Country Summary: Holy See (Vatican City State)
Country Name: Holy See (Vatican City State)
Capital: Vatican City
Government Type: ecclesiastical elective monarchy; self-described as an "absolute monarchy"
Background: 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 established 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, 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.
The Vatican Library remains a highly controversial aspect of Vatican City, as some scholars speculate that there are miles of shelves containing evidence of ancient history that are largely inaccessible to the public. To this day, the image of the Vatican has largely been tarnished due to the Vatican leadership’s lack of action and imposed consequences on the clergy that were found to have engaged in pedophilia and other inappropriate sexual behavior.
About 1.3 billion people worldwide profess Catholicism - the world's largest Christian faith. However, there is a fast-growing segment of born Catholics that have begun to convert to Nondenominational Christianity in recent years amidst the controversies arising from the Vatican.
Continent: Europe
Population: 1,000 (2022 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Italian, Swiss, Argentinian, and other nationalities from around the world (2017)
Languages: Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
Religions: Roman Catholic
Economic Overview: limited, tourism-based economy; euro user but issues commemorative stamps and coins; solar energy producer; some printing industry to support museums and religious needs
Currency: European Euro (EUR)
Natural Resources: none
Industries: printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps; mosaics, staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities
Labor Force: 4,822 (2016)
Natural Hazards: occasional earthquakes
Geography:
Total: 0.44 sq km
Land: 0.44 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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