What is the smallest country in the world? In general, the differences in the area of different states are impressive. The largest ones, such as Russia, occupy vast expanses of continents, and their bowels contain tens of percent of the world's reserves of various natural resources. And there are, on the contrary, short states, the size of which is comparable to the size of an average city. There are only a few such states in the world. They are mainly found inside other Mediterranean countries and on small isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean. The smallest state in the world is the Vatican. Much of this article is dedicated to him.
Vatican Location
The Vatican is located on a hill called the Vatican, which is located in the northwestern part of Rome, near the Tiber. From all sides, the Vatican borders on Italy, thus being inside this southern European state.
Features of the State of the Vatican
Vatican -it is the smallest country in the world in terms of area. It covers an area of 0.45 square kilometers. If measured along the border line, then the length of the line will be equal to 3200 meters. A high stone fence runs along the border. In territorial terms, the Vatican is part of Rome. Therefore, it is the smallest city-state in the world.
The Vatican has its own post office, train station, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, publishing house and police station. Until 2002, it also used its own monetary unit - the papal lira. After this year, it fell into disuse.
Since the country is not able to accommodate the embassies of other countries on its territory, they are located in the capital of Italy - Rome, of which the Vatican is a part.
History of the Vatican
The history of the Vatican has always been the history of a miniature state. In the period of antiquity, there was a deserted zone in its place. And this was due to the fact that this place was considered sacred. The first settlers arrived here in 326. The formation of the state falls on the year 752. Until 1870, it was located on a much more impressive area - 41 square kilometers. Then it was called the Papal States. After the capture of these lands in the middle of the 19th century by Italian troops, the territory became part of it.
In 1929, by mutually beneficial agreement between Pope XI and the authorities of the Kingdom of Italy, the state of Vatican City appeared on the map within its current borders.
Vatican Residents
The Vatican is also the smallest state in the world in terms of population. Only 850 people live there - citizens of this country. They differ from ordinary residents in that they are ministers of the Holy See. Only in this way can one become the owner of citizenship of the Vatican. If a person ceases to be one, then he immediately loses his citizenship.
The Vatican even has its own miniature army. It has only 100 members.
In addition to the citizens of this country, there are about 3,000 more people here as labor migrants - to perform low-skilled work. Their places of residence are outside the Vatican. Most of them are Italians.
Feature of the state system and language
The Vatican is an absolute monarchy in terms of government. The supreme power in the republic is the Holy See. The Pope has absolute power. This applies to the legislative, executive and judicial systems. The Pope himself is elected for life by the cardinals. The Holy See belongs directly to him, and a governor is appointed to govern the state.
2 languages are officially recognized in the Vatican: Latin and Italian. All adopted laws are also published in these two languages. But at the same time, other languages are also allowed, which is due to the internationality of the church servants of the Vatican.
Financial and economic activities of the Vatican
The main source of income in thistiny state - tourism and donations. The manufacturing sector of the economy is absent. The proceeds are used to maintain the life and infrastructure of the Vatican. This country is characterized by a planned type of economy, and the annual budget is 310 million dollars. There is also a bank called the Institute of Regional Affairs.
The creative activity of the pontiff is widely known. The funds are directed to those affected by natural disasters, as well as to the construction of churches around the world.
In total, income and expenses amount to approximately 250 million US dollars. The current currency of the Vatican is a variant of the euro. The coins feature a portrait of the currently ruling Pope.
There is a backup power plant to provide the country with electricity. And since 2008, the construction of a solar station with a capacity of 100 MW has been underway.
Media
This miniature country has its own TV channel. It was created in order to better inform Catholic church leaders. Documentaries and live TV broadcasts of the Pope's service and celebrations form the backbone of the TV guide.
Besides television, the Vatican also has its own radio. It can be listened to on FM and AM bands, as well as via an Internet connection.
However, the conservatism of the Vatican media has recently come under criticism from Catholic guests.
Tourist activities of the mini-state
Tourism is one of the main sources of income for the Vatican Republic. Every year, millions of people come here to look at the ancient architectural structures and works of art popular in the Catholic world. Particularly frequented are St. Peter's Square and Basilica, the Vatican Library, the Museum and the Sistine Chapel. All these objects cover most of the area of the country.
Informative facts about the Vatican
The Pope's official residence in the Vatican dates back to 1377.
The Vatican Museums are the third most popular museum in the world. The most famous are the British Museum and the Louvre.
Vatican Post provides its services to any visitor. Among them is the ability to send postcards with local unique stamps to anywhere in the world where there is mail.
There is no airport in the republic. The only facility related to transport is the heliport, which began functioning in 1976. It is used to fly the pontiff to the residence of Castel Gandolfo or to the airports of Rome.
Theft is very common in the Vatican. For a year, there is approximately 1 theft per inhabitant of this state. As a rule, servants or visitors are the culprits.
The transportation system is represented by a miniature railway with a station. Her lengthis 700 meters.
The inhabitants of the Vatican are distinguished by an exceptionally high level of literacy - there are no illiterates at all. Church leaders, according to the law, do not marry and have no children.
Other mini states
There are several other miniature states in the world. One of them is Monaco. In terms of area, it is in second place after the Vatican. The size of this tiny country is 2.02 km2. Monaco is located on the coast of the Ligurian Sea, on the border with France. The population is 36 thousand people. The richest people in the world contribute their capital here.
Nauru is in third place. This state is located on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in its southern part. The area of this mini-country is 21.3 km2, the population is 9500 people. It has no capital. It is the smallest island nation in the world.
Tuvalu ranks fourth in the list of dwarf states. It was formed in 1978. The population of this country is 10,000 people. Tuvalu is located on several islands and atolls, the total area of which is 26 km2.
In fifth place is the state of San Marino, located inside Italy (like the Vatican). It stands out for being the most ancient republic on the planet.
Thus, the name of the smallest state in the world is the Vatican. In this case, the reason for its appearance was the peculiarity of this place, which for many centuries was considered sacred. The history of other small states is quite different. In the case of isolated islands of the Pacific Ocean, geography itself forced the formersettlers to form their own states, independent of other countries. Some of them (for example, the island of Palmyra) subsequently became part of the possessions of large powers, such as the United States and Great Britain. The outermost islands have remained independent and have their own policies. In the future, such islands (primarily Tuvalu) may be flooded by ocean waters. This will happen in case of further development of global warming.
