Vatican publishes financial figures, showing smaller deficit for 2015

March 06, 2017

The Vatican has published financial figures for 2015, showing a deficit of €12.4 million ($13 million)—roughly half of the deficit figure for the previous year.

The Secretariat for the Economy produced financial figures for 2015 on March 4. The figures were less detailed than those of the previous year. An accompanying Vatican statement explained that this was due to a switch to a new accounting system. Full figures for 2016 are expected later this year.

The Vatican city-state, which operates on a separate budget, produced a €59.9 million ($63.4 million) surplus for 2015. The city-state, unlike the Holy See, enjoys significant revenues, mostly from the Vatican Museums. For the Holy See, the main sources of income are contributions from the world’s dioceses and income from investments. The greatest costs are personnel expenses: payments for the officials and staff of the Roman Curia.

The Secretariat for the Economy, which has been struggling to impose controls on Vatican financial affairs, said that the figures for 2015 were the first produced under new rules for consolidated financial management. This year, for the first time, the Secretariat for the Economy prepared an overall budget for 2017, which has been approved.

 

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Further information:

• Vatican publishes consolidated financial statement for 2015 (Vatican Radio)
• Vatican figures show deficit halved (AP)