What's the smallest country in the world?

What's the smallest country in the world? Vatican City is the smallest sovereign country, covering about 0.49 square kilometres inside Rome, Italy.

Vatican City became an independent state in 1929, when the Lateran Treaty settled the long dispute between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See. It is a unique city-state governed by the pope and serves as the headquarters of the Catholic Church. Its territory includes St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.

The answer is sometimes confused with Monaco, which is the second-smallest sovereign country by area, or Tuvalu, which is one of the world’s smallest island countries. “Funky Town” is not a country. Vatican City is also the smallest country by population, with fewer than 1,000 residents, although many people who work for the Holy See live outside its borders.

A related distinction is that the Holy See and Vatican City are not exactly the same thing: Vatican City is the physical sovereign state, while the Holy See is the central governing authority of the Catholic Church and conducts its international diplomacy.