European microstates
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. Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Vatican City are monarchies. These states trace their status back to the first millennium or the early second millennium except for Liechtenstein, created in the 18th century.
Microstates are small independent states recognised by larger states. According to the qualitative definition suggested by Zbigniew Dumieński, 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."
In line with this definition, only Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Vatican City and San Marino qualify as "microstates" as only these states are sovereignties functioning in close, but voluntary, association with their respective larger neighbours. Luxembourg, which is far larger than all these microstates combined, nonetheless shares some of these characteristics. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are sometimes classed as “microstates”, but are not fully sovereign as they are crown dependencies of the United Kingdom and do not represent themselves in international bodies such as the U.N. Kosovo, Cyprus and Montenegro are small in size but are generally not classed as microstates due to their larger size and population. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, by some definitions can be considered to be microstates, however they lack recognition from the international community but are considered de facto independent states.
List of states often labelled as microstates
These may or may not be considered microstates.| Arms | Flag | Name | Capital city | Area | Population | Notes | |
 nowrap|AndorraConvert|468|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=onCoat of arms|Liechtenstein|text=noneEconomic policies and relationship with the European UnionThe European microstates are all of limited size and population. They also have limited natural resources. As a result, they often 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 and San Marino, Andorra and Monaco are part of the EU customs union while Liechtenstein is in a customs union with Switzerland.Similar entities and definitionsWhat countries are microstates is not clearly defined. However, some institutions use specific definitions. Two institutions, the World Bank and the IMF, define them as states with a population of no more than 200,000. However, others have focused on area, not population. The larger microstates are less likely to be considered such, and while Malta may sometimes be considered one, it is not common to describe Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, or Luxembourg as microstates. These are more likely to be deemed a small state, which has been defined as a state of fewer than 1.5 million people, though some go as high as several million if the state has limited land area.The World Bank uses a threshold of 1.5 million people to describe a small state, and less than 200,000 for microstates. Some researchers have suggested that a microstate has up to one million in population, and one as 1.5 million, but that is also used as threshold for small states, not microstates. The World Bank settled on 200 thousand for a microstate, as did the IMF. A microstate has also been defined as less than the 100 thousand population. A Czech study on microstates in the year 2000 defined three sizes of microstate and one subtype. The Czech definition focuses on land area, but also noted population:
A paper in 2020 discussed the history of the smallest European states, and compared Malta and Cyprus to Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino. The Crown dependencies are the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, are small territories that have a high degree of autonomy and are not part of the United Kingdom. The Crown dependencies have a small territory and population with the Isle of Man being the largest out of the three having a size of 572 km2 and the smallest being Guernsey with a size of 78 km2 and a population of 67,334. However, due to being not fully sovereign as the United Kingdom is responsible for their defence, international relations and citizenship and are also possessions of the British crown and also including their status as islands, they are sometimes excluded from being microstates. Including both traditional microstates and small states in the European region yields several more examples, such as Cyprus, Kosovo, Luxembourg, and Montenegro.
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. 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 115 states, 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. Historical small territoriesThe 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:
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