Claim: Ministates include a country.

San Marino -LRB- -LSB- sæn_məˈriːnoʊ -RSB- -LSB- san maˈriːno -RSB- -RRB- , officially the Republic of San Marino -LRB- Repubblica di San Marino -RRB- , also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino -LRB- -LSB- Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino , links = no -RSB- -RRB- , is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy , situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains . Its size is just over 61 sqkm , with a population of 33,562 . Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest city is Serravalle . San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe .   The country takes its name from Marinus , a stonemason originating from the Roman colony on the island of Rab , in modern-day Croatia . In 257 CE Marinus participated in the reconstruction of Rimini 's city walls after their destruction by Liburnian pirates . Marinus then went on to found an independent monastic community on Monte Titano in 301 CE ; thus , San Marino lays claim to be the oldest extant sovereign state as well as the oldest constitutional republic .   San Marino is governed by the Constitution of San Marino -LRB- Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini -RRB- , a series of six books written in Latin in the late 16th century , that dictate the country 's political system , among other matters . The country is considered to have the earliest written governing documents , or constitution , still in effect .   The country 's economy mainly relies on finance , industry , services and tourism . It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP -LRB- per capita -RRB- , with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions . San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy , with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe , no national debt and a budget surplus . It is the only country with more vehicles than people .