Category Smallest Countries of the World

            Panama is a country in Central America on the Isthmus of Panama, the land bridge between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean that connects North and South America. The capital and largest city is Panama City.

            Since 1914, the 82-km long Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has afforded a long-sought shortcut for shipping and assures the country’s standing as one of the most strategic transportation hubs of the world.

            The home of several Native American peoples, such as the Guaymi, Kuna, and Choco, Panama became the first Spanish colony on the Pacific, celebrated as “the door to the seas and key to the universe”. Panama became an independent state in 1903, after gaining its sovereignty from Spain.

            Panama’s official language is Spanish although a large number of Panamanians are bilingual with English being the most common second language. Since 2010, Panama has been the second-most competitive economy in Latin America, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. The currencies are the Balboa and the US dollar.

               Sierra Leone is a tropical country on the coast of West Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in south west, Liberia in south east, and it is half surrounded by Guinea in north and north east. The original Portuguese name, Serra Lyoa (Lion Mountains); referred to the range of hills that surrounds the harbour.

               Sierra Leone became independent from the United Kingdom on 27th April, 1961. Sierra Leone has a population of seven million people. Its largest city, chief port and capital is Freetown, the city is situated in the northwest of the country at the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean. Free-town, commands one of the world’s largest natural harbours.

               Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president. Although English is the official language, the Krio language, is the most widely spoken language, and is spoken by 97 per cent of the population. 

               Ireland is situated in the Atlantic Ocean and separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. It occupies the entire island except for the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin.

               Ireland is known for its wide expanses of lush, green fields. In fact, its nickname is the Emerald Isle.

               The island was an integral part of the United Kingdom from 1800 to 1922, when, by virtue of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6th, 1921, the Irish Free State was established as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. In 1937, the present day Irish state, Ireland was established. Ireland remained a member of the British Commonwealth until 1948.

               Ireland was transformed from a largely agricultural society into a modern, high-technology economy. The government of Ireland consists of an elected parliament, which makes the laws, and a president, who is head of state.

               Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a founding member of the Council of Europe. The official currency is the Euro. 

               Georgia is located in South-western Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe. Georgia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi.

               Georgia declared sovereignty in 1989 and independence in 1991. Georgia is a unitary semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.

               Georgia’s main economic activities include cultivation of agricultural products. The country imports nearly all of its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products.

               Georgia is a member of the UN. Increasing US economic and political influence in the country has long been a source of concern for neighbouring Russia, as have Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO and the EU. Georgian terrain is largely mountainous. More than a third of the country is covered by forest. 

               Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeast tip of India. It officially became Sri Lanka in 1972. The capital of the country is Colombo.

               Indo-Aryan emigration from India in the 5th century BC came to form the largest ethnic group on Sri Lanka today-the Sinhalese.

               Tamils, the second-largest ethnic group on the island, were originally from the Tamil region of India and emigrated between the 3rd century BC and AD 1200.

               The British took over in 1796, and Ceylon became an English Crown colony in 1802. On February 4th, 1948, after pressure from Ceylonese nationalist leaders, Ceylon became a self-governing dominion of the Commonwealth of Nations.

               Its recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war, which ended decisively when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.

               The official languages are Sinhala and Tamil. The currency is the Sri Lankan rupee. 

               Lithuania is an Eastern European country with a coastline at the Baltic Sea in the west. It is the largest, and most populous of the three Baltic States.

               Initially, Lithuania came under the rule of Russian Empire. As World War I neared its end, Lithuania’s Act of Independence was signed on 16th February 1918, declaring the founding of the modern Republic of Lithuania. In the midst of the Second World War, Lithuania was first occupied by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany. As World War II neared its end and the Germans retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania.

               The Lithuanian independence movement re-emerged in 1988. On 11th March 1990, a year before the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare itself independent.

               Lithuania is a member of the European Union. Its capital city is Vilnius. The official language is Lithuanian. The currency used is the Euro.