Vatican City
Vatican City passport ranking
The Vatican City passport is currently ranked 24th place on the Guide Passport Index. It provides a visa-free access to 156 countries. This makes it one of the more desirable passports in the world with a very high mobility score. Vatican City passport holders have visa-free and visa on arrival access to countries such as Brazil, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Chile and the entire European Union allowing almost instant travel worldwide. Vatican City passport holders do however require a visa to enter about 73 destinations in the world to countries such as India, the United States and China.
Vatican City Passport Ranking
The Vatican City passport ranking relative to other global passports is calculated by adding up the number of countries that allow Vatican City passport holders to enter without a visa (i.e. visa-free countries) and those that allow Vatican City passport holders to enter by obtaining a visa on arrival (i.e. visa-on-arrival countries) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA). There are currently a total of 116 Vatican City passport visa-free countries, 34 Vatican City visa-on-arrival countries, and 6 eTA destinations.
Altogether, Vatican City passport holders can enter a total of 156 destinations—either without a visa, through a visa on arrival, or via an eTA. As a result, the Vatican City passport ranks 24 in the world.
Separate from these Vatican City visa-free countries and visa-on-arrival countries, there are 73 additional destinations which Vatican City passport holders either need a physical visa to enter or an eVisa (i.e. visa required countries).
About Vatican City
The landlocked Vatican City State is an independent city state. It located within the city boundaries of Rome and is therefore completely surrounded by Italy. Vatican City has a surface area of only 0.49 square kilometers and is therefore the smallest country in the world. It measures only 1.05km in length and 0.85km in width. Its climate is Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters. The terrain is characterized by buildings only and a larger park.
The overall population is 618 people, which also makes it the smallest population of any country in the world. Vatican City does not have an airport and residents must travel to the nearby Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (FCO) in Italy or take a helicopter flight from the Vatican City heliport. There is a railway connection to Italy, which is mainly used for freight. Otherwise, the only entry to the country is via foot.
The Vatican City culture is dominated by the Catholic church, with the country being the seat of the pope and the global center of Christianity. There is no official language, however Italian and Latin is mostly used. The legal system is an Italian influenced civil law. The government type is a monarchy. The chief of state and head of government is the Pope. The mandate of the Pope is for life. The current pope is Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
The official currency of the country is the Euro (EUR) with the current exchange rate being EUR 0.94 to the USD. The country generates a yearly revenue of $315 million, does however have a spending of $348 million. The county therefore usually has a yearly deficit that is compensated by donations or reserves. The only goods of export are souvenirs for tourists and a small production of uniforms and mosaics.
Vatican City is mostly known as the capital of the Christian Catholic Church, which in itself is a UNESCO world heritage site. There are visitors arriving from all over the world to see this special place or to attend one of the masses held by the pope himself. The major sites are The St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Pinacoteca, the Piazza San Pedro, the Vatican Library and the gardens. There are a total of over 7 million visitors to the different sites of the country in a year.
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