Vatican City

Location

• Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
• landlocked; an enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Vatican City	829	Capital

Size

• about 0.7 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

History

Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid-19th century, when the newly established Kingdom of Italy seized many of the Papal States. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between Italy and a series of "prisoner" popes were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified some of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include religious freedom, threats against minority Christian communities in Africa and the Middle East, the plight of refugees and migrants, climate change and the environment, conflict and war, nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, sexual misconduct by clergy, humanitarian issues, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1.3 billion people worldwide profess Catholicism, the world's largest Christian faith.

Climate

temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)

Terrain

urban; low hill

Languages

Italian, Latin, French, various other languagesmajor-language sample(s): L'Almanacco dei fatti del mondo, l'indispensabile fonte per le informazioni di base. (Italian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Roman Catholic

Government

ecclesiastical elective monarchy; self-described as an "absolute monarchy"

• Constitution: history: previous 1929, 2000; latest issued by Pope FRANCIS 13 May 2023, effective 7 June 2023 (Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, the main governing document of the Vatican's civil entities); the Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus – the departments and ministries – used by the pontiff in governing the churchamendment process: although the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State makes no mention of amendments, Article Four (drafting laws), states that this legislative responsibility resides with the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State; draft legislation is submitted through the Secretariat of State and considered by the pope
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: election of the pope is limited to cardinals under 80 years old
• Legal System: religious system based on canon (religious) law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: Pope LEO XIV (since 8 May 2025)head of government: President of the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City and President of the Governorate of the Vatican City State Fernando VERGEZ ALZAGA (since 1 October 2021)cabinet: Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City appointed by the popeelection/appointment process: pope elected by the College of Cardinals, usually for life or until voluntary resignation; Secretary of State appointed by the popeelection results: 2025: Robert PREVOST elected Pope LEO XIV
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (consists of the cardinal prefect, who serves as ex-officio president of the court, and 2 other cardinals of the Prefect Signatura)judge selection and term of office: cardinal prefect appointed by the pope; the other 2 cardinals of the court appointed by the cardinal prefect on a yearly basissubordinate courts: Appellate Court of Vatican City; Tribunal of Vatican Citynote: the Motu Proprio (papal directive) of Pope PIUS XII established judicial duties on 1 May 1946; most Vatican City criminal matters are handled by the Republic of Italy courts
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City (Pontificia Commissione per lo Stato della Citta del Vaticano)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 7term in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 22 September 2018percentage of women in chamber: 0%

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• limited, tourism-based economy; euro user with own minted coins; produces commemorative stamps, coins, and publications to support museums and religious needs; residents pay no direct taxes; “zero deficit” plan to address budget shortfall
• Budget: revenues: $1.211 trillion (2023 est.)expenditures: $1.442 trillion (2023 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: none
• Industries: printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps; mosaics, staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities
• Agricultural Products: milk, wheat, sugar beets, barley, potatoes, chicken, rapeseed, pork, beef, oats (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 0% (2022 est.)forest: 0% (2022 est.)other: 100% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: cars, gold, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 13%, USA 11%, Germany 10%, France 5%, Norway 4% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: cars, gold, gas turbines, packaged medicine, crude petroleum (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: USA 14%, China 8%, Germany 8%, Netherlands 7%, Ireland 7% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports