El país más pequeño del mundo: PITCAIRN ISLANDS, 67 habitantes!!!

Sé que sólo es importante a efectos estadísticos o meramente anecdóticos...todo el mundo pensaba que el país más pequeño era el vaticano (donde sólo hay muertes, no nacimientos, que se sepa)...pues no!. Son las PITCAIRN ISLANDS colonia británica... Aquí un poco de información wikipédica (qué grande es la wikipedia!).

The Pitcairn Islands (Pitkern : Pitkern Ailen), officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, are a group of four islands, of which only Pitcairn Island — the second largest — is inhabited, in the southern Pacific Ocean, the only remaining British colony in the Pacific. The islands are best known for being the home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them, an event retold in numerous books and films. This story is still apparent in the surnames of many of the islanders. With only about seventy inhabitants (from nine families), Pitcairn is also famed for being the least populated country in the world (although it is not a sovereign nation). The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

History
Main article: History of the Pitcairn Islands
The original settlers of the Pitcairn Islands (Dulcie, henderson, Oneo and Pitcairn) were Polynesians who appear to have lived on Pitcairn and Henderson for several centuries. However, although archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th century, the islands were uninhabited when Pitcairn was discovered by Europeans.
Ducie island was discovered on the 26th January 1606 by Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, and named La Encarnación. In 1791 Ducie was re-discovered by the British Capt. Edwards aboard H.M.S. Pandora. On the 19th December 1902 Ducie was annexed by Britain. In 1938 Ducie was formally incorporated into Pitcairn as one administrative district (Pitcairn Group of Islands).

Henderson island was discovered on the 26th January 1606 by Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, and named San Juan Bautista. Henderson was re-discovered on the 17th January 1819 by British Capt. Henderson of the British East India Company ship Hercules who came across the island and named it Henderson Island. On the 2nd March 1819 Capt. Henry King sailing aboard the Elizabeth landed on the island to find the King's colours already flying. His crew scratched the name of their ship into a tree and for some years the island's name was Elizabeth or Henderson interchageably. Henderson island was annexed by Britain and incorporated into Pitcairn in 1938.
Oneo island was discovered on the 26th January 1824 by U.S. Capt. George Worth aboard the whaler Oneo and named Oneo Island. On the 10th Jul 1902 Oneo was annexed by Britain and incorporated into Pitcairn in 1938.
Pitcairn island itself was rediscovered by the British on July 3, 1767, and named after Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year old crewmember who was traveling on a voyage commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. Pitcairn was the son of British Marine Officer John Pitcairn, who was second in command of British forces stationed in Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War. Officer Pitcairn was fatally wounded in one of the most defining battles of that war, the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775.
In 1790, the mutineers of HMAV Bounty and their Tahitian companions, some of whom may have been kidnapped from Tahiti, settled on the island and set fire to the Bounty. The wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay. Although the settlers were able to survive by farming and fishing, the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among the settlers. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most mutineers and Tahitian men. John Adams and Ned Young turned to the Scriptures using the ship's Bible as their guide for a new and peaceful society. The Pitcairners converted to Christianity. (The Pitcairners would later convert to Adventism after a successful Adventist mission in the 1890s.) When the British found Pitcairn again in 1814, they were impressed with the emerging society and the example of leadership given by Adams. Because of this, it was decided not to arrest him for mutiny.
The island became a British colony in 1838. By the mid 1850s the Pitcairn community was outgrowing the island and its leaders appealed to the British government for assistance. They were offered Norfolk Island and on 3 May 1856, the entire community of 193 people set sail for Norfolk on board the Morayshire, arriving on 8 June after a miserable five-week trip. But after eighteen months on Norfolk, seventeen of the Pitcairners returned to their home island; five years later another twenty-seven did the same.

Since a population peak of 233 in 1937, the island has been suffering from emigration, primarily to New Zealand, leaving some fifty people living on Pitcairn.
There are allegations of a long history and tradition of sexual abuse of girls as young as 7, which culminated in 2004 in the charging of seven men living on Pitcairn, and another six now living abroad, with sex-related offences, including rape. On October 25, 2004, six men were convicted, including Steve Christian, the island's mayor at the time. See Pitcairn rape trial of 2004.

Politics
More information on politics and government of the Pitcairn Islands can be found at the Politics and government of the Pitcairn Islands series.
The Governor of the Pitcairn Islands is the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, currently Richard Fell. He maintains a representative officer on the island as a link between himself and the islanders - this is probably the most remote and inaccessible diplomatic posting in the world. But because the high commissioner does not live on the island, its daily affairs were traditionally taken care of by the magistrate, chairman of the Island Council. Elections for this position take place every three years. After a constitutional revision in 1998, these functions were transferred to the mayor of Pitcairn from 1999 onwards. Island Magistrate is a governor appointed job. Chairman of the Internal Committee is an elected official. Until 30 October 2004, the mayor was Steve Christian; after his rape conviction on October 24, 2004, Christian was dismissed (after refusing to resign). Brenda Christian was selected by the Island Council, to be mayor for November and December 2004, until an election was held. Jay Warren was elected on December 15, 2004.
Geography
Main article: Geography of the Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands form the southeasternmost extension of the geological archipelago of the Tuamotus of French Polynesia, and consist of four islands: Pitcairn Island, Oeno Island (atoll with 5 islets), Henderson Island and Ducie Island (atoll with 4 islets):
Pitcairn Islands as a group of islands (25°04′S 130°05′W)
Pitcairn Island (main island) (25°04′S 130°06′W)
Henderson Island (24°22′01″S, 128°18′57″W)
Ducie Island (24°40′09″S, 124°47′11″W)
Oeno Island (23°55′26″S, 130°44′03″W)
Pitcairn is a volcanic island, and Ducie and Oeno are coral atolls. Henderson Island is an uplifted coral island.
The only permanently inhabited island, Pitcairn, has an area of 5 km² and a population density of 10/km²; it is accessible only by boat through Bounty Bay.
Henderson Island, covering about 67% of the territory's total land area, and supporting a rich variety of animals in its nearly inaccessible interior, is also capable of supporting a small human population, but it is hard to get there and back, its outer shores being comprised of uniformly steep limestone cliffs of sharp coral.
The other islands are at a distance of more than 100 km and are not habitable.