Vatican City (State of the Vatican City)

https://www.humantruth.info/vatican_city.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2013

Vatican City State of the Vatican City
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	195th best
Capital	Vatican City
Land Area
Location	Europe
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 Codes	VA, VAT, 336₁
Internet Domain	.va₂
Currency	Euro (EUR)₃
Telephone	+379₄

1. Overview

#christianity #italy

“Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy 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 certain 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, international development, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1.2 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.”
CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₅

“The Vatican, at a mere 0.44 sq km, may be the world´s smallest soverign state, but it boasts some of Italy´s most celebrated masterpieces. Ensconced in the centre of the Italian capital Rome and enshrined in a bevy of sacrosanct traditions and rituals, the Vatican City is one of those rare places that must be visited to be believed. This is the seat of the Catholic Church, ruled with absolute authority by the Pope, who lives in a palace with over a thousand rooms and is protected by a hundred single Swiss men in ceremonious red, yellow and blue costume.
The city was established by the 1929 Lateran Treaty, and is the modern vestige of the Papal States, the fiefdom that ruled Rome and much of central Italy until the Italian reunification in 1861. The Vatican´s association with Christianity dates to the 1st century, when St Peter was crucified in Nero´s Circus. To commemorate this, the emperor Constantine commissioned a basilica to be built on the site where the saint was buried.
The glory of St Peter´s Basilica, however, is only the beginning of the wealth of treasures that await deep inside the bowels of the Vatican Museums.”
"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₆

2. Vatican City National and Social Development

#human_development

Social & Moral Development Index₇
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₇
1	Denmark	27.0
2	Norway	29.9
3	Sweden	31.8
	...
192	Sudan	134.4
193	Equatorial Guinea	135.7
194	Angola	136.4
195	Vatican City	142.5
196	Eritrea	146.0
197	S. Sudan	150.8
198	Western Sahara	151.9
199	Somalia	158.4
	Europe Avg	55.7
	World Avg	88.6
q=199.

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Vatican City's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#gender_equality #human_rights #international_law #politics #women

Human Rights & Tolerance:

Nominal Commitment to HR Higher is better₈
Pos.		2009 Treaties₈
1	Argentina	24
2=	Chile	23
2=	Costa Rica	23
	...
156	Laos	10
157=	Solomon Islands	10
157=	Qatar	10
157=	Vatican City	10
157=	India	10
157=	Fiji	10
157=	Vietnam	10
157=	Vanuatu	10
	Europe Avg	19.5
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

HR Treaties Lag Lower is better₉
Pos.		2019 Avg Yrs/Treaty₉
1	Ecuador	2.15
2	Uruguay	2.25
3	Tunisia	3.65
	...
117	Slovakia	11.24
118	Burundi	11.27
119	Qatar	11.34
120	Vatican City	11.34
121	Latvia	11.39
122	Angola	11.59
123	Cameroon	11.63
124	Sudan	11.65
	Europe Avg	9.09
	World Avg	10.02
q=195.

Gender Equality:

Women have far fewer political rights than men, and are prevented from voting and standing for election.

See:

"Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree

Year Women Can Vote Lower is better
Pos.		Total Year
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
182	Samoa	1990
183	Kazakhstan	1993
184=	Moldova	1994
184=	Oman	1994
186	Qatar	2003
187	Kuwait	2005
188	Saudi Arabia	0
189	Vatican City	0
	Europe Avg	1895
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

4. Vatican City's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #environmentalism #internationalism #over-exploitation #the_environment

Compared to Europe (2025)₁₀
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₀
1	Switzerland	45.0
2	Denmark	50.4
3	Liechtenstein	56.8
	...
40	Montenegro	97.3
41	Azerbaijan	101.2
42	Bosnia & Herzegovina	103.5
43	Serbia	104.8
44	Armenia	108.2
45	Belarus	116.0
46	San Marino	134.9
47	Andorra	136.3
48	Vatican City	138.3
	Europe Avg	86.45
q=48.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)₁₀
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank₁₀
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
	...
192	N. Korea	132.3
193	Turkmenistan	134.1
194	Nauru	134.4
195	San Marino	134.9
196	Andorra	136.3
197	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	137.5
198	Vatican City	138.3
199	Eritrea	146.2
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

" Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Regarding its responsibility towards the environment, the Vatican City ranks 2nd-worst in the world; Eritrea is worst, after . This rank is derived from 2 data sets. The Vatican City does better than average when it comes to its forested percent change 2000-2020₁₁. And finally, it is the worst in its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better₁₁
Pos.		Total₁₁
1	Guernsey	82.6%
2	Bahrain	75.2%
3	Iceland	64.7%
	...
96=	Bahamas	0.0%
96=	San Marino	0.0%
96=	Afghanistan	0.0%
96=	Vatican City	0.0%
96=	Vanuatu	0.0%
96=	Tuvalu	0.0%
96=	Nauru	0.0%
96=	Seychelles	0.0%
	Europe Avg	8.2%
	World Avg	-0.1%
q=234.

International Accords on the Environment Higher is better
Pos.		Total Avg Rate
1	Sweden	83%
2	Canada	82%
3	Norway	81%
	...
190	Palau	34%
191	Angola	33%
192	Iraq	28%
193	San Marino	26%
194	Haiti	25%
195	Andorra	22%
196	Palestine	19%
197	Vatican City	10%
	Europe Avg	62.7%
	World Avg	57.5%
q=197.

5. Religion and Beliefs

#buddhism #christianity #hinduism #islam #judaism

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₁₂:

Christian	99%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.1%
Jewish	0.1%
Unaffiliated	0.1%

Links:

A List of All Religions and Belief Systems

There isn't much information in the database for Vatican City, most likely because it is either a part of another country (i.e., a territory or possession) and therefore most international statistics are counted for the country as a whole, or, this is such an exotic place that little data exists about it.