Which sovereign country is the smallest in the Americas by total area?

Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign country in the Americas by total area, covering about 261 square kilometres.

The country is a two-island federation in the eastern Caribbean. Saint Kitts is the larger and more populous island, while Nevis lies southeast across The Narrows. Basseterre, on Saint Kitts, is the federal capital.

The islands became independent from the United Kingdom in 1983. Their small size is sometimes confused with their population: several Caribbean states have fewer residents, but Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest by land area among sovereign countries in the Americas.

Nearby Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Grenada are also compact island states, yet each has a larger total area. Saint Kitts and Nevis is therefore the answer when the comparison is geographical area rather than population or coastline length.