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
StatusIndependent State
Social and Moral Index191st 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
1Norway29.8
2Denmark30.0
3Finland33.7
...
188Congo, DR131.2
189Tuvalu133.1
190Central African Rep.133.3
191Vatican City136.2
192S. Sudan136.6
193Equatorial Guinea137.1
194Eritrea137.4
195Chad137.8
Europe Avg59.3
World Avg87.9
q=196.

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

#equality #gender_equality #human_rights #international_law #morals #politics #prejudice #tolerance #women

Compared to Europe (2020)8
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank8
1Sweden9.0
2Norway14.5
3Denmark14.5
...
41Belarus78.7
42Moldova81.3
43Macedonia82.0
44Turkey82.4
45Andorra84.0
46Azerbaijan86.9
47Monaco93.8
48San Marino100.2
49Vatican City154.0
Europe Avg51.4
q=49.
Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)8
Pos.Lower is better
Avg Rank8
1Sweden9.0
2Norway14.5
3Denmark14.5
...
192Cook Islands144.5
193N. Korea146.5
194Brunei147.1
195Sudan148.6
196Vatican City154.0
197Tuvalu158.4
198Somalia159.5
199Solomon Islands166.2
World Avg87.9
q=199.

The best countries in the world at ensuring human rights, fostering equality and promoting tolerance, are Sweden, Norway and Denmark9. These countries are displaying the best traits that humanity has to offer. The worst countries are The Solomon Islands, Somalia and Tuvalu9.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are statistics on commentary in Human Rights Watch reports, its nominal commitment to Human Rights, speed of uptake of HR treaties, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, supporting press freedom, eliminating modern slavery, opposing gender inequality, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), the year from which women could participate in democracy, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, LGBT equality and freethought. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe9, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Micronesia and Australasia9.

For more, see:

Human Rights & Tolerance:

Nominal Commitment to HR
Higher is better
10
Pos.2009
Treaties10
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
11
Pos.2019
Avg Yrs/Treaty11
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 #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

This rank is calculated from 2 data sets. The Vatican City does better than average in terms of its forested percent change 2000-202012. And finally, it falls into the worst 20 for how quickly it ratified the 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020
Higher is better
12
Pos.Total12
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.
Convention on Biological Diversity
Earlier is better
Pos.Total
Signed
1=China1993 Dec 29
1=Guinea1993 Dec 29
1=Cook Islands1993 Dec 29
...
190Timor-Leste (E. Timor)2007 Jan 08
191Brunei2008 Jul 27
192Iraq2009 Oct 26
193Somalia2009 Dec 10
194Palestine2015 Apr 02
195Andorra2015 May 05
196USA
197Vatican City
Europe Avg1899 Dec 30
World Avg1899 Dec 30
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 below13:

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

Links: