What is the world’s smallest sovereign state by both area and population?

Vatican City is the world’s smallest sovereign state by both area and population.

Enclosed within Rome, Italy, Vatican City covers about 49 hectares, or 0.49 square kilometres. It was established as an independent state by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, which settled a long dispute between the Holy See and Italy. The pope is the state’s head of state and sovereign.

Vatican City is the administrative and spiritual centre of the Roman Catholic Church. Its territory includes St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Apostolic Palace. The state issues its own euro coins and postage stamps and maintains diplomatic relations through the Holy See.

Monaco is the second-smallest sovereign state by area, while San Marino is one of the world’s oldest surviving republics. Neither is as small as Vatican City.