VATICAN CITY STATE Official name: Stato della Cittą del Vaticano (Vatican City State). The state is often referred to as the Holy See (Santa Sede), but strictly speaking this refers to the Pope and his government as they relate to the worldwide Catholic Church, not in relation to the Vatican City State. Location: Western Europe International organisations: The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Borders: Italy Coastline: None Land area: 0.4 Km2

Population: about 1,000 at any one time. There is no separate Vatican citizenship and most of its residents are citizens of other countries.
Ethnicity: Most of the Vatican's employees are Italians.
Languages: Latin is the official language, but Italian is the language of administration.
Religion: All the Vatican's residents are Catholic Christians.
Capital: None
Constitution: The new Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State came into effect on 22 February 2001.
Head of state: The Pope, chosen by the College of Cardinals for life, is the Sovereign of the Vatican City State by virtue of holding the Papal office. Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), took office on 18 April 2005.
Head of government: The Secretary of State, appointed by the Pope and accountable to him.
Legislature: None
Electoral authority: None
Freedom House rating: None

Political history

The Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, acquired sovereignty over the city of Rome in the 8th century, and the Papal States extended over the centuries to include most of central Italy, a territory which by the 19th century included 3 million people. The Papal government was corrupt, reactionary and inefficient, and most Italians welcomed the overthrow of Papal power by Napoleon. The Pope was put back on his throne in 1815, but agitation for Italian unification mounted steadily until most of the Papal States were seized by the Italians in 1859 and the rest in 1861. The Pope retained the city of Rome until 1871 until it too was annexed by Italy. The Popes refused to recognise the loss of the Papal States until 1929, when the Lateran Treaty between the Pope and Mussolini's regime established the Vatican City State, covering the Vatican and a few other places.

The Vatican is a fully sovereign state, but it is not a "country" in any meaningful sense. It has no resident population other than employees of the Catholic Church and no political life. The Pope rules the state as an absolute monarch, but it practice he is ruling only his own employees, who retain their citizenship of other countries.