Population:
5,869,869 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic groups:
nine recognized ethnic groups: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, other (Afar, Beni Amir, Nera) 5% (2010 est.)

Languages:
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages

Religions:
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant

Demographic profile:
Eritrea is a persistently poor country that has made progress in some socioeconomic categories but not in others. Education and human capital formation are national priorities for facilitating economic development and eradicating poverty. To this end, Eritrea has made great strides in improving adult literacy – doubling the literacy rate over the last 20 years – in large part because of its successful adult education programs. The overall literacy rate was estimated to be almost 74% in 2015; more work needs to be done to raise female literacy and school attendance among nomadic and rural communities. Subsistence farming fails to meet the needs of Eritrea’s growing population because of repeated droughts, dwindling arable land, overgrazing, soil erosion, and a shortage of farmers due to conscription and displacement. The government’s emphasis on spending on defense over agriculture and its lack of foreign exchange to import food also contribute to food insecurity. Eritrea has been a leading refugee source country since at least the 1960s, when its 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia began. Since gaining independence in 1993, Eritreans have continued migrating to Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Egypt, or Israel because of a lack of basic human rights or political freedom, educational and job opportunities, or to seek asylum because of militarization. Eritrea’s large diaspora has been a source of vital remittances, funding its war for independence and providing 30% of the country’s GDP annually since it became independent. In the last few years, Eritreans have increasingly been trafficked and held hostage by Bedouins in the Sinai Desert, where they are victims of organ harvesting, rape, extortion, and torture. Some Eritrean trafficking victims are kidnapped after being smuggled to Sudan or Ethiopia, while others are kidnapped from within or around refugee camps or crossing Eritrea’s borders. Eritreans composed approximately 90% of the conservatively estimated 25,000-30,000 victims of Sinai trafficking from 2009-2013, according to a 2013 consultancy firm report.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.66% (male 1,199,355/female 1,187,467)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.39% (male 566,199/female 571,743)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 32.33% (male 933,825/female 963,812)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.73% (male 93,325/female 125,411)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 97,248/female 131,484) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 83.2%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 78.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 4.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 20.7% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 19.4 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 19 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 19.9 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 200

Population growth rate:
0.81% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
30.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-14.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 22.6% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 5.11% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
ASMARA (capital) 804,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.74 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
21.3
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
501 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 45.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 52.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 38.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 42

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.9 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 62.4 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 67.5 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 180

Total fertility rate:
4.07 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
3.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 184
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 73.2% of population rural: 53.3% of population total: 57.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 26.8% of population rural: 46.7% of population total: 42.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 44.5% of population rural: 7.3% of population total: 15.7% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 55.5% of population rural: 92.7% of population total: 84.3% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.61% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
14,100 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
500 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
3.4% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 188
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
38.8% (2010)
country comparison to the world: 7
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 82.4%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 65.5% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 5 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 6 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 4 years (2010)