What are the “pocket” countries in the world?

1. Four countries, including the Vatican, Morocco, San Marino and Liechtenstein, can hardly be found on the world map. They are much smaller than the commonly mentioned small countries - Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The smallest area is less than half a square kilometer. The largest one is only 160 square kilometers, so people call them pocket countries.

2. "Golden Yuan Theocracy" Vatican

The bus we took stopped near the Rome train station. The tour guide shouted everyone out of the car and handed them over to the "ground guide". The "ground guide" who led us was a Chinese lady who had been in Rome for more than 10 years and was of course a Roma expert. She took us on a bus for a while, then on foot, through the streets and alleys. After a while, we arrived at the northwest corner of the city of Rome. We entered through a gate and what was in front of us was a grand building that can accommodate 300,000 people. The oval square, a majestic and tall church, she said this is the Vatican City State, and then led us to visit, introducing the scenery in front of us, the history and current situation of this country...

The Vatican City State is located on a hill. It was originally the garden of the Roman emperor. After the death of Jesus, his elder disciple Peter became the leader of the church and came to Rome to preach. He was martyred in this hill garden and was buried here. From then on, this place was a holy place in the eyes of believers. The bishop of Rome, because he was located in Rome, the capital of the empire, had strong political and economic power and had more influence than the bishops in other regions. He gradually evolved into the successor of Peter and monopolized the title of "Pope". In 756 AD, the then emperor donated the city of Rome and the surrounding areas to Pope Stephen II, who had secular power and was the beginning of the Papal State. After that, the country rose and fell several times, and its territory changed frequently. Italy was unified in 1870, and the Pope retreated to the Vatican Palace, but did not recognize its demise and was often in opposition to Italy. On February 1, 1929, in order to seek the support of the Catholic Church, Mussolini signed a contract with Pope Pius II, recognizing the Vatican as a sovereign state, integrating politics and religion, and the Pope integrating administration, legislation, and justice, and becoming independent from Italy. , the Vatican City State, a state within the city, appeared in the city of Rome.

How big is this country? Bounded by the Vatican City Wall, the total area is 0.44 square kilometers, 1,000 meters long from east to west, and 800 meters wide from north to south. The "Geo Guide" humorously said that it is equivalent to a city park, and it takes less than an hour to complete a circle around the city wall. With a population of less than 1,500 people, it is the smallest country in the world. The Vatican has no agriculture, no industry, and the third industry is underdeveloped. What economic sources did it rely on to become the "Golden Yuan Kingdom"? Its gold foreign exchange reserves reached 10 billion US dollars, making it the richest country with the highest national income in the world today? After listening to the introduction from the "terrestrial guide" and seeing the Vatican with my own eyes, I solved my doubts. The Vatican's wealth mainly relies on the power of religion. There are more than 800 million Catholics in the world, and millions of people make pilgrimages to the Vatican every year to listen to the Pope's instructions. Devout believers are required to donate to form a stable source of income. Initially a bank was set up with donated money, and gradually a factory financial trust was formed. Economic activities are very active, with tens of billions of dollars of investment in many countries in North America and Europe. Capital has penetrated into the economic sectors of Italy and other countries, especially bank credit and real estate. The real estate alone has 460,000 hectares. Some data show that the profits of religious banks are the largest source of revenue for the government.

Tourism revenue is also considerable. The entire Vatican City is listed on the World Cultural Heritage List. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world, with many beautiful murals and sculptures. The architectural art of St. Peter's Square is unparalleled in the world. The National Library is the largest collection of manuscripts and manuscripts in the world. , the library with the most orphan books. These are also attractive to atheists and are visited by nearly 10 million people every year. Vatican stamps are also collected by stamp enthusiasts around the world. Travelers want to buy some as souvenirs. The stamp industry has an annual income of US$3 million. These four major financial resources are like the four tall and strong marble columns in St. Peter's Square. They support the operation of the Theocracy, enable it to send emissaries or representatives to more than 100 countries, enable it to convene a world conference of bishops to issue orders, and Ability to establish embassies in more than 90 countries.

The ancient communist country of San Marino

After leaving Venice and walking eastward along the highway for about an hour, a mountain ridge appeared in front of us, with undulating peaks and three protruding peaks. Standing in an ancient castle. It feels like a dragon is crouching over a tiger. The tour guide pointed and said, that is the Republic of San Marino. The highest peak is called Titano, with an altitude of more than 700 meters. The capital San Marino is on that mountain. The bus left the highway, climbed uphill and turned around, turning higher and higher until it climbed up a steep slope and saw a parking lot. The tour guide said that we had arrived in San Marino and could only stay here for one hour. We got out of the car in a hurry and looked up. In front of us were layers of stone buildings, some protruding in the air and some clinging to the stone walls. They were simple and spectacular. Walking along a gently sloping stone street, I panted to the end. A platform of tens of square meters appeared in front of me. It was a small square. In the center of the square stood a bust. The tour guide said that this was Marino, a stonemason. Founder.

Marino, a Christian, was a figure in the 4th century AD. Some said that he offended the leader and punished him to build a church on Mount Titano; some said that he was dissatisfied with the church and lived in seclusion here, quarrying stones for a living, doing good deeds, and being regarded as a "saint" by people.

This "saint" accepted the fugitives and gradually organized a "mason commune" to quarry and build mountains, quarry and sell stone, and became a paradise for fugitives. More and more people gathered, and the city expanded along the mountain. After his death, his descendants continued to build mountains. By the early Middle Ages, some city-states had appeared on the Italian peninsula, which was also influenced by them and developed in the direction of "country". In 1263, the Republic of San Marino was established, known as the Republic of San Marino. In the following hundreds of years, it was ravaged by foreign forces many times, and in 1740 it exercised power independently. Becoming the oldest peaceful country in the world today.

The present Republic of China is this mountain, with an area of ??61 square kilometers and a population of 2.15 million. The city of San Marino has about 4,300 people and is bordered by Italy on all sides. The government consists of 10 members. There is no prime minister. The foreign minister plays the role of prime minister. The head of state is served by two consuls with equal rights. They serve a term of half a year and cannot be re-elected. They can be re-elected after three years. The consuls are elected by the Grand Council. There is a constitution that originated in the 14th century and was adopted in the 17th century. It is called "Charter No. 1" and has been slightly modified over the past 300 years. The country has no army, only the Grand Council, the Castle, the Armed Forces, the municipal police and the gendarmerie. The gendarmerie is responsible for combating criminal activities.

Leave the square and walk up to the Porta San Francesco. On the right side of the door is a church, a 14th-century stone building, with reliefs, ancient bells, tombstones, murals and religious artifacts in the church. It is quite precious and a scenic spot. Passing through the church, there is a narrow street with many shops on both sides. The citizens recognized us as Chinese, said friendly "Hello!" in blunt Chinese, and sold us tourist souvenirs with smiling faces. Leave the street and climb up a steep slope to reach the towering castle. The spirit of self-improvement in this mountain country is admirable. With no resources, no airport, no railways, and no ports, with their wisdom, industry suddenly developed. Clothing, machinery manufacturing, electronic equipment, chemicals, brewing, etc. are scattered throughout the country. There are nine towns in the mountain. Become the main source of finance. The people live a prosperous life and everyone enjoys publicly funded medical care. It seems to be a Garden of Eden.

Gambling Country Morocco

On the morning of October 3, the bus drove quickly along the coast of Nice on the Mediterranean Sea, and soon arrived at the Principality of Morocco. The country is surrounded by France in the east, north and west, and faces the sea in the south. It is 3 kilometers long from east to west and only 200 meters wide at its narrowest point from north to south. The total area is only 1.95 square kilometers, which is equivalent to 1/8 of Macau in my country. The territory is hilly, with an average altitude of 500 meters, a border line of 2.5 kilometers, and a coastline of 5.16 kilometers. There are many high-rise buildings and dotted gardens along the coast, which is similar to the scenery of Macau. There is no severe cold in winter and no scorching heat in summer, making it a good place for leisure and vacation. It is said that the Mononi tribe lived here in the 6th century BC, hence the name.

People come here for sightseeing and feel that this small country has many strange places. One of the peculiarities was the exchange of land for independence. In 1297 AD, the Grimaldi family occupied the castle here. More than 100 years later, the prototype of the principality was formed, and it successively became a protectorate of Spain and France. In 1861, Morocco signed a contract with France and gained independence on the condition of giving away the two major towns of Menton and Rocoubrun, reducing its territory from 20 square kilometers to its current area. Later, it signed a contract to exercise sovereignty while respecting France's political, economic, navigation and military interests. Any diplomatic action must be agreed upon with France. Once the head of state has no descendants, Morocco will be annexed to France. France's obligation is to ensure Morocco's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The head of government is appointed by the prince, but must be French. After listening to these introductions, tourists commented one after another, what is this independence? This is bitter independence. The second peculiarity is the special composition of the population. There are 32,000 residents of the country, of which only 6,089 are nationals of this country, while there are 10,229 French nationals and 6,410 Italian nationals, both of which exceed the number of nationals. The rest are of British, Swiss, German, Belgian, American and other nationalities. The official language is French, the lingua franca is Italian, English, and Moroccan is only considered a dialect. The third strange thing is that gambling, which is prohibited in civilized countries, has become a pillar industry. The government has worked hard to diversify the economy over the years, but so far, the industry is still weak and the tourism industry is developed. The gambling industry occupies an important position, and it is called a gambling country. There are two gambling cities in the country. The world-famous gambling city Monte Carlo is located in the north of the capital; one of them is an ordinary casino that tourists can visit. A group member bought coins and tried his skills. Due to different languages, he could only do it under the guidance of the staff. It was confusing to win and confused to lose. It was fun to try. The other two buildings are big gambling, and only those with a certain status can enter. It is said that if you bring 50,000 to 100,000 euros, you can gamble in the room, and someone will accompany you to gamble. There are opera houses, shops, swimming pools, hot spring baths, sports fields, etc. built around the casino, and all services and entertainment venues are available. Every weekend and holiday, wealthy businessmen gather here to gamble, pay taxes, and spend lavishly, bringing huge amounts of income to the motorcycle. Local accommodation, dining, riding, and even buying newspapers all have a gambling flavor, so it is called a gambling country.

Moroccans are ambitious and actively participate in international activities. They are now members of 70 international organizations, more than 10 of which are headquartered in Morocco. They often hold international conferences and international cultural and sports events such as forums and summits. Strive to create the image of an international metropolis.

Micro-industrial country Liechtenstein

In central Europe, between Switzerland and Austria in the Alps, there is a park called Liechtenstein. It is the descendant of the Alemannic people who came here after 500 AD. , in 1917, the country was founded with the prince's surname, and became a sovereign country in 1806. The country is small, with a length of 24 kilometers from north to south and 8 kilometers from east to west at its widest point, with a total area of ??160 square kilometers. It is the largest country among the pocket countries we visited this time. There are mountains, rivers and plains in the territory. Most of the mountains are between 1800-2600 meters above sea level, and the peaks are covered with snow all year round.

Usable land area: forest accounts for 1/3, pasture accounts for 1/3, agricultural land accounts for only 4.7%, and the rest is construction land and barren hills. Snow-capped peaks contrast with clear mountains, green waters and meadows, forming a typical landscape of this mountainous country. The population is 33,000, of which foreigners account for 1/3. In this constitutional monarchy, the Duke has the highest decision-making power. The government only has 5 members. Except for the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, the other 3 are part-time. It has a close relationship with Switzerland. All foreign affairs and national defense are entrusted to Switzerland. All our entry and exit are handled by Swiss border guards. Check and go through the formalities. There are only 68 police officers in the whole country. In the past 10 years, the government has taken measures to become an industrially rich country. The composition of the national economy has undergone great changes. Industry has become the lifeblood of the national economy, and traditional agriculture, animal husbandry, and the stamp industry have moved back. Metal processing, machinery manufacturing, ceramics, chemicals, medicine, electronics, textiles and other industries are developing at an accelerated pace. There are about dozens of small and medium-sized enterprises across the country, distributed in more than a dozen small towns. Although it is a resource-poor country, the policy of having both ends outside has worked. The raw materials are imported, and 95% of the products are exported. my country imports its complete sets of equipment and electronic products. It is known as a "micro-industrial country". This country has a novel approach to economic development. The government has formulated a low-tax policy and a bank secrecy law to promote the development of the financial industry. We were walking on the streets of the capital Vaduz and saw the bank building opposite. There are already 15 banks here, and international capital is heading towards This mountain country flows. According to data from 1999, the turnover at that time reached 34.9 billion Swiss francs. The development of the banking industry has provided sufficient funds for industrial development. Vaduz, with a permanent population of only 5,000 people, is moving towards becoming a "financial capital". ·

The people live a prosperous life. The country has more than 20,000 telephones, more than 12,000 televisions, and 674 cars per 1,000 people. It is one of the richest countries in the world.

The bus we took was driving fast on the highway. Snow peaks, green mountains, grasslands, cattle, sheep, and vineyards were like landscape paintings, flashing outside the car window as we left the border