Demographics of Eritrea

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Hatnote|hatnote}} Template:Infobox place demographics Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with some proposing numbers as low as 3.6 million<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population" /> and others as high as 6.7 million.<ref name="COMESA_ERpop_2019" /> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.<ref name="PHS2010_full" />

File:Eritrea Population 1950-2021 Forecast 2022-2032 UN World Population Prospects 2022.svg

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

The nation has nine recognized ethnic groups. Of these, the largest is the Tigrinya, who make up around 50% of the population; the Tigre people, who also speak an Ethiosemitic language, constitute around 30% of residents.<ref name=":2" /> Most of the rest of the population belong to other Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities of the Cushitic branch. Additionally, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking ethnic minorities and other smaller groups.<ref name="Minahan">Template:Cite book</ref>

The two most followed religions are Christianity (47%-63% of the total population) and Islam (37%-52%).<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Population

Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with UN DESA proposing a low estimate of 3.6 million for 2021<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population" /> and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa proposing a high estimate of 6.7 million for 2019.<ref name="COMESA_ERpop_2019" /> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.<ref name="PHS2010_full" /> In its 2019 data release, UN DESA described why its estimate was much lower than earlier estimates, stating, "The decrease is due to the availability of new official population estimates for several years (population count in 2000, official estimates up to 2018) that contribute to lower the size of the population in the recent years, as well as to revised past estimates since 1950."<ref name="UNDESA2019_release_notes" />

In the 2010s, worsening conditions fueled migration pressure, with Eritreans trying to reach Europe illegally.<ref>Why they leave -- Eritreans are taking to the seas because of worsening conditions at home 12 October 2013. "Some 30,000 people reached Italy illegally in boats in the first nine months of 2013, three times as many as in the whole of 2012, according to Frontex, [...] the largest batch came from Eritrea, a country that has supposedly been at peace for the past 13 years." Emigration has left Eritrea ‘desolate’, say bishops, Catholic Herald, 6 September 2014.</ref><ref>Bilateral Estimates of Migrant Stocks in 2010 estimates 942,000 emigrants, of whom 450,000 migrated to Sudan and 290,000 to Ethiopia. Cf. the World' Bank's Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011.</ref> The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs expects Eritrean population growth to accelerate to 1.8% per year from 2020 to 2030, vs. 1.1% per year from 2010 to 2020.<ref name="WPP 2010" />

The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 41.1%, 54.3% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% were 65 or older.<ref name="WPP 2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Eritrea single age population pyramid 2020.png

Eritrea population pyramid in 2020

	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	45.3	51.6	3.0
1960	43.4	53.9	2.7
1970	44.1	53.4	2.5
1980	44.3	53.1	2.6
1990	45.2	52.1	2.7
2000	45.7	50.4	3.8
2010	39.5	56.5	4.0
2020	41.1	54.3	4.5

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (1 July 2020) (Estimates based on the 2000 quick population count results and 1995, 2002 and 2010 Eritrea Demographic and Health Surveys.):<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 704 531	1 760 057	3 464 588	100
0–4	258 209	260 452	518 661	14.97
5–9	226 081	229 410	455 492	13.15
10–14	189 259	192 799	382 058	11.03
15–19	156 082	159 332	315 413	9.10
20–24	141 888	134 220	276 108	7.97
25–29	166 664	158 295	324 959	9.38
30–34	139 275	141 835	281 110	9.11
35–39	103 079	103 347	206 427	5.96
40–44	62 197	76 107	138 304	3.99
45–49	60 159	77 960	138 119	3.99
50–54	47 632	55 264	102 896	2.97
55–59	39 491	50 117	89 607	2.59
60–64	34 801	35 259	70 060	2.02
65–69	28 019	28 134	56 153	1.62
70–74	22 886	24 318	47 204	1.36
75–79	14 576	18 574	33 150	0.96
80–84	8 912	10 116	19 028	0.55
85+	5 323	4 519	9 842	0.28
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	673 549	682 661	1 356 210	39.14
15–64	951 266	991 735	1 943 001	56.08
65+	79 716	85 661	165 377	4.77

Vital statistics

Demographic and Health Surveys

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Population Division published its UN DESA 2019 Revision (World Population Prospects 2019) data release<ref name="UNDESA2019_data_sources" /> based on several data samples, including the 1995 and 2002 Demographic and Health Surveys (1995 DHS, 2002 DHS) and the 2010 Population and Health Survey (2010 PHS), since a full census had not been carried out in Eritrea Template:As of.<ref name="PHS2010_full" />Template:Rp

The 1995 DHS survey was carried out in Eritrea by the Eritrean National Statistics Office (NSO) and Macro International Inc., collecting data by interviewing 5,054 women aged 15–49 and 1,114 men aged 15–59, chosen to be a statistically representative sample, from September 1995 to January 1996.<ref name="DHS1995_full" />

The 2002 DHS survey was carried out by the NSO (renamed as the National Statistics and Evaluation Office), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and ORC Macro, collecting data with interviews of 8,754 women in Eritrea in the 15–49 age range, in what was considered to be a statistically representative sample of the full population.<ref name="DHS2002_full" /> Key findings of the survey included a drop from 1995 to 2002 of fertility from 6.1 to 4.8 children per woman; improved knowledge of contraception; a drop in post-neonatal mortality; improved antenatal care; a doubling of the full vaccination rate for 12–23 month old babies from 41 to 76 percent; 38 percent of children under five years old were chronically malnourished or stunted; and near universal knowledge of HIV and AIDS.<ref name="DHS2002_key_findings" />

In 2010, the NSO, supported by the Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, published a Population and Health Survey (EPHS2010), based on a survey covering 34,423 households by choosing 900 areas around Eritrea, 525 rural and 375 urban, and randomly selecting 40 households in each cluster. Interviews aimed to include all women aged 15–49 and men aged 15–59 who were either residents or visitors in any selected household on the night preceding the interview. Key findings compared to the 1995 DHS survey included a decrease in early childhood mortality, increased children's vaccination, decreased maternal death, and a "wide gap between knowledge and use of family planning".<ref name="PHS2010_full" />

Fertility and mortality

Period	Live births per 5 years<ref name="UNDESA2019_births" />	Deaths per 5 years<ref name="UNDESA2019_mortality" />	Natural change per 5 years	CBR*<ref name="UNDESA2019_CBR" />	CDR*<ref name="UNDESA2019_CDR" />	NC*<ref name="UNDESA2019_NatChange" />	TFR*<ref name="UNDESA2019_TFR" />	IMR*<ref name="UNDESA2019_IMR" />
1950–1955	204 000	128 000	76 000	47.5	29.7	17.7	6.96	199
1955–1960	233 000	128 000	105 000	48.8	26.8	22.0	6.96	181
1960–1965	261 000	127 000	134 000	48.4	23.6	24.8	6.82	160
1965–1970	291 000	133 000	158 000	47.4	21.7	25.7	6.70	148
1970–1975	324 000	140 000	184 000	46.0	19.8	26.2	6.62	140
1975–1980	366 000	148 000	218 000	45.3	18.3	27.9	6.62	132
1980–1985	422 000	161 000	261 000	45.2	17.3	27.7	6.70	121
1985–1990	469 000	174 000	295 000	44.0	16.4	23.3	6.6	112
1990–1995	428 000	168 000	260 000	38.4	15.1	19.4	6.3	94.4
1995–2000	359 000	140 000	219 000	31.9	12.5	24.0	5.6	71.1
2000–2005	442 000	135 000	307 000	34.6	10.6	28.3	5.1	59.4
2005–2010	564 000	140 000	424 000	37.6	9.4	28.3	4.8	51.6
2010–2015	552 000	134 000	418 000	33.9	8.2	25.7	4.35	45.0
2015–2020	528 000	125 000	403 000	30.6	7.2	23.4	4.1	34.7
* Values per year: CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Urban/rural and geographical distribution

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR) (1995 DHS, Table 3.1;<ref name="DHS1995_full" /> 2002 DHS, Table 4.1;<ref name="DHS2002_full" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>)

Year	Total		Urban		Rural
	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
1995	37.5	6.10	29.3	4.23	40.3	6.99
2002	32	4.8	28	3.5	35	5.7

Fertility geographical distribution as of 2010 (PHS, Table 4–2):<ref name="PHS2010_full" />

Zoba	Total fertility rate	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant
Debubawi Keih Bahri	4.2	5.4	7.6
Maekel	3.4	4.1	5.5
Semenawi Keih Bahri	5.4	5.9	8.1
Anseba	5.7	6.3	8.2
Gash-Barka	5.4	5.6	8.0
Debub	5.0	6.0	7.9

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years<ref name="UNDESA2019_LifeExpect" />
1950–1955	34.08
1955–1960	Template:Increase 36.68
1960–1965	Template:Increase 40.08
1965–1970	Template:Increase 42.15
1970–1975	Template:Increase 44.11
1975–1980	Template:Increase 45.91
1980–1985	Template:Increase 47.33
1985–1990	Template:Increase 48.69
1990–1995	Template:Increase 50.77
1995–2000	Template:Increase 53.97
2000–2005	Template:Increase 56.70
2005–2010	Template:Increase 60.71
2010–2015	Template:Increase 63.42
2015–2020	Template:Increase 65.74

Migration

Template:Image frame In 2015, there was a major outflow of emigrants from Eritrea. The Guardian attributed the emigration to Eritrea being "a totalitarian state where most citizens fear arrest at any moment and dare not speak to their neighbours, gather in groups or linger long outside their homes", with a major factor being the conditions and long durations of conscription in the Eritrean Army.<ref name="Guardian_not_at_war_fled" /> At the end of 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that about 507,300 Eritreans were refugees who had fled Eritrea.<ref name="HRW_ER_2019" /> Factors corresponding to emigration include the "lack of political, religious and social freedom", economic reasons and indefinite military service. Young people choosing to flee Eritrea often keep their plans secret from their families in order to decrease their families' stress and risk of being fined or imprisoned. Payment to people smugglers is typically made when a refugee arrives in Libya and provides the smugglers with a telephone number of a diaspora contact who is expected to pay.<ref name="Conversation_ER_why_emigrate" /> Several refugees given educational opportunities while residing in refugee camps in Ethiopia felt that they lacked long-term life opportunities beyond obtaining academic degrees, motivating them to attempt further emigration to Europe.<ref name="Conversation_ER_why_risky_migration" />

During the first four half decades of the twenty-first century, UN DESA Population Division, in its 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects, estimated that Eritrea had 227 thousand more immigrants than emigrants during 2000–2005 (more people arrived than left), and had net outflows afterwards, with 80 thousand net emigrants during 2005–2010, 246 thousand during 2010–2015 and 199 thousand during 2015–2020.<ref name="UNDESA_migration_worldwide_2019" />

Ethno-linguistic groups

File:Ethno-Demography of Eritrea.png

Ethno-Demography of Eritrea

Eritrea's population comprises nine recognized ethnic groups, most of whom speak languages from the Ethiopian Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family.<ref name="Minahan" /> The East African Semitic languages spoken in Eritrea are Tigre, Tigrinya, and the newly recognized Dahlik. Other Afro-Asiatic languages belonging to the Cushitic branch are also widely spoken in the country.<ref name="Minahan" /> The latter include Afar, Beja, Blin, and Saho.

In addition, languages belonging to the Nilo-Saharan language family (Kunama and Nara) are spoken as a mother tongue by the Kunama and Nara Nilotic ethnic minorities that live in the north and northwestern part of the country.<ref name="Minahan" /> The Rashaida speak Arabic, while there are also a number of Italians who speak their native Italian language.

Afro-Asiatic communities

Semitic speakers

Tigrinya

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Traditional Eritrean dance.jpg

A Tigrigna traditional dance.

The majority of the Tigrinya inhabit the highlands of Eritrea; however, migration to other parts of the country has occurred. Their language is called Tigrinya. They are the largest ethnic group in the country, constituting about 50% of the population.<ref name=":2" /> The predominantly Tigrinya populated urban centers in Eritrea are the capital Asmara, Mendefera, Dekemhare, Adi Keyh, Adi Quala and Senafe, while there is a significant population of Tigrinya in other cities including Keren, and Massawa. They are 92% Christians, (of which 90% are of the Eritrean Orthodox faith, 5% Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic (whose mass is held in Ge'ez as opposed to Latin), and 5% belonging to various Protestant and other Christian denominations, the majority of which belong to the (Lutheran) Evangelical Church of Eritrea).

Tigre

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File:Traditional Eritrean dancing.jpg

Traditional Tigre dance

The Tigre reside in the western lowlands in Eritrea. Many also migrated to Sudan at the time of the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict and lived there since. They are a nomadic and pastoralist people, related to the Tigrinya and to the Beja people. They are a predominantly Muslim nomadic people who inhabit the northern, western, and coastal lowlands of Eritrea, and constitute 30% of the country's population.<ref name=":2" /> Some also inhabit areas in eastern Sudan. 95% of the Tigre people adhere to the Islamic religion Sunni Islam, but there are a small number of Christians among them as well (often referred to as the Mensaï in Eritrea). Their language is called Tigre.

Rashaida

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Rashaida are one of Eritrea's nine recognized ethnic groups. They represent around 1% of the population of Eritrea. The Rashaida reside in the northern coastal lowlands of Eritrea and the northern eastern coasts of Sudan. They are predominantly Muslim and are the only ethnic group in Eritrea to have Arabic as their communal language, specifically the Hejazi dialect. The Rashaida first came to Eritrea in the 19th century from the Arabian Coast.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Jeberti

The Jeberti people in Eritrea trace descent from early Muslim adherents. The term Jeberti is also locally sometimes used to generically refer to all Islamic inhabitants of the highlands.<ref name="Lhrfda">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Jeberti in Eritrea speak Arabic and Tigrinya.<ref name="Eotpoaatme">Template:Cite book</ref> They account for about 8% of the Tigrinya speakers in the nation.

Cushitic speakers

Afar

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} According to the CIA, the Afar constitute 4% of the nation's population.<ref name=":2" /> They live in the Debubawi Keyih Bahri Region of Eritrea, as well as the Afar Region in Ethiopia, and Djibouti. They speak the Afar language as a mother tongue, and are predominantly Muslim. Afars in Eritrea number about 600,000 individuals, the smallest population out of the countries they reside in. In Djibouti, there are about 780,000 group members, and in Ethiopia, they number approximately 2,100,000.

Saho

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Saho represent 4% of Eritrea's population.<ref name=":2" /> They principally reside in the Debubawi Keyih Bahri Region and the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. Their language is called Saho. They are predominantly Muslim, although a few Christians known as the Irob live in the Debub Region of Eritrea and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Bilen

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Bilen in Eritrea represent around 3% of the country's population.<ref name=":2" /> They are primarily concentrated in the north-central areas, in and around the city of Keren, and south towards Asmara, the nation's capital. Many of them entered Eritrea from Kush (central Sudan) in the 8th century and settled at Merara, after which they went to Wag and Lasta. The Bilen then returned to Axum in Ethiopia's Tigray Province, and battled with the natives; in the resulting aftermath, the Bilen returned to their main base at Merara. The Bilen include adherents of both Islam and Christianity. They speak the Bilen language as a mother tongue. Christian adherents are mainly urban and have interbred with the Tigrinya who live in the area. Muslim adherents are mainly rural and have intermingled with the adjacent Tigre.

Beja

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Beja in Eritrea, or Hedareb, constitute 2% of local residents.<ref name=":2" /> They mainly live along the north-western border with Sudan. Group members are predominantly Muslim and communicate in Beja as a first or second language. The Beja also include the Beni-Amer people, who have retained their native Beja language alongside Hedareb.

Nilo-Saharan communities

Kunama

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} According to the CIA, the Kunama constitute around 4% of Eritrea's population.<ref name=":2" /> They mainly live in the country's Gash Barka Region, as well as in adjacent parts of Ethiopia's Tigray Region. Many of them reside in the contested border village of Badme. Their language is called Kunama. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity (Roman Catholic and Protestant) or Islam.

Nara

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Nara represent 2% of the nation's population.<ref name=":2" /> They principally reside along the south-western border with Sudan and Ethiopia. They are generally Muslim, with a few Christians and some practising their indigenous beliefs. Their language is called Nara.

Other communities

Italians

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A few monolingual Italian Eritreans remain. As of 2008, they were estimated at 900 people, down from around 38,000 residents at the end of World War II.

Languages

Afar, Arabic (spoken by the Rashaida), Beja (spoken by the Hedareb), Blin, Kunama, Nara, Saho, Tigre, Tigrinya, as a second language. English, Italian and Arabic are the foremost second languages.

Religion

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} <imagemap> File:Regions of Eritrea.svg|thumb|Regions of Eritrea 1. Maekel 2. Anseba 3. Gash-Barka 4. Debub 5. Northern Red Sea 6. Southern Red Sea poly 167 182 163 205 179 211 184 203 176 179 Maekel Region poly 167 182 176 179 118 108 118 50 59 85 53 133 Anseba Region poly 163 205 167 182 53 133 19 258 91 276 135 239 147 206 Gash-Barka Region poly 184 203 179 211 147 206 135 239 153 254 221 248 225 226 189 200 Debub Region poly 176 179 184 203 189 200 225 226 221 248 271 259 279 220 200 159 155 21 118 50 118 108 Northern Red Sea Region poly 279 220 271 259 419 388 442 361 319 241 Southern Red Sea Region </imagemap> People in Eritrea practice various religions. According to the Pew Research Center (2010), 62.9% of the population are Christian, mostly followers of Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo, and to a lesser extent, Roman Catholicism, with the second-largest religion being Muslims.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In general, most local residents who adhere to Christianity live in the Maekel and Debub regions, whereas those who follow Islam predominantly inhabit the Anseba, Northern Red Sea, Southern Red Sea and Gash-Barka regions. A few adherents of traditional faiths can also be found, particularly in the lowlands.

Region<ref name="EncycloGRel">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>	Christians Template:Percentage bar	Muslims Template:Percentage bar	Other Template:Percentage bar
Maekel Region, ዞባ ማእከል	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar
Debub region, ዞባ ደቡብ	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar
Gash-Barka Region, ዞባ ጋሽ ባርካ	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar
Anseba Region, ዞባ ዓንሰባ	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar
Northern Red Sea Region, Semienawi Keyih Bahri ዞባ ሰሜናዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar
Southern Red Sea Region, Debubawi Keyih Bahri ዞባ ደቡባዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar	Template:Percentage bar

See also

• Languages of Eritrea
• Culture of Eritrea

References

Template:Reflist Attribution: Template:CIA World Factbook

External links

• Languages in Eritrea
• Ethnic groups in Eritrea
• Eritrean website featuring resources relevant to Tigre history and culture Template:Webarchive