In ethnically diverse Ethiopia, Catholicism takes its cue from Orthodox Christianity, which dominates the national historical narrative. The Catholic Church here encompasses both the Latin rite liturgy, which is more contemporary and spoken in the vernacular, and the Ethiopian rite, a much longer Mass spoken in the antiquated Ge’ez language and sung in a style of chanting called zema, which dates to the sixth century. Ethiopians are especially endeared to angels — Gabriel, Michael and Raphael — whom they see as messengers between God and man and as protectors from evil. 74% of Ethiopians believe in angels, and 62% in miracles.
Nearly 80% of all Ethiopians, and 77% of Christians, report that religion is very important in their lives. While this number is low for Africa, it is much higher than in all of Latin America, Europe and North America. Read more...
National Demographics
- 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
- 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
- 3 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
- 4 Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
- 5 World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report, 2016.
- 6 UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016.
Catholic Demographics
These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.
