Laws in Vatican City
How the Vatican City is classified on 16 of the 48 laws this site maps, grouped by subject. Each links to the full answer and its source.
Body & Life
- Abortion
- Illegal Abortion is prohibited, with no explicit exceptions recorded.
Money & Games
- Gambling Age
- Gambling prohibited Gambling is prohibited for all ages in Vatican City, with the sole exception of the government lottery.
Daily Life
- Public Smoking Bans
- Comprehensive ban Smoking is banned in all public places and workplaces within Vatican City.
Animals & Environment
- Fur Farming
- Legal No ban on fur farming.
- Cosmetic Animal Testing
- No ban No ban on testing cosmetics on animals.
- Plastic Bag Bans
- Banned Lightweight plastic bags are banned nationwide.
Civic & Family
- Compulsory Voting
- Voluntary Voting is voluntary.
Relationships & Sexuality
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal Same-sex sexual activity is legal.
- Age of Consent
- 18+ The age of consent is 18.
- Sex Work
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Vatican City.
- Divorce
- Not possible Divorce is not legally available.
Speech & Belief
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law No specific law against Holocaust denial.
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban No legal ban on conversion therapy.
Justice & Weapons
- Death Penalty
- Fully abolished Fully abolished for all crimes.
- Gun Laws
- Highly restrictive / banned Civilians cannot obtain handguns.
Substances
- Cannabis
- Illegal Cannabis is illegal for all purposes.
Nearby countries
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.