Nauru formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, in the Central Pacific. With only a 21-square-kilometre (8.1 sq mi) area, Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind Vatican City and Monaco, making it the smallest state in the South Pacific Ocean, the smallest state outside of Europe, the smallest island state, and the smallest republic. Additionally, its population of 11,347 is the world’s third smallest, after the Vatican and Tuvalu.