San Marino is a small landlocked country with an area of about 61.2 km2 (23.6 sq mi) on a rocky promontory at an elevation of 657 meters (2,156 ft) in central Italy. In 2023, the population was 33,636.[2] It is the third smallest country in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco. It is traditionally held to have been founded as a republic in 301 AD, was recognized by the Papacy in 1631, and became a member of the United Nations in 1992. As of 2009, the ethnic composition was about 84.95% Sammarinese, 14.6% Italians and others.
According to a 2021 report on religious freedom in the country, the population is 91.5% Christian, 5.6% agnostic, 1.9% atheist, and 1% 'other'.[1]
The country does not provide exact statistics of the religious affiliations of its people. However, in the early 2000s, it was inferred that at least 95% of the people were Roman Catholics, as in Italy,[3][4][5][6][7][8] but with a historical Jewish and Protestant minority.
Estimates in 2020 suggested that 85.45% of the population were Catholic, while 6% belonged to other Christian denominations, 1% were Baha'i and 7.56% had no religion; there were also approximately 10 Muslims in the country.[9]
San Marino's schools are all public and must offer Catholic-based religious education; there are no private religious schools.[1]
The oath of loyalty as prescribed in 1903 demanded that it is to be sworn on the "Holy Gospel". Those rules were changed in 1993 to give Parliamentarians the choice to replace the phrase of "Holy Gospel" to "on my honor". This legal "formulation" has been upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The traditional formulation was still mandatory in 2006 for other offices like that of the Captain regent and government minister.[3]