Covid-19 coronavirus: Most vaccinated country jabbed 119 per cent of its eligible population

Gibraltar is a tiny self-governing British overseas territory in southern Spain. Photo / Supplied

"The most vaccinated country on earth" — it's a title that every nation would surely want to claim in the age of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But an unlikely country can boast just that after its population hit 119 per cent vaccinated at the end of last month.

Gibraltar, a British territory on Spain's southern coast, has a population of just 33,679 people but is the envy of the rest of the world.

As of September 30, just 1.04 per cent of its eligible adults haven't had the Covid-19 vaccine.

Gibraltar is leading the world. Picture / Our World in Data

According to Our World in Data, which tracks Covid-19 cases, deaths and vaccine rates across the world, the tiny nation is at the top of the charts with a 119 per cent vaccination rate.

That's despite children under the age of 12 not yet able to receive their shot.

While 119 per cent might not add up, there's an explanation for it.

Gibraltar has exceeded the enviable 100 per cent vaccination mark because it has also been doling out doses to non-residents.

The territory reportedly has a huge number of workers who come from Spain, who received the jabs while in Gibraltar, making it part of their official tally.

The Gibraltarian government handed out the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to people residing in the country 16 or older no matter their resident or visa status.

Health Minister Samantha Sacramento told AP that 40,000 had received their shot — which is more than the country's total population, indicting they have a large foreign workforce.

The country has only experienced 97 Covid-19 deaths to date.

And as if you needed any more proof that the vaccines work, all those deaths were before the jab was widely available.

For comparison, the US has fully vaccinated 56 per cent of its entire population — and on Saturday reached more than 700,000 deaths.

Australia stands at around 56 per cent fully vaccinated for those over 16.

In a staggering figure, the little nation hasn't had a Covid-19 death since February 28 this year despite the surge of the Delta strain around the world.

Between February and June, Gibraltar didn't even have a single recorded Covid-19 case.

By mid-April, the country had given out 66,232 doses — which roughly equated to its entire population.

However, health officials reported that 3.5 per cent still hadn't got the jab when they were eligible.

After recording a few new cases in July as the Delta strain of the coronavirus arrived on its shores, the number of anti-vaxxers declined even further.

The 3.5 per cent figure went down to just 1.04 per cent, according to Gulf News.

Gibraltar has now administered at least 79,527 doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far, according to the latest data from Reuters.

The country has spent a total of two months in lockdown.