Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City are considered Sovereign city-states, not countries. Hong Kong and Macau are Non-sovereign city-states. Ceuta and Melilla are sort of in limbo.
>> Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City are considered Sovereign city-states, not countries <<
Very sorry to be critical, but you’re 100% wrong. They are fully recognized in international law as countries. The fact that they also are “cities” is irrelevant.
>> Hong Kong and Macau are Non-sovereign city-states <<
A “city-state” is sovereign by definition. To call HK and Macau “non-sovereign city-states” is basically an oxymoron. HK and Macau now are administrative regions of China, and have been in this status since the late 1990’s, although they used to be colonies of the UK and Portugal, respectively.
(Also, Hong Kong is not altogether a city, because it still has rural regions.)
>> Ceuta and Melilla are sort of in limbo. <<
Huh? In limbo? Certainly not as far as Spain and the rest of the non-Muslim world is concerned. Under Spanish law, they are “autonomous cities” of Spain, and majorities of their residents are full Spanish citizens (mostly Christians or “nominal” Christians). These residents have regular Spanish passports and full voting rights both for the Spanish parliament and for the EU parliament.
Says who?
You could very well be right, but Links to authoritative sites would be very helpful.