Relationship dossier
Vatican City
Iceland
Relationship assessment
Modest cooperation, including a papal visit to Iceland in 1989
Vatican City toward Iceland
+15Pope John Paul II visited Iceland in 1989 and met with Icelandic authorities, providing a concrete instance of Holy See engagement with the country.
Iceland toward Vatican City
+15Iceland received Pope John Paul II during his 1989 visit, including engagement with Icelandic authorities.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship includes diplomatic engagement illustrated by the 1989 papal visit and contact with Icelandic authorities. The breadth and continuity of other bilateral government cooperation are 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 Iceland have engaged through a papal visit to Iceland in 1989, which included contact with Icelandic authorities. This supports a modest assessment of bilateral cooperation, though the scope of other government-to-government activities is unclear.
Key developments
Pope John Paul II visited Iceland and met with Icelandic authorities.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of bilateral agreements and regular government cooperation is unclear.
- The extent of subsequent bilateral political engagement is unclear.