Relationship dossier
Vatican City
Ethiopia
Relationship assessment
The Holy See and Ethiopia have a cooperative relationship, including a 2015 agreement on the Catholic Church’s legal status in Ethiopia.
Vatican City toward Ethiopia
+20The Holy See concluded a 2015 agreement with Ethiopia concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in the country.
Ethiopia toward Vatican City
+20Ethiopia concluded a 2015 agreement with the Holy See concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship includes diplomatic engagement and a bilateral agreement addressing the Catholic Church’s legal status in Ethiopia. These features indicate practical cooperation, while the wider scope and durability of government-to-government cooperation remain unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The Holy See and Ethiopia have maintained diplomatic relations, and in 2015 they concluded an agreement concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia. This provides evidence of practical bilateral cooperation, though the scope of other government-to-government cooperation is less clear.
Key developments
The Holy See and Ethiopia signed an agreement concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia.
Major uncertainties
- The agreement’s implementation and practical effects are unclear.
- Details of cooperation beyond the agreement are limited.