Flag of Eritrea

Eritrea: capital, population, area and flag

Eritrea is a country in Eastern Africa (Africa). Its capital is Asmara. The population is about 3.61M (#129 of 193) and the area is about 121,630 km² (#97 of 193).

Key facts

Capital
Asmara
Region
Africa / Eastern Africa
Population
3,607,003 (2025) #129 of 193
Total area
121,630 km² (2024) #97 of 193
Population density
29.3 people/km² (2024) #152 of 193
Life expectancy
68.9 years (2024) #138 of 193
Distance from Japan
9,958 km #90 of 192
Area compared with Japan
about 1/3 that of Japan
Population compared with Japan
about 1/34 that of Japan
Main languages
Tigrinya, Arabic, English
Currency
Eritrean Nakfa (ERN)
Calling code
+291
Time zone (capital)
UTC+3
Time difference from Japan (standard time)
6 h behind Japan
Driving side
Right
Capital location
15.33°N 38.92°E

Map of Eritrea

Map of Eritrea

Capital: Asmara

Neighbors by land

Top rankings

Eritrea is in the top 10 for:

Eritrea in world rankings

How Eritrea compares with other countries, indicator by indicator. Click an indicator to see the full ranking.

IndicatorValueYearRank
Geography & nature
Total area121,630 km²2024#97 of 193
Number of land borders3#80 of 193 tied
Latitude of the capital15.3°#99 of 193
Distance from Japan9,958 km#90 of 192
Forest area (share of land)12.0%2024#146 of 193
Arable land (share of land)5.7%2024#124 of 190
Protected land (share of land)0.0%2025#189 of 192 tied
Agricultural land (share of land)62.8%2024#33 of 192
Average annual rainfall384 mm2022#150 of 180
Freshwater resources per person821 m³2022#135 of 181
Forest area14,420 km²2025#115 of 193
Marine protected areas (share of territorial waters)0.0%2025#136 of 153 tied
People & population
Population3,607,0032025#129 of 193
Population density29.3 people/km²2024#152 of 193
Population growth rate2.00%2025#48 of 193
Urban population (share of people)34.5%2025#162 of 193
Life expectancy68.9 years2024#138 of 193
Fertility rate3.68 births per woman2024#36 of 193
Infant mortality rate24.7 per 1,000 births2024#56 of 192
Birth rate28.7 per 1,000 people2024#36 of 193
Share of people aged 65 and over4.3%2025#139 of 193
Share of children aged 0–1437.6%2025#37 of 193
Life expectancy of women70.9 years2024#144 of 193
Life expectancy of men66.8 years2024#135 of 193
Maternal mortality ratio291 per 100,000 births2023#24 of 192
City dwellers living in the largest city (share)92.5%2025#2 of 149
Death rate (per 1,000 people)6.0 per 1,000 people2024#144 of 193
Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 births)34.3 per 1,000 births2024#53 of 192
Population aged 15–64 (share of population)58.2%2025#160 of 193
Economy
Unemployment rate6.0%2025#72 of 178
Goods exports (total)$631M2025#159 of 190
Women in the labor force (share of women)72.8%2025#12 of 178
Youth unemployment rate10.2%2025#106 of 178
Cereal production305,210 t2024#128 of 177
Cereal yield (per hectare of farmland)638 kg/ha2024#168 of 175
Fish and seafood production (catch + farmed)2,485 t2024#172 of 193
Fish catch (from sea, rivers and lakes)2,459 t2024#157 of 193
Aquaculture (farmed fish and seafood)26 t2024#161 of 193
Livestock production growth (2014–16 = 100)111.1 (2014–16 average = 100)2024#87 of 187
Fertilizer use (per hectare of arable land)2 kg/ha2024#178 of 187
Employment in agriculture (share of jobs)55.5%2025#16 of 178
Labor force (number of people)1,763,7002025#129 of 178
Reserves of foreign currency and gold$192M2019#165 of 169
Daily life & technology
Internet users (share of people)14.3%2020#181 of 186
Mobile phone subscriptions59.1 per 100 people2022#179 of 193
Access to electricity (share of people)55.3%2024#170 of 193 tied
Health spending (share of GDP)3.7%2023#163 of 192
Hospital beds1.0 per 1,000 people2023#124 of 157
Doctors0.09 per 1,000 people2022#180 of 188
Women in parliament (share of seats)22.0%2019#112 of 192
University and college enrollment3.2%2016#161 of 163
Fixed broadband subscriptions0.2 per 100 people2022#174 of 192
Clean cooking fuels (share of people)21.0%2024#160 of 192
Road traffic deaths37.9 per 100,000 people2019#5 of 183
Measles vaccination (share of children)93.0%2024#74 of 192 tied
Secondary school enrollment (gross)44.0%2022#162 of 180
Primary school completion rate61.3%2022#156 of 172
Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people)1.54 per 1,000 people2022#148 of 190
Tuberculosis cases (per 100,000 people)115 per 100,000 people2024#59 of 191
Health spending per person$282023#184 of 192
Container port traffic (TEU)27,453 TEU2019#138 of 150
Environment
Renewable electricity (share of power)5.0%2021#154 of 187
CO₂ emissions per person0.2 t CO₂e per person2024#168 of 186
CO₂ emissions (total)0.8 Mt CO₂e2024#162 of 186
Air pollution (PM2.5)33.7 µg/m³2023#36 of 192
Energy use per person294 kg oil eq. per person2024#141 of 146
Renewable energy (share of final energy use)80.7%2021#15 of 191
Electricity consumption per person128 kWh per person2024#136 of 146
Electricity from nuclear power (share of total)0.0%2021#33 of 190 tied
Electricity from hydropower (share of total)0.0%2021#150 of 190 tied
Greenhouse gas emissions (total)6.6 Mt CO₂e2024#149 of 186
Freshwater withdrawal (share of internal resources)20.8%2022#57 of 175
Food & farming
Wheat: production25,000 t2024#92 of 120 tied
Maize (corn): production20,000 t2024#125 of 160
Barley: production65,000 t2024#65 of 100 tied
Sorghum: production140,000 t2024#35 of 107
Millet: production25,000 t2024#37 of 73 tied
Potatoes: production58 t2024#149 of 150
Groundnuts (peanuts): production2,290 t2024#79 of 108
Dry beans: production120 t2024#101 of 105
Chickpeas: production3,795 t2024#29 of 47
Lentils: production141 t2024#39 of 43
Dry peas: production644 t2024#85 of 95
Beef (cattle meat): production25,585 t2024#116 of 181
Chicken meat: production910 t2024#163 of 183
Cow’s milk: production120,000 t2024#125 of 178
Hen eggs: production2,148 t2024#143 of 167
Sheep meat (mutton and lamb): production6,790 t2024#80 of 172
Goat meat: production6,427 t2024#68 of 164
Goat’s milk: production9,526 t2024#77 of 108
Butter (with ghee): production1,620 t2023#97 of 124
Cheese (all kinds): production720 t2023#102 of 105
Common carp: production2 t2024#91 of 97
African sharptooth catfish: production7 t2024#58 of 63
Milkfish: production86 t2024#11 of 25
Shrimps and prawns: production14 t2024#104 of 114
Crabs: production0 t2022#97 of 97
Squids, cuttlefish and octopuses: production3 t2024#98 of 102
Tunas, bonitos and billfishes: production665 t2024#96 of 133
Carps and other cyprinids: production3 t2024#110 of 115
Tilapias and other cichlids: production13 t2024#96 of 119
Flatfishes (flounders, halibuts, soles): production45 t2024#77 of 91
Sharks and rays: production28 t2024#103 of 127
Cattle: number of animals2,156,877 animals2024#82 of 183
Chickens: number of animals1,155,000 birds2024#154 of 181
Sheep: number of animals2,508,985 animals2024#62 of 173
Goats: number of animals1,935,590 animals2024#63 of 180
Camels: number of animals407,158 animals2024#16 of 46

Questions about Eritrea

What is the capital of Eritrea?

The capital of Eritrea is Asmara.

What is the population of Eritrea?

Eritrea has a population of about 3.61M (2025), #129 of 193 among countries.

How big is Eritrea?

Eritrea covers about 121,630 km², #97 of 193 among countries.

Which continent is Eritrea in?

Eritrea is in Africa, in the region of Eastern Africa.

What currency and languages are used in Eritrea?

The currency is the Eritrean Nakfa. Main languages: Tigrinya, Arabic, English.

How does Eritrea compare with Japan in size and population?

The area of Eritrea is about 1/3 that of Japan, and its population is about 1/34 that of Japan.

How far is Eritrea from Japan?

The capital, Asmara, is about 9,958 km from Tokyo, the capital of Japan, in a straight line.

What is the time difference between Eritrea and Japan?

The capital, Asmara, is on UTC+3 in standard time: 6 h behind Japan.

More countries in Eastern Africa

Play with Eritrea

Test what you learned in the quiz.

Map puzzle Quiz Rankings

Back to top