Independence Year : 1929
Population : 1000
Life Expectancy : 0.0
Capital : 3538
GNP : 9.00
GNP Old : 0.00
Local Name : Santa Sede/Città del Vaticano
Government Form :Independent Church State
Location : Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy)
Terrain : -
Climate : temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September)
Ethnic Group : Italians, Swiss, other
Religions : Roman Catholic
Official Website :www.vatican.va | | 
Genral Information - Holy See (Vatican City State)
Background
The Vatican City State, sovereign and independent, are the remnants of the papal states that in 1859 comprised an area of some 17 000 sq mi (about 44 000 sq km).
Popes in their secular role ruled much 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 united 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.
About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith.
On Tuesday 19 April 2005 a new Pope, the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected, his name now Pope Benedict XVI.
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