Unlike typical salaried employees, the Pope’s needs are met through Vatican-provided stipends and allowances, covering expenses like housing, food, and transportation.

Vatican City, often called “the world’s smallest country,” is financially supported by donations, private businesses, and investments.

Pope Francis, upon assuming his role in 2013, opted against receiving a salary. Reports from February indicated that the Pope’s net worth at that time was approximately $16 million, encompassing assets made available to him as the pontiff.

The Vatican’s financial health has been unstable for several years, with its annual operating deficit exceeding $90 million in 2023, according to reports. In November, Pope Francis cautioned that the Vatican’s pension fund, which provides pensions to employees of the Holy See and Vatican City State, is facing a “severe prospective imbalance” that “tends to grow over time in the absence of interventions.”

Official financial figures from the Holy See, the Vatican’s governing body, are not publicly available. However, the CIA’s World Factbook estimated the Vatican’s 2013 revenues at $315 million and expenditures at $348 million.

The Vatican generates revenue through various sources. The Michigan Journal of Economics reports that a portion of the Holy See’s income comes from Peter’s Pence, an annual collection from Catholics worldwide given to the Pope, which accounts for $27 million annually. The United States, Germany, and Italy are the largest contributors, according to American Magazine.

Digital contacted the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for details on the Pope’s compensation but has not yet received a response.