Economy - overview:
Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country, accentuated by the recent implementation of restrictive economic policies. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations, a large share of the population - nearly 80% - is engaged in subsistence agriculture, but they produce only a small share of total output. Since the conclusion of the Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 2000, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. The government strictly controls the use of foreign currency by limiting access and availability. Few private enterprises remain in Eritrea. Eritrea's economy depends heavily on taxes paid by members of the diaspora. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military continue to interfere with agricultural production, and Eritrea's recent harvests have been unable to meet the food needs of the country. The Government continues to place its hope for additional revenue on the development of several international mining projects. Despite difficulties for international companies in working with the Eritrean Government, a Canadian mining company signed a contract with the government in 2007 and began mineral extraction in 2010. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and more importantly, on the government's willingness to support a true market economy.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Oil - proved reserves: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Exchange rates:
NOTE: The information regarding Eritrea on this page is re-published from the 2011 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Eritrea Economy 2011 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eritrea Economy 2011 should be addressed to the CIA.
$4.178 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
$2.254 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
4% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 80
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$700 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 224
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 11.8%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
20.4%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services:
67.7% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
1.935 million NA (2007)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 80%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry and services:
20% (2004 est.)
NA%
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
50% (2004 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
10.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $463.4 million
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$920.1 million (2009 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
20% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 222
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$1.382 billion (31 December 2010 est)
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$2.872 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$2.919 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
271 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
228 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
5,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 199
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
4,790 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
[see also: Oil - proved reserves country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 201
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 189
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$212 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$25 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 205
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures
India 25.3%, Italy 20.7%, Sudan 14.1%, China 12.9%, France 5.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.4% (2008)
$738 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Saudi Arabia 20.7%, India 13.6%, Italy 12.6%, China 9.9%, US 5.1%, Germany 4.6% (2008)
$104 million (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$NA (31 December 2010 est.)
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 15.375 (2010), 15.375 (2009), 15.38 (2008), 15.5 (2007), 15.4 (2006)
This page was last modified 09-Feb-11