Tiny Countries/Territories
12–27–16, Adil
Planet Earth 2’s first episode was about islands, so it piqued my interest. I started wondering about what the smallest/weirdest islands were, and below are just a few examples from some preliminary research.
- Nauru. Population: 10,084 (October 2011 census)
This tiny nation, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is situated in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbor, Banaba Island in Kiribati, lies 186 miles to the east. Nauru measures in at a whopping 8 square miles.
The island was originally settled by native peoples from Micronesia and Polynesia. Through a bunch of wars and treaties, it basically traded hands from (or was controlled by) Germany → (Australia + New Zealand + UK) → Japanese troops in WWII → UN trusteeship → Independence in 1968. By land area, it is the third smallest country in the world, only after Vatican City and Monaco. The whole island is pretty much made up of phosphate rock, so it got mined like crazy. Because of this, in the late 1960s and early 70s, Nauru actually boasted the highest per-capita income of any sovereign nation in the world. But, like Venezuela today, they gg’ed themselves and now none of the remaining phosphate resources are economically viable to extract, and the country is broke. To make money, the island briefly became a tax haven. From 2001–08, and again after 2012, it accepts aid from Australia in exchange for hosting the Nauru detention center (aka “regional processing centre) — an offshore Australian immigration detention center. Apparently, it is illegal to seek asylum Down Under via boat; if you get detained, you can get sent here (or Manus Island in Papua New Guinea) for “offshore processing,” which really just means you’re screwed and are definitely never going to Australia. Most get returned to their original country. Some real hell has gone down on this island though; apparently asylum-seekers found to be genuine refugees have been detained on the island since mid-2013. For this reason, some have called the island “Australia’s dumping ground for refugees.”
2. Montserrat. Population: 4,900 (2012 estimate)
Montserrat is a Caribbean island measuring about 39 square miles. For some perspective, check out this blip on the map:
It was named by yours truly, Christopher ass-hat Columbus, in 1493. “Montserrat” means “serrated mountain” in Catalan — actually a pretty cool name. You can kind of see why it got this name from the pic below:
“Wow, this is way bigger than that pesky little Nauru! How come its population is less than half of Nauru’s, though?” I’m glad you asked. You see, Montserrat had a bit of a problem. On July 18th, 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano decided it was going to erupt. This volcano, located on the southern part of the island, exploded and destroyed Montserrat’s quaint Georgian-era capital of Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island’s population had to flee, mainly to the UK. Because of the disaster, folks from Montserrat were granted full residency rights to the UK in 1998, and citizenship in 2002.
Volcanic activity continued for years after the first 1995 eruption and still continues; in fact, Montserrat is the world’s most studied volcano, and it is regarded by some as a “Modern Day Pompeii” in the Caribbean.
Though it’s been relatively quiet since 2010, essentially half the country remains an “Exclusion Zone” where humanity is only granted limited access because of the active volcano.
3. Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Population: 7,729 (2014)
No wild history here, but the geography itself is pretty ridiculous. This collection of islands is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic. As you might guess, there are 3 main islands: Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. They are rather spread out… :
To be precise, the distance between the northern tip of Ascension Island and the southern tip of Gough Island is 2,263 miles. This is a bit more than the distance from good ol’ Knoxville, TN to Los Angeles, CA. However, the total land area clocks in at 152 square miles. They’re all in the same time zone.
The islands are of volcanic origin (and Tristan da Cunha is still active), and all were discovered by Portuguese explorers separately between the years of 1502 and 1504. The Territory is often referred to by the name of its principal island, Saint Helena. Back in the late 1500s, English warships began to lie in wait in the area to attack Portuguese carracks on their way home from India.
4. Niue. Population: 1,612 (2016 estimate)
This cutely-named lil island sits in the South Pacific, and comes in at a massive 100 square miles. It’s name literally is cute, as Niue translates to “behold the coconut.”
Its citizens are predominantly Polynesian and refer to their island as “The Rock.” Niue is “associated with” New Zealand, who does their diplomacy for them. Let’s take a step back to appreciate that this “country” of sorts has a population smaller than the size of many American high schools, but they are a freely-governing state and are a full member of some UN specialized agencies (such as UNESCO, though they are not officially a member of the UN).
This place is apparently awesome though. I’ll let Wikipedia describe its many virtues: “In 2003, Niue became the first country in the world to offer free wireless internet to all its inhabitants. Niue Island Organic Farmers Association is currently paving way to an MEA (Multilateral Environmental Agreement) committed to making Niue the world’s first fully organic nation. A leader in green growth, Niue is also transitioning to solar power, with help from the European Union. In 2015, Niue started providing phone landlines to all of its inhabitants. In 2008, Niue became the first country in the world where laptops are provided to all its school students. A highly democratic nation, Niueans enjoy high freedom, with elections every 3 years. There are no political parties in Niue, all are independents.”
Sadly, the island was hit by Cyclone Heta in January 2004, which slowed some progress down. The place is beautiful, though: Niue is one of the world’s largest coral islands (basically island created by dead coral), the terrain includes steep limestone cliffs along the coast with a central plateau reaching 60 meters above sea level, a coral reef surrounds the island, and there are many limestone caves around the coast.
5. Tokelau. Population: 1,411 (October 2011)
Behold another dope New-Zealand-ish island. “Tokelau” translates as “north wind.” Its island cuteness rivals even that of Niue, for this reason: it consists of 3 tropical coral atolls, with a cumulative land area of… 4 square miles.
I would be willing to bet that cartographers are forced to put that speck on the map only as a courtesy to Tokelauans, because there’s no way you can represent 4 square miles to scale on a globe pic. But I digress.
Back to dopeness: “Tokelau is the first 100% solar powered nation in the world. It is a leader in renewable energy. Tokelau is a free and democratic nation with elections every three years. All run as independents; there are no political parties in Tokelau.” Interestingly, 25.4% of the territory are immigrants — higher than Canada (18.7%). Tokelau has the smallest economy in the world, with a 1993 GDP estimate coming in at $1.5 million.
My personal favorite part about this place: its capital rotates yearly between the three atolls. Fairness!
6. Pitcairn Islands
Alright folks, this is the holy grail… the population of the Pitcairn Islands is… 49. Yes, 49 people. Total. That is the 2014 estimate (2010 census was 45). Pitcairn is the least populous national jurisdiction in the world.
The Pitcairn Islands are a group of 4 volcanic islands in the Southern Pacific, and it is technically a British Overseas Territory (idk how this relates to the national jurisdiction thing). They were formed by upwelling magma called the Pitcairn hotspot. The 4 islands are spread out over several hundred miles of ocean, and sum up to 18 square miles. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island measuring in at about 2.2 miles from east to west, is inhabited.
Who are these goons that live here? The citizens can be traced back to 4 families, mostly descendants of the Bounty mutineers (literally people who refused to get back on an English ship in the 1700s) and Tahitians. Dudes from this ship started bangin’ local Polynesian women and never went back.
Sex has played a precarious role in the history of Pitcairn, especially recently. In 2004, charges were laid against seven men living on Pitcairn and six living abroad — nearly a third of the male population. After extensive trials, most of the men — including the mayor — were convicted, some with multiple counts of sexual encounters with children. The British government set up a prison on the island, and men served sentences from 2006–10. Because of this history, an “entry clearance application” must be made for any child under the age of 16 prior to visiting Pitcairn. Presumably for the same reason, as of 2016, The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not allow their staff based on Pitcairn to be accompanied by their children. Yikes.
Random, more lighthearted facts from Pitcairn:
- Pitcairn has one of the best examples of disease-free bee populations anywhere in the world and the honey produced was and remains exceptionally high in quality.
- Tourism plays a major role on Pitcairn, providing the locals with 80% of their annual income. It focuses on small groups coming by charter vessel and living in home-stays. Since 2009, the government has been operating the MV Claymore II as the island’s only dedicated passenger/cargo vessel, providing adventure tourism holidays to Pitcairn for three-day or ten-day visits. You will be at sea for at least two nights before arriving at Pitcairn Island (there is no airport). Tourists stay with local families and experience the island’s culture while (literally) contributing to the local economy.
- A birthday celebration or the arrival of a ship or yacht will involve the entire Pitcairn community in a public dinner in the Square, Adamstown.
- Diesel generators provide the island with electricity from 8 am to 1 pm, and from 5 pm to 10 pm. The only qualified high voltage electricity technician on Pitcairn, who manages the electricity grid, reached the age of 65 in 2014. So Dave, if you’re tryna put your electricity degree to work….
- A diaspora survey projected that by 2045, if nothing were done, only three people of working age would be left on the island, with the rest being very old. So, there is potential extinction.
- All houses are connected to the internet and WiFi is possible. There are also two satellite phones on the island for emergencies… but there are no mobile phone networks on the island. According to their immigration website, it is possible to receive and send text messages if you register before leaving your country of origin.
The Island has lots of interesting history, which you can explore further at the detailed Wiki page :). Hope y’all enjoyed this little foray into some weird corners of the Earth.
