Eritrea Geography - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 39 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 117,600 sq km

land: 101,000 sq km

water: 16,600 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries

total: 1,840 km

border countries (3): Djibouti 125 km; Ethiopia 1,033 km; Sudan 682 km

Coastline

2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate

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

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

Elevation

highest point: Soira 3,018 m

lowest point: near Kulul within the Danakil Depression -75 m

mean elevation: 853 m

Natural resources

gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish

Land use

agricultural land: 75.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 6.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 68.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 15.1% (2018 est.)

other: 9.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

210 sq km (2012)

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

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 on 12 June 2011

Geography - note

strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993

NOTE: The information regarding Eritrea on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Eritrea 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eritrea 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.