Atlantium, a micronation in Australia. Rob Griffith/AP Images Micronations are areas that claim independence but are not recognized by the UN or the rest of the world's governments.

Autonomous rulers of these nations have the power to set laws and taxes, control who enters their land, and hand out prestigious titles to friends and family.

There are currently 67 separate micronations, according to Google's Micronations world map. However, due to the low criteria necessary for an entity to be defined as a "micronation," this is just an estimate.

Here are 12 of the strangest self-declared, independent nations around the world, ranked by their estimated population size from largest to smallest.