Below is the list of tables from the database along with their columns and datatype. Need to generate an accurate SQL query for the question.
Only use the columns present in the respective table. Only use the columns which are required to generate the SQL query. Only use table joins if required and not otherwise.

### Tables ###
TABLE: CREATE TABLE table_name_66 (population INTEGER, place VARCHAR, code VARCHAR, area__km_2__ VARCHAR)

### Question ###
What is the Population of Tshepiso with a Code of 70409 or smaller and an Area (km 2) smaller than 5.97?

### Accurate SQL ###

SELECT MIN(population) FROM table_name_66 WHERE code < 70409 AND area__km_2__ < 5.97 AND place = "tshepiso"