Microstate
From Wikinfo
A microstate is a very small nation that is an internationally recognized sovereign state. Fiji, Monaco and San Marino are all microstates.
In terms of population the most extreme example is the Pitcairn Islands, with ca. 47 inhabitants. It is considered a separate country, though a dependent area of the United Kingdom. The smallest sovereign state is the Vatican City, with 911 inhabitants as of July 2003 and an area of only 0.44 sq km.
The term microstate is sometimes used as a synonym for micronation. The distinction is that micronations are not generally recognised as sovereign states except by other micronations.
See also: List of countries by population and List of countries by area.
Microstate is also used in thermodynamics to refer to a specific configuration of particles of a material: see microstate (thermodynamics).
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Microstate" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microstate, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
