The Human Truth Foundation

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
Flag
StatusIndependent State
Social and Moral Index195th best
CapitalVatican City
Land Area
LocationEurope
Population
GNI
ISO3166-1 CodesVA, VAT, 3361
Internet Domain.va2
CurrencyEuro (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

Book CoverThe 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 Index
7
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank7
1Denmark27.0
2Norway29.9
3Sweden31.8
...
192Sudan134.4
193Equatorial Guinea135.7
194Angola136.4
195Vatican City142.5
196Eritrea146.0
197S. Sudan150.8
198Western Sahara151.9
199Somalia158.4
Europe Avg55.7
World Avg88.6
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 better
8
Pos.2009
Treaties8
1Argentina24
2=Chile23
2=Costa Rica23
...
156Laos10
157=Solomon Islands10
157=Qatar10
157=Vatican City10
157=India10
157=Fiji10
157=Vietnam10
157=Vanuatu10
Europe Avg19.5
World Avg15.1
q=194.
HR Treaties Lag
Lower is better
9
Pos.2019
Avg Yrs/Treaty9
1Ecuador2.15
2Uruguay2.25
3Tunisia3.65
...
117Slovakia11.24
118Burundi11.27
119Qatar11.34
120Vatican City11.34
121Latvia11.39
122Angola11.59
123Cameroon11.63
124Sudan11.65
Europe Avg9.09
World Avg10.02
q=195.

Gender Equality:

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

See:

Year Women Can Vote
Lower is better
Pos.Total
Year
1New Zealand1893
2Australia1902
3Finland1906
...
182Samoa1990
183Kazakhstan1993
184=Moldova1994
184=Oman1994
186Qatar2003
187Kuwait2005
188Saudi Arabia0
189Vatican City0
Europe Avg1895
World Avg1930
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
1Switzerland45.0
2Denmark50.4
3Liechtenstein56.8
...
40Montenegro97.3
41Azerbaijan101.2
42Bosnia & Herzegovina103.5
43Serbia104.8
44Armenia108.2
45Belarus116.0
46San Marino134.9
47Andorra136.3
48Vatican City138.3
Europe Avg86.45
q=48.
Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)10
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank10
1Sri Lanka34.9
2Uruguay43.2
3Switzerland45.0
...
192N. Korea132.3
193Turkmenistan134.1
194Nauru134.4
195San Marino134.9
196Andorra136.3
197Timor-Leste (E. Timor)137.5
198Vatican City138.3
199Eritrea146.2
World Avg84.93
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:

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 better
11
Pos.Total11
1Guernsey82.6%
2Bahrain75.2%
3Iceland64.7%
...
96=Bahamas0.0%
96=San Marino0.0%
96=Afghanistan0.0%
96=Vatican City0.0%
96=Vanuatu0.0%
96=Tuvalu0.0%
96=Nauru0.0%
96=Seychelles0.0%
Europe Avg8.2%
World Avg-0.1%
q=234.
International Accords on the Environment
Higher is better
Pos.Total
Avg Rate
1Sweden83%
2Canada82%
3Norway81%
...
190Palau34%
191Angola33%
192Iraq28%
193San Marino26%
194Haiti25%
195Andorra22%
196Palestine19%
197Vatican City10%
Europe Avg62.7%
World Avg57.5%
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:

Christian99%
Muslim0.1%
Hindu0.1%
Buddhist0.1%
Folk Religion0.1%
Jewish0.1%
Unaffiliated0.1%

Links:

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.