8 Surprising Facts About the Vatican

The Vatican City, which is actually a sovereign state, came into existence in 1929 with the signing of the Lateran Treaty. Since then, the city has been a huge tourist draw bringing millions of visitors every year. However, many of those visitors are not aware of some very surprising facts surrounding the city, from the Vatican's involvement in Watergate to its stance on extraterrestrial life

1. Smallest landmass of any country

With a total land area of 0.44 square kilometers, the country is smaller than the soon to be completed US embassy in Iraq. The Vatican City is landlocked by Italy, and has only streets, no highways.

2. The official language is not Latin

The Vatican actually has no official language. Most important documents are written in Italian, but there is no rule behind this. Within the Vatican, Italian, English, French, German and Spanish are often spoken.

3. The Vatican acknowledges the possibility of life of other planets

Much to the surprise of some, the official stance of the Vatican is that life on other planet's is theoretically possible. Father Jose Funes, director of the Vatican's observatory made the statement in 2006.  Of course, regardless of what these life forms comprise of, the Vatican claims they would be God's creations.

4. Highest crime rate in the world

The Vatican City has a population of 492 as of 2006. That same year, the country had 341 civil and 486 criminal cases.  On a per capita basis, this makes it the most crime-ridden place in the entire world. If that wasn't awful, 90% of the crimes go unpunished. When you realize how many visitors the country has every year and that these tourists commit the majority of the crimes, it's not so bad though. That leads us to our next fact...

5. Highest tourist visitor rate of any country

The Vatican had over 4.3 million visitors in 2007, making it the most visited place per capita in the world. That works out to 8,739 visitors per resident. France, which is commonly referred to as the most visited country in absolute terms, has only 1.26 visitors per resident.

6. Largest export: Postage Stamps

Along with tourist trinkets, the Vatican's main internal revenue generator is postage stamps. Its largest overall source of income however is from Peter's Pence (donations made by members of the church to support the Holy See), which in 2007 totaled $79,837,843 down from $101,900,192 in 2006. The country had expenditures of over $307,000,000 in 2007.

7. Most police per capita

The city has about 260 police offers when you combine the Swiss Guard and the Gendarmerie Corps. That's about one officer for every two residents. The country has no jail however, so incarceration is handled by the Italian government at the expense of the Vatican.

8. The Vatican financed the Watergate Hotel and Apartment complex

An Italian real estate company called Societa Generale Immobiliare was responsible for the construction of the Watergate Hotel and Apartment complex. The Vatican held 20% of SGI's stock making them the largest single shareholder, and effectively financed the construction.

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