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Location: Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
Geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 27 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 0.44 sq km
land: 0.44 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of The Mall
in Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 3.2 km
border countries: Italy 3.2 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May)
with hot, dry summers (May to September)
Terrain: low hill
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: unnamed location 19 m
highest point: unnamed location 75 m
Natural resources: none
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (urban area)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification
Geography - note: urban; landlocked; enclave of Rome, Italy;
world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in
Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial
rights
Background:
Popes in their secular role ruled much of the Italian peninsula,
including Rome, for more than a thousand years, until 1870. Disputes
between a series of popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three
Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican
City out of the former Papal States and granted Roman Catholicism
special status in Italy.
In 1984, a concordat between the Vatican 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 the failing health of Pope John Paul II, who turns
80 on 20 May 2000, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and
the adjustment of church doctrine in an era of rapid change. About
1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.
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