Last updated on January 12th, 2022
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy, situated on the Italian Peninsula on the north-eastern side of the Apennine Mountain. It has an area of 61 square km. San Marino City is its capital, and the largest settlement is Dogana city. Italian is the official language of San Marino and Euro is its official currency. With these 50 interesting facts about San Marino, let’s explore more about its history, geography, economy, tourism and more.
Historical facts about San Marino
1. The last battle in which San Marino actively participated was in 1463.
2. A Christian stonemason named Marinus founded it in A.D. 301.
3. The San Marino flag was officially adopted on April 6, 1862. The blue color on the flag represents the skies and white represents the snow covering Mt. Titano.
4. San Marino did not participate in World War I and World War II, and remained neutral.
5. The first commemorative stamps in the country were issued in 1894.
6. The country has lost all of their 30 World Cup and European Championship qualifying matches since 2008.
Geography
7. San Marino, officially, the Republic of San Marino, is a south European country.
8. Geographically San Marino is the third smallest state in Europe, and the landlocked nation also claims to be the world’s oldest republic.
9. The only countries in the world that have a smaller land area than San Marino are: the Vatican state, Monaco, Nauru, and Tuvalu. Thus, San Marino is the world’s fifth smallest country.
10. The longest part of the country is between northeast and southwest, stretching around 13 km.
11. In area, the country is one-third the size of Washington, DC.
12. San Marino is surrounded on all sides by Italy. So it just has one bordering country.
Location of San Marino
13. The country’s capita – “The city of San Marino” is situated on the top of Mt Titano.
14. There is just 292 km of paved roads in the country.
15. “Gendarmerie” is the name by which police force in San Marino is known in the country.
16. San Marino is one of the densely populated countries in the world.
About San Marino’s economy
17. San Marino is devoid of any official state religion.
18. San Marino’s economy is backed by tourism, the banking sector, the manufacture and export of ceramics, paints, clothing, furniture, fabric and wine.
19. Italy imports almost 80% of the goods manufactured in San Marino.
20. With a total internet subscriber base of 17,200; almost 53% of the country’s population uses the internet.
21. Did you know that sale of postage stamps bring handsome revenue to the country as the San Marino’s postage stamps are valued by collectors all over the world?
22. Ayrton Senna, regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The legendary driver had won a total of 41 Grand Prix before his sad demise.
23. San Marino depends on Italy for its defense as the country does not have its own deference forces. They however have a small military of their own but nothing to fight in the event of a war or dispute.
Flag of San Marino
24. Electricity in San Marino is imported from Italy via electrical grid.
25. In terms of GDP, San Marino is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
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26. Did you know that San Marino is the only country in the world with more vehicles than people? There were 1263 vehicles for every 1000 people in the country in 2010.
27. San Marino does not recognize dual citizenship ( dual citizenship or multiple nationality, is a person’s citizenship status, in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen of more than one state under the laws of those states – wikipedia)
28. With an average per capita yearly income of approx. 36,000 USD, San Marino has a high income economy.
29. San Marino-Rimini railway was constructed in the 1930s. The development of railways at that time helped the country attract tourists from Italy and all over the world.
Fun facts about San Marino
30. People of San Marino are known as Sammarinese.
31. Napoleon also offered to help the country extend its territory (1797), however his offer was politely refused by high ranking officials from the country at that time.
32. For every 1000 females in San Marino, there are 940 males.
33. Mount Titano and the historic center of San Marino is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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