Is the Vatican City a country?

Question

We were having this discussion in school the other day. I read somewhere that yes it is a country, in fact it's the smallest country in the world. Most people said no it's not a country.

So yes or no?

My geography teacher also said it wasn't a country.

Answer 1

According to this, it is a state.
They do not have their own army. A detachment of Swiss Guards are there for the protection of the state, and of the pope.

Answer 2

Is Vatican City A Country

Answer 3

yes, is a country that used to be a vast empire, The Vatican city and its corporations and financial assets is what is left.
The Vatican city is the place that holds the elected Monarchy ruled by the Bishop of Rome(The Pope) Their official name is "La Santa Sede" (The Holy See)
The Vatican City's official name is State of the Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae; Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a landlocked sovereign city-state.
National name: Stato della Città del Vaticano (Santa Sede)

Ruler: Benedict XVI (2005); Current government officials
Land area: 0.17 sq mi (0.44 sq km) Population (July 2003 est.): 911; density per sq mi: 5,362 Monetary unit: Euro Languages: Italian, Latin, French, various other languages Ethnicity/race: Italian, Swiss, other Religion: Roman Catholic.

Government
The pope has full legal, executive, and judicial powers. Executive power over the area is in the hands of a commission of cardinals appointed by the pope. The College of Cardinals is the pope's chief advisory body, and upon his death the cardinals elect his successor for life.
History

The Vatican City State, sovereign and independent, is the survivor of the papal states that in 1859 comprised an area of some 17,000 sq mi (44,030 sq km). During the struggle for Italian unification, from 1860 to 1870, most of this area became part of Italy. By an Italian law of May 13, 1871, the temporal power of the pope was abrogated, and the territory of the papacy was confined to the Vatican and Lateran palaces and the villa of Castel Gandolfo. The popes consistently refused to recognize this arrangement. The Lateran Treaty of Feb. 11, 1929, between the Vatican and the kingdom of Italy, established the autonomy of the of the Holy See.

Answer 4

Technically the Vatican City isn't a State. The Vatican City is the Capital, see below.

Official Name: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City) - Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano)
Capital: Vatican City

The State of the Vatican City is an indepent state, however this is being pedantic as we all knew what you meant. What do Geography teachers know?

For clarification, this is the American Governments view of the status of the Vatican State -

US Department of State's background notes on the Holy See explain the situation this way:
"The term "Holy See" refers to the composite of the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. As the "central government" of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See has a legal personality that allows it to enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state and to send and receive diplomatic representatives. The Holy See has formal diplomatic relations with 166 nations, including the United States. Libya, Guyana, and Angola established diplomatic relations in 1997. Created in 1929 to administer properties belonging to the Holy See in Rome, the State of the Vatican City is recognized under international law and enters into international agreements. Unlike the Holy See, it does not receive or send diplomatic representatives."

Did you know that all citizens of the Vatican State have Diplomatic Status and two passports?

Answer 5

yes, the smallest in the world with it's own currency, army and postal office
it's in rome and when i visited rome and bought a roma pass to visit the museums there i showed it at the entrence of the vatican museum and the guy there told me miss you are not even in the same city, you are in another country .. so i couldn't use my roma pass
the good thing about vatican as a country is that you don't need public transportantion to see it and u can visit it in just a day but has more wonders then egypt and believe me i've been to egypt :)

Answer 6

the vatican is a country. it is located in rome.

in 1938 italy under mussolinni gave the then pope Pius the right to have the vatican make its own laws e.t.c. in return for the church not getting involve in politics( quess he knew world war 2 was going to start soon)

the vatican used to be known as athe papal states and occupied most of central italy from the middle ages on. when italy was reunited under Garribaldi the vaticans power dimminished until mussolinni came to power.

it even has its own currency and stamps !!! the head of state is, you quessed it, the pope

Answer 7

It is. It is the smallest fully independent state in the world.

In the Lateran Treaty, with the government of Italy, its sovereignty was recognized in 1929.

People may be thinking that this has no authority because the government that recognized it was led by a man named Mussolini at the time.

Here's a Brittanica article on it.

Answer 8

yes the vatican is a country but it is the smallest in the world it is almost only as much as 100 soccer fields put together.it mainly is a catholic place it is the place where the pope resides

Answer 9

It is a city state Wabby, and is often classed as a country and is one of the 7 smallest in the world

Answer 10

Vatican city is a city, but all the surrounding areas till the border is Vatican country.

Answer 11

Yes