How many people live in Vatican City right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
510
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 237 of 237
- Share of world population
- < 0.0001%
- Median age
- 56.2 years
- Children per woman
- 1.00
- Life expectancy
- 83.4 years
- People per km²
- 1,151
According to UN estimates, about 510 people live in Vatican City right now. It is the least populous of the 237 countries and territories covered by the UN, and it is home to one in every 16.3 million people on the planet.
Every year, about 2 people are born there and about 13 die. More people die than are born, and it is immigration that keeps the population growing. Overall, it gains about 2 people a year.
In 1950, about 880 people lived there. Today there are 42% fewer. The UN expects it to keep growing for the rest of the century. By 2050 it is projected to have about 714 people (40% more than today), and by 2100 about 1,361.
Half of its people are younger than 56 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.00 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 83 years (worldwide, 74). There are 1,151 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Vatican City in 2026?
- Vatican City has about 510 people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 506.
- How many people are born each day in Vatican City?
- Very few: about 2 a year. About 13 people die each year.
- Is the population of Vatican City growing?
- Yes: it grows by 1.38% a year, or about 2 people.
- What will the population of Vatican City be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 714.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Falkland Islands 3,464
- Tokelau 2,714
- Niue 1,823
More countries in Europe
- Russia 143,283,359
- Germany 83,580,342
- United Kingdom 70,046,045
- France 66,775,494
- Italy 58,850,844
- Spain 47,835,413
- Ukraine 39,443,524
- Poland 37,796,177
- Romania 18,765,984
- Netherlands 18,477,005
- Belgium 11,779,076
- Sweden 10,713,769
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.