Small state is a generic term for a small country, that has limited land, population, or resources. The term "small state" is similar to the term microstate or ministate, a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law.[2] Two important definitions for a small state are World Bank, which defines small state as those with less than 1.5 million people, which is about 40-50 countries, and the U.N. Forum on Small States which has higher threshold and includes about 100 countries, most of which are under 5 million people.
In practice small state is a usually inclusive to microstates;while microstates can be considered small states, not all small states are microstates. There is different criteria for defining small states.
- ^ "About the Maldives | Neoscapes Maldives Holidays".
- ^ Warrington, E. (1994). "Lilliputs Revisited". Asian Journal of Public Administration, 16(1).