Economy — Eritrea
GDP, employment, industries, public finance, and currency.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Economy at a glance
GDP, employment, industries, public finance, and currency. Key figure for Eritrea: Since formal independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced many economic problems, including lack of financial resources and chronic drought. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. Like the economies of many African nations,…
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Economic overview
- Economic Overview
Since formal independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced many economic problems, including lack of financial resources and chronic drought.
Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice.
Like the economies of many African nations, a large share of the population - nearly 80% in Eritrea - is engaged in subsistence agriculture, but the sector only produces a small share of the country's total output.
Mining accounts for the lion's share of output.
The government has strictly controlled the use of foreign currency by limiting access and availability; new regulations in 2013 aimed at relaxing currency controls have had little economic effect.
Few large private enterprises exist in Eritrea and most operate in conjunction with government partners, including a number of large international mining ventures, which began production in 2013.
In late 2015, the Government of Eritrea introduced a new currency, retaining the name nakfa, and restricted the amount of hard currency individuals could withdraw from banks per month.
The changeover has resulted in exchange fluctuations and the scarcity of hard currency available in the market.
While reliable statistics on Eritrea are difficult to obtain, erratic rainfall and the large percentage of the labor force tied up in military service continue to interfere with agricultural production and economic development.
Eritrea's harvests generally cannot meet the food needs of the country without supplemental grain purchases.
Copper, potash, and gold production are likely to continue to drive limited economic growth and government revenue over the next few years, but military spending will continue to compete with development and investment plans.
- Industries
Food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
- GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,300.00 (USD)
- GDP - real growth rate
3.7%
GDP & growth
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP)
$9,702,000,000 (USD)
- GDP Per Capita
$1,300.00 (USD)
- GDP - real growth rate
3.7%
- GDP - official exchange rate
$5,352,000,000 (USD)
- GDP - composition, by end use
- Household consumption: 80.6%
- Government consumption: 23.4%
- Investment in fixed capital: 9%
- Investment in inventories: 0.1%
- Exports of goods and services: 9.7%
- Imports of goods and services: -22.8%
- GDP by Sector- agriculture
12.1%
- GDP by Sector- Industry
29.5%
- GDP by Sector- services
58.5%
- Industrial Growth Rate
12.2%
Prices & money
- Inflation Rate
11.8%
- Exchange Rate per US Dollar
15.38
- Currency Name and Code
nakfa (ERN)
- Fiscal Year
Calendar year
Employment & labor
- Labor Force
2,620,000
- Unemployment Rate
8.6%
- Major Industries
Food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
- Agriculture Products
- Sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal
- livestock, goats
- fish
- Population Below Poverty Line
50%
Public finance
- Annual Budget
$1,580,000,000 (USD)
- Public Debt (% of GDP)
119.8%
- Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP
-10.9%
- Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP
29.5%