23 September 2015 - Vatican City is a unique state in the world with a far from traditional economy that renders traditional economic analysis nearly useless against it. After all, GDP per capita is about $4 million compared to less than $100,000 in top ranked Norway. That's not a typo.

Vatican City is run by donations made by the Roman Catholic Church and Christians from around the world; the latter are commonly referred to as Peter's Pence. While it is known that a special Vatican City department collects and distributes the funds, Vatican City does not disclose details on the mangaement of its funds, further complicating efforts to understand it in standard economic terms. Apart from donations, Vatican City's other sources of revenue are more traditional and include tourism, international banking and financial operations, small manufacturing companies, and revenue from publications through the Vatican Publishing House.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, August 2015.