The smallest is easy: Vatican City. It is less than 0.5 km^2 in area. ---------------------------------------- Reply to "Vatican City is a country?" While Vatican City is completely surrounded by the City of Rome, Italy, it *is* an independent nation. It has the smallest area and population - under a thousand - of any nation. It issues its own passports and currency (the Vatican Euro). It has its own security forces: the volunteer Swiss Guards. The Vatican maintains diplomatic missions and embassies in many countries. The independence of the Vatican helps to ensure that is cannot be exploited by the Italian government or any other government, as some have attempted in the past. I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, one of the many cities around the world in which the Vatican maintains an embassy and an ambassador, the Papal Nuncio to Canada.

My guess? The Vatican City, which has an area (recalling high school geography) of about a 1/4th of a mile (.2 miles or so). The Vatican City - why it is a country I'm not too sure, is surrounded by Rome, Italy. Technically you'd call it a microstate, but yep its still a country. It is the home of St. Peter's Basilica, the spiritual center for Roman Catholocism. The population is less than 800, most of whom only work for the church and serve temporary functions - leaving the Vatican City when their term of service is complete. I hope that's right, cause I don't want to be wrong...

i think it's swaziland...in africa

I think America cause they are cool even though im from Australia

I have a special place in my heart for England. It has amazing history, you can see it in its castles. England has an amazing landscape, like the White Cliffs of Dover, the English Countryside, Stonehenge. The buildings have that Old English charm, even the modern ones. The football stadiums are absolutely amazing. The food rocks, the culture in general is just absolutely beautiful. Every country has something special about them in their own way, so I guess all the countries rock!!

I don't believe there is such a thing as a "best country in the world".

There are so many countries with great things in them. Which to choose? I think I would have to say Italy, of all the countries I have visited. It has history, culture, a great way of life, the people have style and attitude, and the food is magnificent.

Many countries have different cool things to offer, it's a matter of what your personal preferences are.

New Zealand, home of the biggest movie screen in the world, Lord of the rings and melting glaciers

The one that doesn't string you up for what you think.

France & Ireland

The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Then tied for 2nd place there are many other countries.

Keeping in mind what Nevets has said, I would have to say Bosnia.

Having spent time from weeks to years in different countries I would have to say Paris would be the best place to live. The cultural and recreational assets of France are endless. I am American and love America but the people here are too obsessed with money and property. I love Greece also. Ireland and England rain too much. Denver is great as far as outside activities but culturally limited. Texas is too humid most of the year.

I would say USA, but I think Canada is very nice to.

Norway. It has the highest per capita income of anyEuropean country due to its immense oil wealth. All 5 million + of these people have got it really good in that icebox of a country. Want to get away from it all? Take a Norwegian cruise of course. I hear Swedish honeys aren't bad looking either.

Before I answered this question I waited until the obvious answers had been given - either mine's best or nowhere's best because everywhere has it's pros and cons. I think the question is much bigger than it seems. To get my drift change the word country to place. When I was a child the best country for me was the country that my parents lived in because I needed them and their support. After I was married it became the place where we could have the best opportunities - a different part of the same country. Later in life when we were able to decide to live in a country other than our birth country the best countrry for us to choose to live in became a different country to our birth country, so we moved and we've had a wonderful life since the move. I've lived in three different countries and all of them have been the best in some respects and not so good in others. So I might just as well not have waited because I'm going to side with those that say there isn't a best country - best in this respect is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder.

"The Land of The Free"

According to this advert, New Zealand. I just like the advert.

I have to say the U.S.A., I admit to being biased, but hey you asked and I must answer honestly.

Australia! Wide open spaces, great beaches, friendly people, glorious scenery. You want snow, we have it. You want sun and surf, we have it. I have been to a few other countries, and this is the best place to live. We just need to get rid of John Howard tho!!!LOL

To answer “6ckyguy” comments: (Why do I think the US is the best country in the world?) 1st and outmost because this is my country! When my USA is right or wrong it still my country and I will serve and defend it. It is my country when under Democratic or Republican administrations. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, they were / are both my Presidents. Hillary, Obama, Giulani, McCain, Romney, etc.. no matter who I vote for whoever wins will be my President and have my support. Everybody should feel that way about their country but sadly they don’t. That’s why they are knocking at our borders doors legally and illegally. Why is it that more people from any other country would want to move to the USA rather than any other country? This great country of ours has more freedom than any other, we pay much lower taxes, and believe it or not our Medical system while far from perfect is much better than most others systems (yes including Canada’s social system). We complaint about our Gas and energy prices, have you checked most other countries prices like all countries in Western Europe? Most double our prices. Critics of America complain about the scandal of persistent poverty in a nation of plenty, but the immigrant cannot help noticing that the United States is a country where the poor live comparatively well. I read somewhere that someone asked an immigrant “Why are you so eager to come to America?” His reply: “Because I really want to move to a country where the poor people are fat.” America provides an amazingly good life for the ordinary guy. Rich people live well everywhere, but what distinguishes America is that it provides a remarkably high standard of living for the “common man.” A country is not judged by how it treats its most affluent citizens but by how it treats the average citizen. In much of the world today, the average citizen has a very hard life. In the Third World, people are struggling for their basic existence. It is not that they don’t work hard. On the contrary, they labor incessantly and endure hardships that are almost unimaginable to people in America. In the villages of Asia and Africa, for example, a common sight is a farmer beating a pickaxe into the ground, women wobbling under heavy loads, children carrying stones. These people are performing arduous labor, but they are getting nowhere. The best they can hope for is to survive for another day. Their clothes are tattered, their teeth are rotten, and disease and death constantly loom over the horizon. For most poor people on the planet, life is characterized by squalor, indignity, and brevity. Even middle-class people in many other countries endure hardships that make everyday life a strain. In America, most immigrants immediately recognize that things are different. The newcomer who sees America for the first time typically experiences emotions that alternate between wonder and delight. Here is a country where everything works: The roads are clean and paper-smooth; the highway signs are clear and accurate; the public toilets function properly; when you pick up the telephone, you get a dial tone; you can even buy things from the store and then take them back. For the Third World visitor, the American supermarket is a thing to behold: endless aisles of every imaginable product, 50 different types of cereal, and multiple flavors of ice cream. The place is full of countless unappreciated inventions: quilted toilet paper, fabric softener, cordless telephones, disposable diapers, roll-on luggage, and deodorant. Some countries, even today, lack these conveniences. Ordinary Americans enjoy not only security and dignity, but also comforts that other societies reserve for the elite. America offers more opportunity and social mobility than any other country. In much of the world, even today, if your father is a bricklayer, you become a bricklayer. Most societies offer limited opportunities for and little chance of true social mobility. Even in Europe, social mobility is relatively restricted. When you meet a rich person, chances are that person comes from a wealthy family. This is not to say that ordinary citizens cannot rise up and become successful in France and Germany, but such cases are atypical. Much more typical is the condescending attitude of the European “old rich” toward the self-made person, who is viewed as a bit of a vulgar interloper. In Europe, as in the rest of the world, the preferred path to wealth is through inheritance. Not so in America. Success stories of people who have risen up from nothing are so common that they are unremarkable. America, the freest nation on earth, is also the most virtuous nation on earth. This point seems counterintuitive, given the amount of conspicuous vulgarity, vice, and immorality in America. My conclusion is that America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world. By making sacrifices for America and by our willingness to die for her, we bind ourselves by invisible cords to those great patriots who fought at Yorktown, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima, and we prove ourselves worthy of the blessings of freedom. By defeating the terrorist threat posed by Islamic radicalism, we can protect the American way of life while once again redeeming humanity from a global menace. History will view America as a great gift to the world, a gift that Americans today must preserve and cherish. Note: I have to give credit a number of books and articles that I’ve read in the past for a lot of what I stated above. Jannnes :)

US with Italy in a close second

thats a personal choice that each person has to make on their own. hopefully you think that wherever you live is the best.

Ireland , would've said England a few years ago.

USA and Canada

i like sydney and the gold coast when ever i visit, but i find some of the systems in place annoying, like the education system (hsc scaling of subjects -_-) and the extremely long time require to fix a small road. but besides from those few small issues, best place, good weather most of the time, beaches, friendly people