Title: What is the Difference Between the Vatican City and the Holy See? - WorldAtlas
Headings: What is the Difference Between the Vatican City and the Holy See?
What is the Difference Between the Vatican City and the Holy See?
Vatican City Is A City-State (Geographical Region)
Holy See Is The Jurisdiction of the Pope (Administrative Entity)
Summary

Content: Vatican City Is A City-State (Geographical Region)
Political Map of Vatican City. Image credit: Peter Hermes Furian/Shutterstock.com
The truth is that the Catholic Church has a unique status in the world because of its religious and political influence. The Pope, who is the head of the Catholic Church, is both a political and religious leader. He is the head of both the Vatican City and the Holy See. The Vatican City is a city-state and the world’s smallest country by both population and geographical size. It covers an area of approximately 0.2 square miles and has a population of about 1,000 people. Although the city-state is an enclave within Italy’s capital city, Rome, it is a distinct territory with sovereign authority and exclusive dominion. The Vatican was created in 1929 following the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Kingdom of Italy and the Pope (Pope Pius XI). According to this treaty, Italy fully recognizes the Holy See’s jurisdiction and sovereignty.