95 Guinea-Bissau Bissau 1.78M 36,125 km² Africa 96 North Macedonia Skopje 1.82M 25,713 km² Europe 97 Latvia Riga 1.83M 64,559 km² Europe 98 Lesotho Maseru 2.12M 30,355 km² Africa 99 Slovenia Ljubljana 2.13M 20,273 km² Europe 100 Botswana Gaborone 2.36M 582,000 km² Africa 101 Albania Tirana 2.36M 28,748 km² Europe 102 Gambia Banjul 2.42M 10,689 km² Africa 103 Gabon Libreville 2.47M 267,668 km² Africa 104 Moldova Chișinău 2.75M 33,847 km² Europe 105 Jamaica Kingston 2.83M 10,991 km² Americas 106 Lithuania Vilnius 2.89M 65,300 km² Europe 107 Namibia Windhoek 3.02M 825,615 km² Africa 108 Armenia Yerevan 3.08M 29,743 km² Asia 109 Qatar Doha 3.17M 11,586 km² Asia 110 Puerto Rico San Juan 3.20M 8,870 km² Americas 111 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 3.42M 51,209 km² Europe 112 Uruguay Montevideo 3.50M 181,034 km² Americas 113 Mongolia Ulan Bator 3.54M 1,564,110 km² Asia 114 Eritrea Asmara 3.61M 117,600 km² Africa 115 Croatia Zagreb 3.87M 56,594 km² Europe 116 Georgia Tbilisi 4.00M 69,700 km² Asia 117 Panama Panama City 4.06M 75,417 km² Americas 118 Kuwait Kuwait City 4.88M 17,818 km² Asia 119 Mauritania Nouakchott 4.93M 1,030,700 km² Africa 120 Liberia Monrovia 5.25M 111,369 km² Africa 121 Costa Rica San José 5.31M 51,100 km² Americas 122 New Zealand Wellington 5.32M 268,838 km² Oceania 123 Oman Muscat 5.34M 309,500 km² Asia 124 Slovakia Bratislava 5.41M 49,037 km² Europe 125 Ireland Dublin 5.46M 70,273 km² Europe 126 Palestine Ramallah 5.48M 6,220 km² Asia 127 Lebanon Beirut 5.49M 10,452 km² Asia 128 Norway Oslo 5.61M 386,224 km² Europe 129 Finland Helsinki 5.65M 338,455 km² Europe 130 Denmark Copenhagen 6.01M 43,094 km² Europe 131 El Salvador San Salvador 6.03M 21,041 km² Americas 132 Paraguay Asunción 6.11M 406,752 km² Americas 133 Singapore Singapore 6.11M 710 km² Asia 134 Republic of the Congo Brazzaville 6.14M 342,000 km² Africa 135 Bulgaria Sofia 6.44M 110,879 km² Europe 136 Central African Republic Bangui 6.47M 622,984 km² Africa 137 Serbia Belgrade 6.57M 77,589 km² Europe 138 Nicaragua Managua 6.80M 130,373 km² Americas 139 Turkmenistan Ashgabat 7.06M 488,100 km² Asia 140 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek 7.28M 199,951 km² Asia 141 Libya Tripoli 7.46M 1,759,540 km² Africa 142 Hong Kong City of Victoria 7.53M 1,104 km² Asia 143 Laos Vientiane 7.65M 236,800 km² Asia 144 Togo Lomé 8.10M 56,785 km² Africa 145 Sierra Leone Freetown 9.08M 71,740 km² Africa 146 Switzerland Bern 9.08M 41,284 km² Europe 147 Belarus Minsk 9.11M 207,600 km² Europe 148 Austria Vienna 9.20M 83,871 km² Europe 149 Hungary Budapest 9.54M 93,028 km² Europe 150 Cuba Havana 9.75M 109,884 km² Americas 151 Honduras Tegucigalpa 9.89M 112,492 km² Americas 152 Israel Jerusalem 10.13M 21,937 km² Asia 153 Azerbaijan Baku 10.24M 86,600 km² Asia 154 Greece Athens 10.40M 131,990 km² Europe 155 Tajikistan Dushanbe 10.50M 143,100 km² Asia 156 Sweden Stockholm 10.61M 450,295 km² Europe 157 Portugal Lisbon 10.75M 92,090 km² Europe 158 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo 10.77M 48,671 km² Americas 159 Czechia Prague 10.88M 78,865 km² Europe 160 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi 11.29M 83,600 km² Asia 161 Bolivia Sucre 11.37M 1,098,581 km² Americas 162 Jordan Amman 11.73M 89,342 km² Asia 163 Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 11.78M 462,840 km² Oceania 164 Belgium Brussels 11.83M 30,528 km² Europe 165 Haiti Port-au-Prince 11.87M 27,750 km² Americas 166 Tunisia Tunis 11.97M 163,610 km² Africa 167 Burundi Gitega 12.33M 27,834 km² Africa 168 Benin Porto-Novo 13.22M 112,622 km² Africa 169 Rwanda Kigali 14.10M 26,338 km² Africa 170 Guinea Conakry 14.36M 245,857 km² Africa 171 South Sudan Juba 15.79M 619,745 km² Africa 172 Zimbabwe Harare 17.07M 390,757 km² Africa 173 Cambodia Phnom Penh 17.58M 181,035 km² Asia 174 Guatemala Guatemala City 18.08M 108,889 km² Americas 175 Netherlands Amsterdam 18.10M 41,865 km² Europe 176 Ecuador Quito 18.10M 276,841 km² Americas 177 Senegal Dakar 18.59M 196,722 km² Africa 178 Romania Bucharest 19.04M 238,391 km² Europe 179 Chad N'Djamena 19.34M 1,284,000 km² Africa 180 Somalia Mogadishu 19.66M 637,657 km² Africa 181 Zambia Lusaka 19.69M 752,612 km² Africa 182 Chile Santiago 20.21M 756,102 km² Americas 183 Kazakhstan Astana 20.43M 2,724,900 km² Asia 184 Malawi Lilongwe 20.73M 118,484 km² Africa 185 Sri Lanka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 21.76M 65,610 km² Asia 186 Mali Bamako 22.40M 1,240,192 km² Africa 187 Taiwan Taipei 23.32M 36,197 km² Asia 188 Burkina Faso Ouagadougou 24.07M 272,967 km² Africa 189 Syria Damascus 25.62M 185,180 km² Asia 190 North Korea Pyongyang 25.95M 120,538 km² Asia 191 Niger Niamey 26.31M 1,267,000 km² Africa 192 Australia Canberra 27.54M 7,692,024 km² Oceania 193 Venezuela Caracas 28.52M 916,445 km² Americas 194 Cameroon Yaoundé 29.44M 475,442 km² Africa 195 Nepal Kathmandu 29.91M 147,181 km² Asia 196 Ivory Coast Yamoussoukro 31.72M 322,463 km² Africa 197 Madagascar Antananarivo 31.73M 587,041 km² Africa 198 Yemen Sana'a 32.68M 527,968 km² Asia 199 Ukraine Kyiv 32.86M 603,550 km² Europe 200 Ghana Accra 33.74M 238,533 km² Africa 201 Mozambique Maputo 34.09M 801,590 km² Africa 202 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 34.23M 330,803 km² Asia 203 Peru Lima 34.35M 1,285,216 km² Americas 204 Saudi Arabia Riyadh 35.30M 2,149,690 km² Asia 205 Angola Luanda 36.17M 1,246,700 km² Africa 206 Morocco Rabat 36.83M 446,550 km² Africa 207 Poland Warsaw 37.39M 312,679 km² Europe 208 Uzbekistan Tashkent 37.86M 447,400 km² Asia 209 Canada Ottawa 41.65M 9,984,670 km² Americas 210 Afghanistan Kabul 43.84M 652,230 km² Asia 211 Uganda Kampala 45.91M 241,550 km² Africa 212 Iraq Baghdad 46.12M 438,317 km² Asia 213 Argentina Buenos Aires 46.74M 2,780,400 km² Americas 214 Algeria Algiers 47.40M 2,381,741 km² Africa 215 Spain Madrid 49.32M 505,992 km² Europe 216 South Korea Seoul 51.16M 100,210 km² Asia 217 Myanmar Naypyidaw 51.32M 676,578 km² Asia 218 Sudan Khartoum 51.66M 1,886,068 km² Africa 219 Colombia Bogotá 53.06M 1,141,748 km² Americas 220 Kenya Nairobi 53.33M 580,367 km² Africa 221 Italy Rome 58.93M 301,336 km² Europe 222 South Africa Pretoria 63.10M 1,221,037 km² Africa 223 Thailand Bangkok 65.86M 513,120 km² Asia 224 France Paris 66.35M 543,908 km² Europe 225 Tanzania Dodoma 68.15M 947,303 km² Africa 226 United Kingdom London 69.28M 244,376 km² Europe 227 Germany Berlin 83.49M 357,114 km² Europe 228 Turkey Ankara 85.66M 783,562 km² Asia 229 Iran Tehran 85.96M 1,648,195 km² Asia 230 Vietnam Hanoi 101.34M 331,212 km² Asia 231 Egypt Cairo 107.27M 1,002,450 km² Africa 232 Ethiopia Addis Ababa 111.65M 1,104,300 km² Africa 233 DR Congo Kinshasa 112.83M 2,344,858 km² Africa 234 Philippines Manila 114.12M 342,353 km² Asia 235 Japan Tokyo 123.21M 377,930 km² Asia 236 Mexico Mexico City 130.58M 1,964,375 km² Americas 237 Russia Moscow 146.03M 17,098,246 km² Europe 238 Bangladesh Dhaka 169.83M 147,570 km² Asia 239 Brazil Brasília 213.42M 8,515,767 km² Americas 240 Nigeria Abuja 223.80M 923,768 km² Africa 241 Pakistan Islamabad 241.50M 796,095 km² Asia 242 Indonesia Jakarta 284.44M 1,904,569 km² Asia 243 United States Washington, D.C. 340.11M 9,525,067 km² Americas 244 China Beijing 1.41B 9,706,961 km² Asia 245 India New Delhi 1.42B 3,287,263 km² Asia
Frequently Asked Questions What is the least populated country in the world? Vatican City is the least populated country with approximately 800 residents. Nauru is the least populated republic with about 10,000 people.
What are the smallest island nations? The smallest island nations by population include Nauru (10,000), Tuvalu (11,000), Palau (18,000), and Marshall Islands (42,000).