Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Vatican City?
In 2026, Vatican City scores 37 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 109th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 85th to 142nd allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (48 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is one record across your care (30 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country).
Vatican care runs through one polyclinic and a staff health fund; a 2024 data law sets a right of access but no fines.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
37/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 85th to 142nd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 40 out of 100 in Vatican City; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Decree DCLVII of 2024 gives a right to a copy of one's data within 30 working days, with only extra copies charged. It binds only the Governatorato, a data protection complaint ends in a final order, separate court action remains available, and there is no patient portal. Source: ULSA, Bollettino 32, April 30, 2024, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Vatican City?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Vatican City. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in Vatican City; the typical country scores 30. Health data may be used for care without consent, and the right to object gives way to public interest. We found no patient-visible access log and no shared record to opt out of. Source: ULSA, Bollettino 32, April 30, 2024, and the other sources below.
How does Vatican City compare?
In 2026, Vatican City scores 37 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Kosovo (37 out of 100), Albania (41 out of 100) and Moldova (41 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Kosovo, Albania, Moldova, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
40
45 · 50 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
30
30 · 30 · 32
Privacy and security15%
45
52 · 55 · 48
One record across your care15%
30
25 · 34 · 45
Protection from sale and ads10%
45
46 · 50 · 45
Doctors see it when treating you10%
33
25 · 30 · 35
Your say over research use5%
40
46 · 43 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
48
30 · 30 · 40
Black dot: Vatican City. Hollow dots: Kosovo, Albania, Moldova (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Dashed teal line: the typical EU country. Overall: Vatican City 37 out of 100, the typical EU country 61. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Vatican City need to change to score higher?
Vatican City sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (30 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and your say over research use (40 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Your say over research use: A way to say no to research use that is actually honored, or being asked first, plus a public list of what research used the data. That puts this right at 55 to 85 out of 100.
Which laws give health record rights in Vatican City?
Decreto N. DCLVII, Regolamento Generale sulla protezione dei Dati personali (2024): GDPR-style rules for the Governatorato; access copy in 30 working days; no fines; three-year trial.
Decreto N. DCCII, Linee Guida in materia di intelligenza artificiale (2024): AI principles for Governatorato bodies; patients told of AI in Directorate of Health and Hygiene (DSI) care; doctors keep decisions.
Statuto del Fondo Assistenza Sanitaria (FAS) (2016): Sets up the health fund for Holy See and Governatorato staff; care entrusted to the Directorate of Health and Hygiene (DSI).
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
unknown
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
unknown
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Vatican City scored 37 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 109th of 198 countries and territories (could be 85th to 142nd), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/vatican-city/
The 14 sources for Vatican City
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Decreto N. DCLVII, Regolamento Generale sulla protezione dei Dati personali, 30 aprile 2024” [Decree No. DCLVII, General Regulation on the protection of personal Data, 30 April 2024] our machine translation
ULSA, Bollettino 32 [ULSA, Bulletin 32] (law or regulation) · Title in Italian
Dated April 30, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Privacy and security; Protection from sale and ads; Your say over research use
“Protezione dati nella Chiesa, la legge privacy del Vaticano: peculiarità rispetto al GDPR” [Data protection in the Church, the Vatican privacy law: peculiarities compared with the GDPR] our machine translation
Cybersecurity360 (news) · Title in Italian
Dated July 11, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Norme a tutela della dignità della persona negli accertamenti sanitari e dei dipendenti affetti da gravi patologie, Segreteria di Stato” [Rules protecting the dignity of the person in health assessments and of employees suffering from serious illnesses, Secretariat of State] our machine translation
ULSA, Bollettino 33 [ULSA, Bulletin 33] (law or regulation) · Title in Italian
Dated November 18, 2011 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
“Decreto N. DCCII, Linee Guida in materia di intelligenza artificiale, 16 dicembre 2024” [Decree No. DCCII, Guidelines on artificial intelligence, 16 December 2024] our machine translation
ULSA, Bollettino 32 [ULSA, Bulletin 32] (law or regulation) · Title in Italian
Dated December 16, 2024 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/vatican-city/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
