WORLD'S SMALLEST ECONOMIES

THE SMALLEST ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD

The World's Smallest Economies (WSE) are defined as nations with the smallest economic potential in the world, collectively generating just 1 % of global GDP, with each having a GDP of less than US$ 29 billion (2019). A total 93 countries meet these criteria, representing almost half of all nations worldwide. Together the WSE cover 12.3% of world's total land area the area—roughly the size of the South American continent—and are home to over 7.3 % of the global population, which exceeds that of the entire EU. Moreover, the WSE group's Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) account for 22.7% of the global total, nearly equivalent in size to the African continent.

93 World’s Smallest Economies

1%
of Global GDP

7.3%
of Global Populaton

12.3%
of Global Land Area

Why the World's Smallest Economies are important to the world?

WSE group is home to almost 600 million people, a significant proportion of whom are young and untapped human resources
WSE group's land area is 17.5 million km², of which a substantial portion is suitable for agricultural development
Over 2/3 of the WSE have a coastal location, including 35 island states and 32 continental countries with sea access
Over 2/3 of the WSE have access to an Exclusive Economic Zone, covering a total area of 30.7 km², which is rich in valuable maritime resources
Over half of the WSE benefit from tropical and subtropical that remains warm throughout the year
Many of the WSE possess valuable mineral resources formed through geomorphological processes over hundreds of years
Majority of the WSE have a unique and original cultural heritage of African, Buddhist, Islamic, Latin American, Pacific, Slavic Orthodox, and Western traditions
Majority of the WSE offer a pristine natural environment

The 93 World’s Smallest Economies on six continents

North & South America - 17 countries

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados,

Belize, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti,

Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,

Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago

Europe - 14 countries

Albania, Armenia, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, North Macedonia, San Marino

Asia - 14 countries

Afghanistan, Bhutan, Brunei, Cyprus, Cambodia,

East Timor, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia,

Nepal, North Korea, Tajikistan, Yemen

Australia - 12 countries

Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Africa - 36 countries

Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde,

Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti,

Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea,

Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda,

Saint Thomas and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo, Zimbabwe

The World's Smallest Economies differ in terms of ...

Economic Potential: from US$ 45.9 million GDP (Tuvalu) to US$ 28.6 billion GDP (Cyprus)
Level of Economic Development: from US$ 93 per capita (Somalia) to US$ 209,241 per capita (Monaco)
Level of Socioeconomic Development, expressed in Human Development Index: from 0.384 (Somalia) to 0.997 (Cyprus)
Population: from 11,000 (Tuvalu) to almost 38 million (Afghanistan)
Land Area: from 2 km² (Monaco) to 1.5 million km² (Mongolia)
Climate: from equatorial (e.g., Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, Maldives, and Saint Thomas and Principe) to circumpolar (Iceland) climate.
Sea Access: from 26 landlocked countries (e.g., Chad, Laos, Nepal, and Afghanistan), 32 continental countries with access to the sea (e.g., Estonia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and North Korea) to 35 island countries (e.g., Barbados, East Timor, Madagascar, and Tonga)
Culture: from African (e.g., Liberia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe), Latin American (e.g., Grenada, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis), Islamic (e.g., Brunei, Chad, and Djibouti), Pacific (e.g., Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Tuvalu), Slavic-Orthodox (e.g., Albania, Georgia, and North Macedonia) and Western (e.g., Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Malta), to Buddhist (e.g., Bhutan, Cambodia, and Laos), and Hindu (Nepal) culture
Religion: from Christian (e.g. Armenia, Honduras, Kiribati, and Zimbabwe), Islamic (e.g. Brunei, Djibouti, Senegal), Hindu (e.g., Nepal), Buddhist (e.g., Bhutan, and Mongolia) to tribal (e.g., Mali, and Papua New Guinea) religions as the main faiths
Historical Background: countries affected by centuries of colonialism (e.g., Cyprus, Gabon, Guyana, and Sao Thomas and Príncipe), those under decades of socialism (e.g., Estonia, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan), and states with long-standing independence (e.g., Liberia, Nepal, and San Marino)
Statehood Length: from countries that are long-established (e.g., San Marino), to those that are recently formed (e.g., East Timor and South Sudan)
Governance Structure: from democratic (e.g., Andorra, Botswana, and Estonia) to authoritarian (e.g., Eritrea, and North Korea) countries
Forms of Governance: from monarchy (e.g., Bhutan, Brunei, and Lesotho), to republic (e.g., Belize, Kyrgyzstan, and Micronesia)