From the world’s worst football team to one of the world’s smallest countries, these are the most interesting facts about San Marino.
Fast facts
Official name: Republic of San Marino
Population: 34,892
Area: 61 sq km
Capital city: San Marino (city)
Major languages: Italian
Major religions: Christianity
Time zone: UTC+1 (Central European Time)
Interesting facts about San Marino
1. San Marino is a landlocked country in Southern Europe bordered by Italy.
2. Being surrounded entirely by Italy makes San Marino not only landlocked but also one of just three enclave countries in the world. The other two are Vatican City (also surrounded entirely by Italy) and Lesotho (surrounded entirely by South Africa).
3. It is uncertain how long San Marino has been inhabited, but traces of human presence from both prehistoric and Roman times exist in its territory.
4. San Marino is the world’s oldest surviving sovereign state and oldest constitutional republic (i.e. not a monarchy), dating back to 301 AD.
5. San Marino is named after Saint Marinus, a stonemason who – according to tradition – founded a monastic settlement in 301 AD, around which the city, and later the state of San Marino, became.
6. San Marino’s flag is blue and white, horizontally striped with a central coat of arms. The white and blue represent the clouds and sky that surround the mountainous country.
See how San Marino’s flag compares to other European flags.
7. The coat of arms features three towers found on the summit of the UNESCO-listed Mount Titano, which surrounds the city of San Marino, as well as the Latin motto “Libertas” (“Liberty”), which reflects how San Marino has historically been a haven for political refugees. In line with its republic statues, the crown is a symbol of sovereignty, not of monarchy.
8. San Marino is the only surviving Italian city-state. Italian city-states existed in Italy at various times, from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire to the declaration of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
9. San Marino is the fifth-smallest sovereign state in the world. Only Tuvalu, Nauru, Monaco and Vatican City are smaller.
10. Additionally, San Marino is the world’s second-smallest republic after Nauru. Until Nauru’s independence in 1968, it was the smallest.
11. San Marino, once Europe’s second-least visited country, welcomed only about 111,000 international tourists in 2019. Since then, however, San Marino has grown in popularity, exceeding 2 million tourists per year, according to recent government data.
12. San Marino is the world’s worst national football team. The team is consistently ranked bottom of the FIFA world rankings and, as of March 2021, has had just one win and six draws in the last 31 years.
13. San Marino has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, recording zero intentional homicides per 100,000 people in the latest available data.
14. San Marino spends about $5,880 per person each year on healthcare (PPP), placing it among the higher per-capita health spenders in Europe despite its small population.
15. An important source of revenue in San Marino is its coins and postage stamps, which are sought after by collectors.
16. San Marino does not have any airports. All travelers must transit through Italy in order to enter San Marino.
17. San Marino has the second-smallest population in Europe. It also has the world’s fifth-smallest population among sovereign states, after Palau, Tuvalu, Nauru, and Vatican City.
18. San Marino is one of the world’s least multilingual countries, with only two languages (Italian and Sammarinese) spoken within its borders.
19. San Marino has the world’s safest roads, reporting zero (0) road deaths in the latest global report.
20. San Marino is one of just 21 countries that do not have an army or regular military force. Instead, it relies on Italy for defense.
21. San Marino is Europe’s fourth and the world’s 11th richest country when measured by GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP).
22. San Marino has the world’s highest life expectancy in 2023, at 86 years.
23. San Marino gets all its electricity transferred via an electrical grid from Italy.
24. The US President Abraham Lincoln became an honorary citizen of San Marino when he recognised San Marino’s Independence in 1861.
25. For years, San Marino was on the OECD’s blacklist list of tax havens. Since 2002, it has taken steps to reform its banking practices and has been moved to the “grey list”.
26. San Marino remained neutral during the Second World War. However, it did receive around 100,000 refugees from neighboring regions of Italy.
27. San Marino is considered to be one of the safest countries in the world to visit. It has been assessed as carrying an ‘insignificant travel security risk’.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.