Demographics & population — Eritrea
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Eritrea: 6,081,196
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
6,081,196
- Population Growth Rate
2.36%
- Urban Population
- Population in Major Urban Areas
ASMARA (capital) 712,000
Age & family
- Age Structure
- Median Age
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
31
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
7.78
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
4.25
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
8%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
8%
- Mean Age for Mother's First Birth (age 25-49)
20.6
- Mother's mean age at first birth
20.6
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
- Language Note
Eritrea has no official language. Tigrinya, Arabic and English are all government, working languages. Tigrinya is spoken by highlanders, and is related to Tigre, spoken by people in the western and eastern lowlands. They use an ancient Ge'ez script. Like Arabic, they are both Semitic tongues. Arabic is widely used in commerce.
- Nationality Noun
Eritrean(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
58.6%
- Literacy - male
69.9%
- Literacy - female
47.6%
- Literacy Definition
NA
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
2.1%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
240
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
.05
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
.7
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
2.6%
- Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
High
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
1.5%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
34.5%
