Africa · Eastern Africa
Capital: Asmara
Eritrea
Explore the facts and rankings that shape Eritrea in Country Blitz, from its population and economy to its military, innovation, manufacturing, and neighboring countries.
Country Blitz power profile
Overall rank #161
Eritrea's Country Blitz power profile compares population, GDP, military expenditure, research-and-development spending, and manufacturing output across every playable country. A lower numerical rank represents a stronger position in that category.
Population
3.6M
#130 of 196
34th percentile
2025 · World Bank WDI / UN population sources
View data source ↗GDP (Nominal)
$2.07B
#176 of 196
10th percentile
2011 · World Bank WDI
View data source ↗Military Expenditure
$181.6M
#131 of 196
33rd percentile
2003 · SIPRI via World Bank WDI
View data source ↗R&D Spending
Data unavailable
No rank or percentile is shown without published source data.
Manufacturing Output
$102.0M
#168 of 196
14th percentile
2009 · World Bank WDI
View data source ↗Quick facts
- Capital
- Asmara
- Region
- Africa
- Subregion
- Eastern Africa
- Country code
- ERI
Three interesting facts
Eritrea shares land borders with 3 countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
Eritrea spans roughly 117,600 square kilometers, placing it around 99th by area in this factbook.
The country’s linguistic landscape includes Tigrinya, Arabic, and English, reflecting a notably diverse cultural history.
Geography
Eritrea on the map
Eritrea is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan. Its terrain is 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. The climate is 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. In area, the country is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania.
Economy
Economic profile
Eritrea's economy is characterized by largely agrarian economy with a significant mining sector, substantial fiscal surplus due to tight controls, high and vulnerable debts, increased Ethiopian trade and shared port usage decreasing prices, financial and economic data integrity challenges. Major industries include food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement. Important agricultural products include sorghum, milk, barley, vegetables, root vegetables, cereals, pulses, wheat, beef, maize (2023). Notable exports include copper ore, zinc ore, gold, garments, liquor (2023).
Demographics
People and population
Eritrea has an estimated population of 3,607,000. Languages spoken include Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages. The population includes Tigrinya 50%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Afar 4%, Kunama 4%, Bilen 3%, Hedareb/Beja 2%, Nara 2%, Rashaida 1% (2021 est.). The urban population represents 43.3% of total population (2023).
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