Outline of Vatican City

The State of the Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano) is a landlocked sovereign religious city-state comprising a walled enclave within the City of Rome.^[1] With an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres) and a population of about 800, it is the smallest independent state in the world.^[2] Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence only in 1929. It is thus clearly distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian. Official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities even have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, only issues diplomatic and service passports; the state of Vatican City issues normal passports. In both cases the number of passports issued is extremely limited.

Vatican City is a non-hereditary, elected absolute monarchy that is ruled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope. The highest state functionaries are all clergymen of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic Palace.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Vatican City.

1 General reference
2 Geography of Vatican City
3 Government and politics of Vatican City
4 History of Vatican City
5 Culture of Vatican City
- 5.1 Art in Vatican City
- 5.2 Sports in Vatican City
6 Economy and infrastructure of Vatican City
7 Education in Vatican City
8 Infrastructure of Vatican City
9 See also
10 References
11 Sister projects

General reference

Pronunciation: /ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/ ( listen)
Common English country name: Vatican City
Official English country name: The State of the Vatican City
Common endonym(s):
Official endonym(s):
Adjectival(s):
Demonym(s):
Etymology: Name of Vatican City
ISO country codes: VA, VAT, 336
ISO region codes: none
Internet country code top-level domain: .va

Geography of Vatican City

Main article: Geography of Vatican City

Vatican City is:
- A walled enclave within the city of Rome
- A sovereign city-state
- A European microstate
Location:
- Eastern Hemisphere
- Northern Hemisphere
  - Eurasia
    - Europe
      - Southern Europe
        
        Italian Peninsula
        
        Surrounded by Italy
        
        Surrounded by Lazio
        
        Surrounded by Rome
- Time zone: Central European Time (UTC+01), Central European Summer Time (UTC+02)
- Extreme points of Vatican City
  - High: unnamed location 75 m (246 ft)
  - Low: Saint Peter's Square 33 m (108 ft)
- Land boundaries: Italy 3.2 km
- Coastline: none
Population: 824 (2008) - 220th
Size: 0.44 square kilometres (0.17 sq mi) - 234th largest country
Atlas of Vatican City

Environment of Vatican City

Climate of Vatican City
Environmental issues in Vatican City
Ecoregions in Vatican City: none
Renewable energy in Vatican City
Geology of Vatican City
Protected areas of Vatican City: none
- Biosphere reserves in Vatican City: none
- National parks of Vatican City
Wildlife of Vatican City
- Flora of Vatican City
- Fauna of Vatican City
  - Birds of Vatican City
  - Mammals of Vatican City

View of the Vatican Gardens from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. (The Vatican Museums can be seen to the right).

Natural geographic features of Vatican City

Vatican City is an enclave in an urban area, and lacks the geographic features common to (much larger) countries:

Lakes: none
Mountains: none
Rivers: none
Valleys: none
World Heritage Sites in Vatican City: Vatican City is itself a World Heritage Site

Regions of Vatican City

None
Vatican City is inside Rome, which in turn lies within the Lazio region of Italy.
Vatican City lies next to the Borgo district in Rome.

Ecoregions of Vatican City

None

Administrative divisions of Vatican City

Vatican City has no administrative divisions.
It could be considered an administrative division of Rome, but because it is its own country it is (mostly) administratively independent of Rome. (See Judicial branch of the government of Vatican City, below.)

Demography of Vatican City

Main article: Demographics of Vatican City

Government and politics of Vatican City

Main article: Politics of Vatican City

Form of government: Ecclesiastical; elective non-hereditary Absolute Theocratic Monarchy
Capital: Vatican City

Association of Vatican Lay Workers
Elections in Vatican City
- (specific elections)
Political parties in Vatican City: none. Vatican City is in the jurisdiction of the Holy See, which has absolute authority over it.
Political scandals of Vatican City
Taxation in Vatican City
Vatican Secret Archives

Judicial branch of the government of Vatican City

Absolute judicial authority: Pope, Benedict XVI
- Cassation Court of Vatican City
  - Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura customarily serves as President of the Cassation Court
- Appellate Court of Vatican City
  - Dean of the Sacra Rota serves as President of the Appellate Court
- Most crimes are prosecuted by and handled in the courts of the Republic of Italy, at the Vatican's expense, by agreement between the Vatican and the Italian government (in accordance with Article 22 of the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy).^[3]

Foreign relations of Vatican City

Main article: Foreign relations of Vatican City

Diplomatic missions in Vatican City: none (Vatican City doesn't maintain diplomatic relations with anyone, only the Holy See does. See below).
- Because Vatican City is too small, diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome, not in Vatican City itself.
  - Diplomatic missions to the Holy See
Diplomatic missions of Vatican City: none. (See below).
- The Holy See, which Vatican City is the sovereign territory of, maintains diplomatic relations with 176 countries.
  - Diplomatic missions of the Holy See
China-Vatican City relations
Italy-Vatican City relations
United States-Vatican City relations
United Kingdom-Vatican City relations

International organization membership

Main article: International organization membership of Vatican City

The State of the Vatican City is a member of:^[1]

Council of Europe (CE) (observer)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
International Organization for Migration (IOM) (observer)
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Nonaligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

Organization of American States (OAS) (observer)
Unione Latina (observer)
United Nations (UN) (permanent observer)
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Universal Postal Union (UPU)
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (observer)
World Trade Organization (WTO) (observer)

Law and order in Vatican City

Main article: Law of Vatican City State

Constitution: Fundamental Law of Vatican City State
Capital punishment in Vatican City: abolished in 1969
Crime in Vatican City (committed mostly by tourists)
Human rights in Vatican City
- LGBT rights in Vatican City
- Freedom of religion in Vatican City
Lateran Treaty
Law enforcement in Vatican City

Military of Vatican City

Main article: Military of Vatican City

Command
- Commander-in-chief: Daniel Anrig
Forces — Vatican City lies within Rome, the capital of Italy, and therefore defense is the responsibility of Italy.
- Army of Vatican City: Swiss Guard (ceremonial), Army of Italy (de facto)
- Navy of Vatican City: none, see Navy of Italy
- Air Force of Vatican City: none, see Aeronautica Militare
- Special forces of Vatican City: none, see Special forces of Italy
Military history of Vatican City
Military ranks of Vatican City

Local government in Vatican City

Being a city-state, the government of Vatican City is also the local government.

History of Vatican City

Main article: History of Vatican City, Timeline of the history of Vatican City, and Current events of Vatican City

History of the Papacy
- Prisoner in the Vatican
Governor of Vatican City
Economic history of Vatican City
Military history of Vatican City
- History of the Swiss Guard
- Sack of Rome (1527)

Culture of Vatican City

Main article: Culture of Vatican City

Architecture of Vatican City
- Saint Peter's Square
- Churches in Vatican City:
  - St. Peter's Basilica
- Palaces in Vatican City:
Cuisine of Vatican City
Ethnic minorities in Vatican City
Festivals in Vatican City
Humor in Vatican City
Languages of Vatican City
Media in Vatican City
National symbols of Vatican City
People of Vatican City
Prostitution in Vatican City
Public holidays in Vatican City
Records of Vatican City
Religion in Vatican City (Vatican City is the sovereign territory and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, and home of the Pope)
- Christianity
  - Catholicism
    - Roman Catholic Church
      - Vicar General for the Vatican City State
World Heritage Sites in Vatican City: Vatican City is itself a World Heritage Site

Art in Vatican City

Art in Vatican City
- Vatican Museums
Cinema of Vatican City
Literature of Vatican City
Music of Vatican City
Television in Vatican City
Theatre in Vatican City

On the last Sunday of each month, the Vatican Museum is open to the public for free. This is extremely popular and it is common to wait in line for many hours. This image is a panoramic view of one small stretch of the entire queue in April 2007, which continues for some distance in both directions beyond view. In the background is the Vatican City's wall.

Sports in Vatican City

Football in Vatican City
- Clericus Cup
- Vatican City national football team
Vatican City at the Olympics: has not competed

Economy and infrastructure of Vatican City

Main article: Economy of Vatican City

Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007):
Economy type: noncommercial (based on donations from church-goers)
- Church tax
- Peter's Pence

Agriculture in Vatican City: None. See Vatican Gardens.
Banking in Vatican City
- Vatican Bank
Communications in Vatican City
- Internet in Vatican City
  - .va
- L'Osservatore Romano
- Vatican Radio
Companies of Vatican City: none

Currency of Vatican City: Euro (see also: Euro topics)
- ISO 4217: EUR

Economic history of Vatican City
Energy policy of Vatican City
Mining in Vatican City: none
Oil industry in Vatican City
Vatican Pharmacy
Tourism in Vatican City
Transport in Vatican City

Vatican City Stock Exchange

Education in Vatican City

Academies in Vatican City:
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican Library)
- Includes the Vatican School of Librarianship
Congregation for Catholic Education
Vatican School of Palaeography, Diplomacy, and Archivistry, run by the Secret Vatican Archives.
Vatican City is too small to host extensive educational facilities, but the Holy See operates 64 academic institutions close by (in Rome), which are often considered part of the Vatican. The major ones are:

Infrastructure of Vatican City

Energy in Vatican City
Health care in Vatican City
Vatican Library
Transportation in Vatican City
- Airports in Vatican City: none. Rome is served by two airports which are used by travellers to the Vatican.
- Rail transport in Vatican City
- Roads in Vatican City (see map)
  - Being only 1.05 km long and 0.85 km wide,^[4] Vatican City has no highways/
  - Vatican City has access roads and driveways. (See map)
Water supply and sanitation in Vatican City

References

^ ^a ^b "Holy See (Vatican City)". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 2, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
^ "Vatican City State". Vatican City Government. http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
^ "Treaty between the Holy See and Italy."
^ http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/sp_ss_scv/informazione_generale/sp_ss_scv_info-generale_en.html

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