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The Economic Activity of Holy See (Vatican City State)

In terms of economy there is hardly any present. There are no real sources of income in the economy except for the tourism and the sales of stamps and other souvenir items. There are postage stamps that tourists collect during their visit in Vatican, while others go for the publications.

Aside from the souvenirs and religious items that tourists acquire from this fine cit, there are three major sources of income. The first is the Instituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR). The IOR is known as the Vatican Bank that serves as an ATM and handles most of the state’s financial activities. The bank has its own coins that is distributed and is used by locals and merchants at the Vatican; however the bank also acknowledges Euro as a currency in the state. The use of Euro was not accepted until around 1999 when the state opened up to the prospect of the use of Euro for currency aside from the Vatican lira. The second is the voluntary contributions. The contributions are called St. Peter’s Penance. The penance comes from the tourists and visitors of the St. Peter’s Basilica and their donations and contributions to the church. As for the last type of source of income from the Vatican, the Vatican investments also contribute to the management of finances of the Vatican.

Most of the income that the state gets comes from the tourism that floods the city. All in all, the country is dependent on the little that it can produce.