Page last modified 19 August 2023

Eritrea

Community

Area 117,600 square kilometres (land area 101,000 square kilometres)

Population,

450,000 (1910)

600,573 (1931)

1,007,000 (1960)

1,311,000 (1970) +30.2%

1,733,000 (1980) +32.2%

2,258,000 (1990) +30.3%

2,292,000 (2000) +15.1%

3,170,000 (2010) +38.3%

3,575,000 (2020) +12.8%

Ethnicity, No formal census has been conducted, but the Tigrinya people comprise about 55% of the population, and the Tigre people account for around 30%. In 1910, ca. 0.7% White.

Religion, %

	Christian	Islam
2010	56.0	42.0

Birth and death rates Below replacement rate = 2.1

	Fertility Rate	Birth Rate	Infant Mortality	Death Rate	% Aged Under 15	% Aged Over 65	% Urban
1960	6.9	48.7 (+22.7)		25.0	43.5	2.8	9.8
1972	6.6	46.1 (+26.1)		20.0	44.3	2.6	12.9
1975	6.6	45.4 (+26.4)	123.6	19.0	44.2	2.6	13.5
1980	6.5	44.0 (+26.0)	114.0	18.0	44.3	2.6	14.4
1990	6.2	41.0 (+25.0)	92.7	16.0	44.9	2.8	18.9
2000	5.4	38.5 (+27.5)	58.2	11.3	44.6	3.8	26.6
2010	4.6	36.0 (+27.2)	39.1	8.3	41.6	4.0	35.1
2014	4.3	33.5 (+26.2)	34.7	7.3	40.8	3.7
2015	4.2	32.8 (+25.7)	33.8	7.1
2017	4.1	30.9 (+24.3)	32.2	6.6
2018			31.3

Life expectancy,

38.4 (1960); 36.9 (M), 39.9 (F)

43.1 (1970); 41.6 (M), 44.8 (F)

46.6 (1980); 45.0 (M), 48.3 (F)

49.6 (1990); 48.0 (M), 51.3 (F)

55.3 (2000); 53.4 (M), 57.2 (F)

62.2 (2010); 60.2 (M), 64.3 (F)

66.4 (2020); 64.3 (M), 68.8 (F)

Population of principal cities, MA = Metropolitan Area

	ASMARA	Assab	Keren	Massawa
1904	9,000
1910		5,000
1945	85,000
1958	120,000			30,000
1967	178,537
1984	275,385
1991	367,300	40,000	32,110	40,000
2001	450,000		74,000
2005		20,000*
2009	1,146,822 MA
2012			146,500 MA	53,100
2017	1,258,000 MA

*Following the closure of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia in the 1990s, the town of Assab (which once handled almost 70% of Ethiopia�s exports) has lost most of its reason for existence. A border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti in 2008 also made life in Assab precarious.

Wealth; Gross Domestic Product (nominal values)

	GDP, US$ million	Total GDP, % of USA	GDP per capita, US$	GDP per capita % of USA
1992	477	0.01	153	0.60
1995	578	0.01	187	0.62
2000	705	0.01	208	0.57
2005	1,100	0.01	276	0.62
2010	2,117	0.01	482	1.00
2016	5,352	0.03	500	0.87

GDP by primary sector

	Agriculture % GDP	Agriculture % employed	Industry % GDP	Industry % employed	Services % GDP	Services % employed
1995	11.0	80.0	20.0		69.0
2002					62.1
2004		80.0
2010	11.8		20.4		67.7
2016	12.1		29.5		58.5

Communications

Language Official; Arabic, English, Tigrinya

	Tigre	Tigrinya
1995	31.0	48.0

Literacy

41.9% (1985)

55.7% (2000); 67.3% (M), 44.5% (F)

56.7% (2010); 68.2% (M), 45.6% (F)

73.8% (2015); 82.4% (M), 65.5% (F)

Physical communications � roads and railways,

Railway construction begun by the Italians in 1887; work was suspended when 27km had been completed, and recommenced in 1901. Railways reached Asmara in 1911, Keren in 1920, and Agordat in 1922. Railways reopened in 1997.

	Roads (km)	Surfaced (km)	Motor vehicles	Cars	Commercial Vehicles	Railways (km)
1890						25
1900						25
1910						69
1920						222
1930						305
1960						305
1996	4,010	874		5,940		305
2000	4,010	874				305
2007			44,000
2010						305
2013			70,300
2015						305

Electronic communications, TV broadcasts began 1993

	Telephones (landlines)	Mobile Telephones	Radios	Televisions	PCs	Internet Users
1992	13,000
1993			250,000	1,000
1995			310,000
1998						500
1999					5,000
2000	30,550		1,650,000	140,000	6,160	2,000
2002						9,000
2004		20,000
2005		40,000			35,000	70,000
2006				305,000
2010	48,500	141,000				200,000
2011		185,300				283,000
2012	60,000
2016	66,086	506,000

Tourism: Visitors to Eritrea,

315,000 (1995)

70,000 (2000)

83,307 (2005)

84,000 (2010)

107,000 (2011)