How it works Try a lens The library Explore Get started FAQ Download on the App Store →

COUNTRIES

Vatican City: map, flag, capital and key facts

Vatican City is a country in Europe, with about 882 people (2023) and an area of 0.44 square kilometres. Its capital is Vatican City, and its only land neighbour is Italy.

By Team Geography Last reviewed

Flag of Vatican City
Flag of Vatican City
Map showing where the country sits among its neighbours
Vatican City in solid, land neighbours outlined, capital marked.

Key facts about Vatican City

CapitalVatican City
ContinentEurope
Population882 2023, Holy See, Annuario Pontificio 2023. 195th of 195.
Area0.44 km² (0.17 sq mi) Vatican City State, surface area. 195th largest of 195.
Population density2,005 people per km²
Land neighbours1: Italy
Official nameVatican City State
UN statusNon-member observer state
Capital coordinates41.90° N, 12.45° E Vatican City, Natural Earth.

Land neighbours

Vatican City borders 1 country on land. Each links to its own page.

ItalyRome

From the Geography app

The app teaches each country through short hand written lenses: PLACE for physical geography, STORY for history and identity, NOW for the news, and THREAD for the ties between countries. Here is one of Vatican City's 6, in full.

PLACELens 1 of 6

The smallest sovereign state on Earth

Vatican City covers 0.44 square kilometers on the Tiber's west bank in Rome, the smallest independent state by area and population. Medieval and Renaissance walls close it on three sides; St. Peter's Square opens east onto the city. Inside stand St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican Museums and Gardens, and administrative buildings. Roughly 800 residents include the Pope, cardinals, Swiss Guards, clergy, and lay workers. Vatican sovereignty also covers extraterritorial properties in Rome, including the Lateran Palace and Castel Gandolfo.

More on St. Peter's Square

Designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667, St. Peter's Square is an elliptical piazza framed by 284 Doric columns arranged in four rows. The colonnade was conceived to symbolize the arms of the Church embracing the faithful. The square can hold roughly 80,000 people and serves as the setting for papal audiences, Easter celebrations, and the announcement of new popes.

5 more lenses on Vatican City in the app

  • STORY The spiritual center of 1.4 billion Catholics
  • NOW The bank, the audits, and the cardinal's retrial
  • THREAD Soft power without armies
  • STORY The Lateran Treaty that created a country
  • THREAD The Vatican is Taiwan's only European ally

Titles only. The app brings each lens back on a spaced repetition schedule set by how well you knew it: New, Hazy or Clear.

Compare Vatican City with another country

Opens the country comparison tool with population, area, income and more side by side, every figure dated.

Common questions

What is the capital of Vatican City?
The capital of Vatican City is Vatican City. UN non-member permanent observer state (the Holy See). Not one of the 193 UN member states. Vatican City lies at about 41.9 degrees north and 12.5 degrees east. Vatican City is in Europe.
What is the population of Vatican City?
About 882 people live in Vatican City, according to Holy See figures for 2023. That makes it the 195th most populous of the 195 countries. With an area of 0.44 square kilometres, that is about 2,005 people per square kilometre.
What countries border Vatican City?
Vatican City shares land borders with 1 country: Italy. The map on this page outlines each of them around Vatican City. The count includes only borders on land, not neighbours across a sea or a lake. Borders here follow Natural Earth at the 1:50 million scale, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine and Western Sahara as a separate territory.
How big is Vatican City?
Vatican City covers 0.44 square kilometres, or about 0.17 square miles. That makes it the 195th largest of the 195 countries. The figure is total surface area, which includes inland water such as lakes and rivers. Its population of about 882 gives a density of 2,005 people per square kilometre.

Keep exploring