Eritrea: People & Society#
| Population | 5,869,869 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean |
| Ethnic groups | nine recognized ethnic groups: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, other (Afar, Beni Amir, Nera) 5% (2010 est.) |
| Languages | Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages |
| Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
| Demographic profile | Eritrea is a persistently poor country that has made progress in some socioeconomic categories but not in others. Education and human capital formation are national priorities for facilitating economic development and eradicating poverty. To this end, Eritrea has made great strides in improving adult literacy – doubling the literacy rate over the last 20 years – in large part because of its successful adult education programs. The overall literacy rate was estimated to be almost 74% in 2015; more work needs to be done to raise female literacy and school attendance among nomadic and rural communities. Subsistence farming fails to meet the needs of Eritrea’s growing population because of repeated droughts, dwindling arable land, overgrazing, soil erosion, and a shortage of farmers due to conscription and displacement. The government’s emphasis on spending on defense over agriculture and its lack of foreign exchange to import food also contribute to food insecurity. Eritrea has been a leading refugee source country since at least the 1960s, when its 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia began. Since gaining independence in 1993, Eritreans have continued migrating to Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Egypt, or Israel because of a lack of basic human rights or political freedom, educational and job opportunities, or to seek asylum because of militarization. Eritrea’s large diaspora has been a source of vital remittances, funding its war for independence and providing 30% of the country’s GDP annually since it became independent. In the last few years, Eritreans have increasingly been trafficked and held hostage by Bedouins in the Sinai Desert, where they are victims of organ harvesting, rape, extortion, and torture. Some Eritrean trafficking victims are kidnapped after being smuggled to Sudan or Ethiopia, while others are kidnapped from within or around refugee camps or crossing Eritrea’s borders. Eritreans composed approximately 90% of the conservatively estimated 25,000-30,000 victims of Sinai trafficking from 2009-2013, according to a 2013 consultancy firm report. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.66% (male 1,199,355/female 1,187,467) 15-24 years: 19.39% (male 566,199/female 571,743) 25-54 years: 32.33% (male 933,825/female 963,812) 55-64 years: 3.73% (male 93,325/female 125,411) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 97,248/female 131,484) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 83.2% youth dependency ratio: 78.4% elderly dependency ratio: 4.8% potential support ratio: 20.7% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 19.4 years male: 19 years female: 19.9 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.81% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 30.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -14.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 22.6% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 5.11% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | ASMARA (capital) 804,000 (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.74 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 21.3 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 501 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 45.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 52.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.9 years male: 62.4 years female: 67.5 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.07 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 3.3% of GDP (2014) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 73.2% of population rural: 53.3% of population total: 57.8% of population unimproved: urban: 26.8% of population rural: 46.7% of population total: 42.2% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 44.5% of population rural: 7.3% of population total: 15.7% of population unimproved: urban: 55.5% of population rural: 92.7% of population total: 84.3% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.61% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 14,100 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 500 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 3.4% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 38.8% (2010) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 73.8% male: 82.4% female: 65.5% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 5 years male: 6 years female: 4 years (2010) |