A European microstate or European ministate is a very small sovereign state in Europe. In modern usage, it typically refers to the six smallest states in Europe by area: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City (the Holy See). [1]
All save Malta and San Marino are monarchies (the Vatican City is an elective monarchy ruled by the Pope). These states trace their status back to the first millennium or the early second millennium except for Liechtenstein, created in the 17th century.
Microstates are small independent states recognised by larger states. According to the qualitative definition suggested by Zbigniew Dumieński (2014), microstates can also be viewed as "modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints." [2]
In line with this definition, only Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino qualify as "microstates" as only these states are sovereignties functioning in close, but voluntary, association with their respective larger neighbours. Luxembourg and Cyprus which are far larger than all the European microstates combined, nonetheless share some of these characteristics. [3]
Arms | Flag | Microstate | Capital city | Area | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andorra | Andorra la Vella | 468 km2 (181 sq mi) | The Principality of Andorra used to be a feudal remnant high in the Pyrenees, a fiefdom held jointly by the Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the Count of Foix in France, with a population of approximately 89,000. The County of Foix merged into the French Crown in 1607 and thus the King of France and then the President of France took the place of the Count of Foix. Since 1993 Andorra has been a parliamentary democracy, but it maintains two Co-Princes, one being France's elected head of state and the other being the Bishop of Urgell. It has been independent since 1278. Catalan is its sole official language. | ||
Liechtenstein | Vaduz | 160 km2 (62 sq mi) | The Principality of Liechtenstein is the sole remaining polity of the Holy Roman Empire, having been created out of the counties of Vaduz and Schellenberg in 1719 as a sovereign fief for the wealthy Austrian House of Liechtenstein. Its population is over 35,000. Owing to its geographic position between Switzerland and Austria, it was not swallowed up during the reorganisation of Germany following the French Revolution, and avoided incorporation into the German Empire later in the 19th century. | ||
Malta | Valletta | 316 km2 (122 sq mi) | The Republic of Malta is an archipelago of seven islands in the central Mediterranean Sea and has a population of around 446,000 (2013 estimate), [4] meaning it has a larger population than several non-microstates, notably Iceland which has a population of around 325,000 (2014 estimate). [5] People first arrived about 5200 BC from the nearby island of Sicily. It gained independence from the United Kingdom as a Commonwealth realm in 1964, and became a republic in 1974. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the only microstate to be a full member of the European Union. Roman Catholicism is the official state religion. | ||
Monaco | None (city-state) | 2.02 km2 (0.78 sq mi) | The Principality of Monaco on the French Riviera, ruled by the House of Grimaldi since the 13th century, achieved full independence only following the cession of the surrounding Nice region from Piedmont to France in 1860. Monaco is located on the Mediterranean Sea, tucked into the Maritime Alps and has a population of around 35,000. Its constitutional monarchy is led by Prince Albert II. The population is 95% Roman Catholic. French, English, Italian, and Monégasque are the most widely spoken languages. Its economy is based on light manufacturing, banking and financial services, shipping and trade, R&D in biotechnology, marine environments, and tourism. | ||
San Marino | Città di San Marino | 61 km2 (24 sq mi) | The Republic of San Marino, [6] also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, [6] is the oldest surviving sovereign constitutional republic in the world. [7] It is the continuation of a monastic community founded in 301 A.D. and is the last survivor of a large number of self-governing Italian communes from the Middle Ages, having survived the consolidation of Italy into medium-sized territorial states in the 15th century and the unification of Italy in the 19th century, largely owing to its remote location in a valley of the Apennines and its decision to offer sanctuary to leaders of the unification movement. It has a population of approximately 30,000. | ||
Vatican City | None (city-state) | 0.49 km2 (0.19 sq mi) [8] | A sovereign Vatican state was established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Pope and the government of Benito Mussolini, in which the Pope recognised the Italian state in exchange for establishing Roman Catholicism as the state religion, and recognition of the Pope's sovereignty over a tiny state entirely surrounded by the city of Rome. Its population is about 800, of whom about 450 reside in its territory. [9] The Holy See is a unique sovereign entity under international law distinct from Vatican City with the pope as the head of both, maintaining diplomatic and official relations with over 170 states and entities and participating in various international organisations either in its own capacity or on behalf of Vatican City. | ||
The European microstates are all of limited size and population. They also have limited natural resources. As a result, they have adopted special economic policies, typically involving low levels of taxation and few restrictions on external financial investment. Malta is a full member of the European Union, while the other five European microstates have obtained special relations with the European Union. Many of the microstates have also entered into a customs union with their larger neighbours to improve their economic situation (Vatican City and San Marino with Italy, Liechtenstein with Switzerland, Monaco with France). Most of them lack clearly marked borders; for example, Monaco forms a continuous metropolitan area with its neighbouring French communes (the largest being Beausoleil) and has many streets running across or along the border.
While the microstates have sovereignty over their own territory, there are also a number of small autonomous territories, which despite having (in almost all cases) their own independent government, executive branch, legislature, judiciary, police, and other trappings of independence, are nonetheless under the sovereignty of another state or monarch.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a Catholic lay order that is a traditional example of a sovereign entity under international law other than a state.
Unlike the Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City, the Order has no territory. However, its headquarters, located in Palazzo Malta and Villa Malta, are granted extraterritoriality by Italy, and the same status is recognised by Malta regarding its historical headquarters, located in Fort St Angelo. [10] The Order is the direct successor to the medieval Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta, and today operates as a largely charitable and ceremonial organisation.
It has permanent non-state observer status at the United Nations, has full diplomatic relations, including embassies, with 100 states [11] and is in more informal relationships with five others. It issues its own stamps, coins, passports, and license plates, and has its own army medical corps.
The wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars caused the European map to be redrawn several times. A number of short-lived client republics were created, and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire gave sovereignty to each of its many surviving Kleinstaaten . The situation was not stabilised until after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Following World War I and World War II a number of territories gained temporary status as international zones, protectorates or occupied territories. A few of them are mentioned here:
Name | Start date | End date | Modern-day state(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Couto Misto | 10th century | 1868 | Spain/Portugal | Independent microstate on the border between Spain and Portugal |
Duchy of Naples | 840 | 1137 | Italy | The Duchy survived the withdrawal of the Byzantine Empire and remained independent until subsumed by the Kingdom of Sicily in 1137 |
Republic of Lucca | 1160 | 1805 | Italy | The Republic was absorbed into the Principality of Lucca and Piombino (a client state of the First French Empire) between 1805 and 1815, and formed the independent Duchy of Lucca between 1815 and 1847, as a consequence of the Congress of Vienna |
County of Santa Fiora | 1274 | 1633 | Italy | |
Senarica | 1343 | 1797 | Italy | Smallest independent state to hold that distinction for so long |
Gersau | 1433 | 1798 | Switzerland | |
Republic of Mulhouse | 1347 | 1798 | France | |
Republic of Ragusa | 1358 | 1808 | Dubrovnik, Croatia | |
Republic of Cospaia | 1440 | 1826 | Italy | Created after an error by Pope Eugene IV during the sale of territory to the Republic of Florence. A small strip of land went unmentioned in the sale treaty and its inhabitants promptly declared themselves independent. |
Republic of Saint-Malo | 1590 | 1594 | Ille-et-Vilaine, France | |
Republic of Paulava | 1769 | 1795 | Lithuania | A completely independent republic founded by a Lithuanian noble Paweł Ksawery Brzostowski with its own President, parliament, laws and army. The state was recognised by the Grand Duke and King Stanisław August Poniatowski. [12] [13] |
Gozo | 1798 | 1800 | Gozo, Malta | |
Free City of Kraków | 1815 | 1846 | Kraków Poland | |
Neutral Moresnet | 1816 | 1920 | Kelmis, Belgium | Neutral Moresnet was a condominium between the Netherlands and Prussia over a disputed zinc mine. [14] |
Free Cities of Menton and Roquebrune | 1848 | 1849 | France | The Free Cities of Menton and Roquebrune seceded from Monaco in 1848. In November 1849 they were annexed by Sardinia, and in 1861 were annexed by France. |
Republic of Kruševo | 3 August 1903 | 13 August 1903 | Municipality of Kruševo, North Macedonia | |
Free State of Schwenten | 6 January 1919 | 10 August 1919 | Świętno, Poland | |
Free State of Bottleneck | 10 January 1919 | 23 February 1923 | Hesse, Germany | |
Free City of Danzig | 1920 | 1939 | Gdańsk, Poland | |
Klaipeda Region | 1920 | 1923 | Lithuania | The territory was placed under French control under the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, but was occupied by Lithuania in 1923 in the Klaipėda Revolt |
Free State of Fiume | 1920 | 1924 | Rijeka, Croatia | |
Territory of the Saar Basin | 1920 | 1935 | Saarland, Germany | Following World War I, the Saar was a League of Nations mandate under French control, until a referendum in 1935 saw over 90% of voters opt to return to Germany. |
Saar Protectorate | 1945 | 1956 | Saarland, Germany | Following World War II, France governed the Saar directly as a protectorate, surrounded by France proper to the west and the French Zone of Occupation of Germany to the east. |
Free Territory of Trieste | 1947 | 1954 | Divided between Italy, Slovenia and Croatia | Trieste had been occupied by Italy following the end of World War I, and was notionally recreated as a Free Territory following the end of World War II, when it was divided between areas of Allied and Yugoslav control, formalised in 1954 with the Allied part being returned to Italy. |
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates have focused on identifying qualitative features that are linked to their size and population, such as partial delegation of their sovereignty to larger states, such as for international defense.
Each entry below presents a list of topics about a specific nation or state (country), followed by a link to the main article for that country. Entries for nations are in bold type, while those for subnational entities are in normal (unbolded) type.
An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory and a major party—usually a larger nation.
Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia, is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographical region within Europe, but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into South-eastern Europe or Southern Europe.
UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in:
A customs union is the principal area of robust formal agreement between the Principality of Andorra and the European Union (EU). Andorra borders two EU member states: France and Spain.
The Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) is a biennial multi-sport event, launched by the Republic of San Marino, organized by and featuring the National Olympic Committees of ten European small states since 1985. The Games are held at the end of May or beginning of June and feature competition in nine Summer Olympic sports.
Currently, all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).
The Athletic Association of Small States of Europe (AASSE) is a transnational organization representing the athletic interests of smaller European nations. It was created following a proposal by the Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg delegations at the Congress of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in Barcelona in 1989.
The international status and usage of the euro has grown since its launch in 1999. When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and replaced minor currencies tied to pre-euro currencies, such as in Monaco. Four small states have been given a formal right to use the euro, and to mint their own coins, but all other usage outside the eurozone has been unofficial. With or without an agreement, these countries, unlike those in the eurozone, do not participate in the European Central Bank or the Eurogroup.
Report from Practically Nowhere is a 1959 humorous travelogue by American journalist John Sack, illustrated by Shel Silverstein. The book consists of thirteen profiles of microstates, principalities, autonomous areas, and other places visited by the author:
Relations between the Republic of San Marino and the European Union (EU) began in February 1983. San Marino is completely surrounded by one EU member state, Italy.
Relations between the Principality of Monaco and the European Union (EU) are primarily conducted through France. Through that relationship Monaco directly participates in certain EU policies. Monaco is an integral part of the EU customs territory and VAT area, and therefore applies most measures on excise duties and VAT. Monaco borders one EU member state: France. However this relationship does not extend to external trade. Preferential trade agreements between the EU and third countries apply only to goods originating from the customs territory – Monaco may not claim EU origin in this respect.
The 2021 Games of the Small States of Europe, also formerly known as the XIX Games of the Small States of Europe, was a cancelled sporting event, previously scheduled to take place in Andorra la Vella, the capital city of Andorra. Andorra previously held the 1991 and the 2005 installments of the Games. The 2021 games were cancelled due to the rescheduling of the 2020 Summer Olympics in July 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Andorra looking to instead host the 2025 games.
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