Vatican City Facts: Population, Size, Flag, Language & How to Visit (2026)

Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, an independent city-state of less than half a square kilometre surrounded by Rome. It has its own flag, post office, stamps, euro coins and army — the Swiss Guard — but no border control. Here are the essential facts, and how to turn them into a great visit.

How small is Vatican City?

At 0.49 km², Vatican City would fit into New York’s Central Park about seven times, and it is roughly the size of a large theme park. Its walls are about 3.2 km long — you can walk around the whole country in under an hour. Despite its size, it holds St Peter’s Basilica (the largest church in the world by interior area), the Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Palace and the Vatican Gardens, which cover about half the territory.

Population and citizenship

About 880 people live in Vatican City, including cardinals, clergy, members of the Swiss Guard and a few lay residents. Citizenship is linked to a function, not to birth: most citizens lose it when their role ends. Thousands more people work in the Vatican every day but live in Rome.

The Vatican flag

The flag is square and divided vertically into yellow (hoist side) and white. On the white half are the crossed keys of Saint Peter — one gold, one silver — beneath the papal tiara. The keys symbolise the spiritual and earthly authority the Church attributes to Peter’s successors.

Language, capital and government

• Language: Italian is the everyday and administrative language of the state; Latin remains the official language of the Holy See, used for major papal documents.
• Capital: as a city-state, Vatican City is its own capital.
• Government: the Pope holds legislative, executive and judicial power. Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost), elected on 8 May 2025, is the first pope born in the United States.
• Holy See vs Vatican City: the Holy See is the government of the Catholic Church (recognised in international law); Vatican City is the territory it governs.

Read also: Vatican skip-the-line tickets

History in brief

For over a thousand years popes ruled the Papal States across central Italy. When Italy was unified and took Rome in 1870, the popes refused to recognise the new kingdom. The dispute ended with the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, which created the independent State of Vatican City. The whole territory has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

How to visit Vatican City

For tickets and timing, read our Vatican skip-the-line tickets guide; for guided options, our best Vatican tours comparison; and to go underground, the Scavi tour guide.

Do you need a passport to enter Vatican City?

No. There is no border control between Rome and Vatican City: you walk into St Peter’s Square from Italian streets. Carry ID anyway — it is needed for some tickets and for the Scavi. There is no Vatican passport stamp, although the Vatican post office sells its own stamps and postcards.

Written by the editorial team — we plan Rome trips for a living and cross-check every price, opening time and ticket rule against the official Colosseum (Parco archeologico del Colosseo) and Vatican Museums websites. Guides are reviewed every 30 days.

Affiliate disclosure: this guide contains affiliate links to GetYourGuide. If you book through them we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Prices are indicative and were checked in October 2026 — the live price on the booking page always prevails.