Countries That Are Barely Countries

For the truly knowledgeable: Name the world's small city states and tiny island nations based on the clues.
Quiz by GreatDane
Rate:
Last updated: May 19, 2022
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedMay 13, 2022
Times taken824
Average score48.8%
Rating4.71
Report this quizReport
8:30
Enter answer here
0
 / 43 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Area (sq km)
Pop (000)
Hint
Answer
440
99
Name means ancient and bearded; with islands called Green, Maiden and Prickly Pear.
Antigua and Barbuda
181
60
Group of 5 islands and 29 atolls in the Pacific; half the populace lives on Majuro.
Marshall Islands
13,943
342
Consists of 700 islands and 2,400 cays scattered across the western Atlantic.
Bahamas
2
39
Gambling resort on the Riviera with a prince as the ruling head of state.
Monaco
432
287
Sugar cane plantations started by Dutch Sephardim used involuntary Irish laborers sent by Cromwell.
Barbados
21
11
Phosphate-rock island in the Pacific with rich deposits near the surface that allowed for easy strip mining.
Nauru
4,033
483
Chain of 10 volcanic islands in the Atlantic found uninhabited by the Portuguese in the 1400s.
Cape Verde
2,842
202
Two western islands that are separate from an eastern chain of islands with the same name that is a US territory.
Samoa
9,251
1,189
Island divided by armed conflict between Greeks and Turks.
Cyprus
964
211
Two Portuguese colonial, slave islands sandwiched between two Spanish colonial, slave islands.
Sao Tome and Principe
751
72
Descendants of African slaves freed in 1833 who fought for Britain in World War I and World War II.
Dominica
455
98
115 islands in the Indian Ocean that were uninhabited until discovered by Europeans in the 1500s.
Seychelles
17,364
1,160
Kingdom with health problems; 26% of the king's subjects are subject to HIV.
eSwatini
261
52
The original name was San Cristobal y la Senora de los Nieves (Snows), which is odd for a tropical island.
St. Kitts and Nevis
10,689
2,174
Situated on narrow strips of land along both banks of a river.
Gambia
811
119
Archipelago of 32 atolls stretched across the western Pacific.
Kiribati
748
102
Devout Christian nation of 3 long, island chains in the South Pacific; over 25% of the populace is Mormon.
Tonga
160
38
Rich financial center known as a tax haven for billionaires.
Liechtenstein
389
110
The volcano La Sufriere is very active here; last erupting in 2021, forcing 16,000 to flee.
St. Vincent and Grenadines
316
516
Strategic island bastion famous for withstanding sieges, the last being in World War II.
Malta
468
77
Co-ruled by the bishop of one neighboring country and the president of the other neighbor.
Andorra
2,040
1,265
An island in the Indian Ocean 2,000 km from the African continent that claims islands another 2,000 km further away.
Mauritius
760
1,569
Consists of one main island with 50 natural islets and 33 artificial islets in the Middle East.
Bahrain
702
104
Archipelagoes of 607 islands spread across the Pacific Ocean.
Micronesia
5,765
460
Asian sultanate of two separate land areas on the world's third largest island.
Brunei
13,812
621
Thinly populated land whose name means Black Mountain.
Montenegro
1,861
851
Three islands between Mozambique and Madagascar.
Comoros
12,189
308
Discovery of sandalwood on these Pacific islands brought a rush of incense trade with China.
Vanuatu
459
18
The 340 islands that voted against joining Micronesia; they use the US dollar for currency.
Palau
23,200
922
Refueling center located at the southern mouth of the world's busiest shipping lane.
Djibouti
61
34
Founded as a monastery on top of Mount Titan; it elects 2 heads of state every 6 months.
San Marino
15,007
1,340
Eastern half of the eastern island of a long South East Asian chain of islands.
East Timor
697
5,463
Founded by the British at the tip of the Malay Peninsula in 1819; now heavily populated, it prohibits chewing gum.
Singapore
18,274
926
Two main islands with an ethnic mix of 55% Melanesians and 40% Indians who were brought in for plantation labor.
Fiji
28,400
652
Chain of large islands in the western Pacific; one was the site of the World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.
Solomon Islands
348
112
A ship dropped off nutmeg trees in 1843; now the island produces 40% of the world's nutmeg.
Grenada
617
184
French pirate La Clerc, known as Jambe de Bois for his wooden leg, set up his island base here.
St. Lucia
10.887
1,935
Created in 2008 after centuries of conflict between Albanian Muslims and Christian Serbs.
Kosovo
5,131
1,367
Two islands near Venezuela with an ethnic mix of 1/3 south Asian and 1/3 African, and a petrochemical industry.
Trinidad and Tobago
2,586
645
Seat for the Court of Justice for the European Union.
Luxembourg
26
12
Composed of 3 tiny islands and 6 tiny atolls in the Pacific.
Tuvalu
298
392
Chain of 26 very low atolls in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Maldives
1/2
1
A religious enclave with the Swiss Guards for a civil defense force.
Vatican
+2
Level 65
May 19, 2022
There is way too little time here, I knew all of them, but I couldn't read the last 8... More time, please... Nice quiz though!
+4
Level 70
May 19, 2022
Definitely agree it needs more time. Though I would've done much better if I had realized the answers were in alphabetical order. I would suggest randomizing the order though and adding more time. Great quiz!
+1
Level 64
May 19, 2022
Thank you, gentlemen, Barry90 and jayhiatt. I'm heartened you enjoyed the challenge.

An updated quiz has been submitted with the time extended to 8:30 and the order of answers no longer alphabetized.

+2
Level 66
May 19, 2022
The title of this quiz is not suitable. Almost all of the countries listed are no less a country than any other. Just because they are small nations (sometimes not even that) does not mean they are less of a country.
+2
Level 53
May 20, 2022
misleading title tbh, all those countries are just small, i thought the topic was barely recognized countries
+1
Level 64
Jun 24, 2023
I have no problem. The title acknowledges that the countries are countries. But there is certainly a difference between major countries, and city states and island nations.

As the humorous quip goes about South Carolina in the Civil War, "It's too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum."