Rome, the cosmopolitan capital of Italy and also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, is the fourth-most populous city, central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, along the shores of the Tiber and almost 4.3 million people living in the whole metropolitan area. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome. Rome has the status of a global city. Italy is considered the world’s most comprehensive marketing research on client products, commercial industries, demographics trends and client lifestyles.  Rome ranked in 2016 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.