On 8th Jan 1297, Francois Grimaldi and his men captured a fortress and established his family as the rulers of the tiny nation of Monaco. This week’s quiz is about the smallest countries in the world

1. Which country is the smallest by population to host a World Cup cricket match? It was also home to the first French and British colonies in the Caribbean.

2. In which country would you come across a group of soldiers who had to be unmarried male citizens from a specific European country, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 5’9” tall?

3. Which tiny European country with a population of around 40,000 has a football team that competes in the league of a neighbouring country and has won that league eight times, most recently in 2016-17?

4. This island nation’s economy peaked in the mid-seventies with a per capita income of around $50,000, but the decline of phosphate mining has caused a precipitous drop in prosperity. Name this country, where Australian Rules football and weightlifting are regarded as the two national sports?

5. Which country’s capital city, where the official language is Catalan, is the highest capital city in Europe with an elevation of 3,356 feet above sea level?

6. Which remote country would you be visiting if you landed at the Funafuti International airport?

7. Gilbertese and English are the two official languages of which island nation, with the latter rarely spoken outside the island capital of Tarawa?

8. Which European country’s constitution dictates that its elected legislature — known as the Grand and General Council — must elect two heads of state, known as Captains Regent, every six months? The two heads of state serve together.

9. The Dhoni, also sometimes referred to a ‘Thoni’ or a ‘Dhoney’, is a traditional sailing vessel which is used mostly by the fishermen of which country which gained its independence from the British empire in 1965?

10. Only two countries in the world are double landlocked, meaning that they are not just landlocked themselves, but surrounded by landlocked countries. One of them is Uzbekistan. Which tiny microstate with an area of 160 sq km is the other?

Answers

1. Saint Kitts and Nevis

2. Vatican, these are the requirements for being a member of the Pope’s Swiss Guard which comprises only Swiss citizens

3. Monaco; AS Monaco is one of the leading teams in the French Ligue 1

4. Nauru

5. Andorra, with an area of about 468 sq km. The city is Andorra la Vella

6. The nation of Tuvalu in the Pacific ocean

7. Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert islands

8. San Marino

9. The Maldives

10. Liechtenstein, surrounded by Austria and Switzerland

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