Eritrea
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
Eritrea won independence from Italian colonial control in 1941, but the UN only established it as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952, after a decade of British administrative control. Ethiopia's full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year conflict for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean fighters defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afwerki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule, particularly since 2001, has been characterized by highly autocratic and repressive actions. His government has created a highly militarized society by instituting an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service -- divided between military and civilian service -- of indefinite length. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in 2000. Ethiopia rejected a subsequent 2007 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) demarcation. More than a decade of a tense “no peace, no war” stalemate ended in 2018 when the newly elected Ethiopian prime minister accepted the EEBC’s 2007 ruling, and the two countries signed declarations of peace and friendship. Eritrean leaders then engaged in intensive diplomacy around the Horn of Africa, bolstering regional peace, security, and cooperation, as well as brokering rapprochements between governments and opposition groups. In 2018, the UN Security Council lifted an arms embargo that had been imposed on Eritrea since 2009, after the UN Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group reported they had not found evidence of Eritrean support in recent years for al-Shabaab. The country’s rapprochement with Ethiopia led to a resumption of economic ties, but the level of air transport, trade, and tourism have remained roughly the same since late 2020. The Eritrean economy remains agriculture-dependent, and the country is still one of Africa’s poorest nations. Eritrea faced new international condemnation and US sanctions in mid-2021 for its participation in the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional State, where Eritrean forces were found to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. As most Eritrean troops were departing northern Ethiopia in January 2023, ISAIAS began a series of diplomatic engagements aimed at bolstering Eritrea’s foreign partnerships and regional influence. Despite the country's improved relations with its neighbors, ISAIAS has not let up on repression, and conscription and militarization continue.
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km; islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)
Geography - note
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes
Irrigated land
210 sq km (2012)
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural hazards
frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms volcanism: Dubbi (1,625 m), which last erupted in 1861, was the country's only historically active volcano until Nabro (2,218 m) came to life in 2011
Natural resources
Terrain
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
0.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 64.2 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 57.6 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 6.6 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 15.1 (2025 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
1.65 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
4.2% of GDP (2021) 2.4% of national budget (2022 est.)
Hospital bed density
1 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 39 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 46.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 32.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Major urban areas - population
1.073 million ASMARA (capital) (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
291 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
21.3 years (2010 est.) note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
Nationality
noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5% (2016)
Physician density
0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Population distribution
density is highest in the center of the country, in and around the cities of Asmara (capital) and Keren; smaller settlements exist in the north and south, as shown in this population distribution map
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Religions
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 8 years (2015 est.) male: 9 years (2015 est.) female: 7 years (2015 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 7.5% (2020 est.) male: 14.7% (2020 est.) female: 0.2% (2020 est.)
Climate & Issues
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 43.3% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 3.67% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 727,000 tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 6.8% (2022 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
a red isosceles triangle (based on the left side) divides the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower is blue; a gold wreath around a gold olive branch is on the left side of the red triangle
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); 'Anseba, Debub (South), Debubawi K'eyyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash-Barka, Ma'ikel (Central), Semienawi K'eyyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Eritrea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 20 years
Constitution
history: ratified by the Constituent Assembly 23 May 1997 (never implemented) amendment process: proposed by the president of Eritrea or by assent of at least one half of the National Assembly membership; passage requires at least an initial three-quarters majority vote by the Assembly and, after one year, final passage by at least four-fifths majority vote by the Assembly
Country name
conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia etymology: the country name derives from the ancient Greek name Erythra Thalassa, meaning "Red Sea," the body of water that borders the country
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): High Court (consists of 20 judges and organized into civil, commercial, criminal, labor, administrative, and customary sections) judge selection and term of office: High Court judges appointed by the president subordinate courts: regional/zonal courts; community courts; special courts; sharia courts (for issues dealing with Muslim marriage, inheritance, and family); military courts
Legal system
mixed system of civil, customary, and Islamic religious law
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural) selected World Heritage Site locales: Asmara: A Modernist African City
Political parties
People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ (the only party recognized by the government)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economic Overview
largely agrarian economy with a significant mining sector; substantial fiscal surplus due to tight controls; high and vulnerable debts; increased Ethiopian trade and shared port usage decreasing prices; financial and economic data integrity challenges
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Debt - external
$461.376 million (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Exchange rates
nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - Exchange rates: 15.075 (2024 est.) 15.075 (2023 est.) 15.075 (2022 est.) 15.075 (2021 est.) 15.075 (2020 est.)
Industries
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
7.4% (2022 est.) 6.6% (2021 est.) 5.6% (2020 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$191.694 million (2019 est.) $163.034 million (2018 est.) $143.412 million (2017 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Active internet users as a percentage of the total population.
Fixed Broadband
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Railways
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Military Expenditures
Active Duty Strengths
available information varies widely; estimated 150,000-200,000 active Defense Forces (2025)
Service & Defense Details
Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF): Eritrean Ground Forces, Eritrean Navy, Eritrean Air Force; People's Militia (aka People's Army or Hizbawi Serawit) (2024) note: police are responsible for maintaining internal security, but the government sometimes uses the armed forces, reserves, demobilized soldiers, or civilian militia to meet domestic as well as external security requirements; the armed forces have authority to arrest and detain civilians
the EDF's inventory is comprised primarily of Soviet-era weapons and equipment (2025)
the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion; the conscript-based Army is the dominant service since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of human rights abuses; in recent years, it has provided training support to the military of Somalia (2025)
Eritrea mandates military service for all citizens age 18-40; 18-month conscript service obligation, which reportedly includes 4-6 months of military training and 12 months of military or other national service (military service is most common); in practice, military and national service is often extended indefinitely; citizens up to the age of 59 eligible for recall during mobilization (2025)