City-state facts for kids
A city-state is a city that has its own sovereignty. There were many important city-states in ancient Greece. Nowadays, cities may have differing degrees of self-governance. In order to be considered a city-state, a city must govern itself independently, by regulating its own taxes, or having independent representation at the United Nations.
Contents
Historical city states
Modern city states
Independent Countries
Monaco
Monaco-Ville and Monte Carlo are districts in Monaco, not separate towns or cities. The city boundary is the same as the country's boundary.
Singapore
Singapore was independent before becoming part of the federal kingdom of Malaysia. It is now independent again.
Vatican City
The smallest country in the world was created in 1929. The Vatican City is completely surrounded by the city of Rome, Italy, and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
City states in other countries
Germany
Germany has 16 Bundesländer and three of them are city-states; they are Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. They do not have a Minister President (prime minister) like the other Bundesländer. Instead their head of government is called a Mayor in English.
Austria
Vienna is a federal state.
Spain
Spain has two small territories in north Africa. Spanish law calls them autonomous communities. They are
United Kingdom
The British colony of Gibraltar is a city state
Pakistan
The former Arab (Omani) colony of Gwadar City is a city state
Images for kids
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The Republic of Ragusa, a maritime city-state, was based in the walled city of Dubrovnik
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Vatican City, a city-state well known for being the smallest country in the world
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The city of Basel, located on the Rhine, is a historic city-state and a Swiss canton.
See also
In Spanish: Ciudad-Estado para niños