Country profile · Sub-Saharan Africa · LIC
🇪🇷 Eritrea
Low income. Capital Asmara. Lower-third GDP/cap (LIC · MID) - 36 series with wider survey lag risk.
- 3.5 million
- Population
- $2.1 billion
- GDP
- $689
- GDP / capita
- 68.9 years
- Life expectancy
Lower-third GDP/cap · MID
Eritrea ranks 191st of 217 by total GDP and 162nd for life expectancy - a low income economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- #191
- World GDP rank (of 217)
- $689
- GDP per capita
- #162
- Life-expectancy rank
- #131
- Population rank
Eritrea lands in the lower third of GDP/cap (#206 of 214) - LIC · MID - so national averages need rural/urban caution.
Eritrea vs all countries by total GDP
Where this economy's World Bank total GDP sits among every country with a positive observation (inventory signal, not a virtue ranking)
$2,065,001,626 191st of 214 higher than 23 of 214 countries
Countries banded by World Bank total GDP (current US$)
Each bar is a $0.001K-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source World Bank, GDP (current US$) · 2026-08-14
Eritrea on the global income map
Eritrea (ERI) sits in the lower GDP/cap third - plotted with largest peers; bubble area = population.
- Eritrea: GDP per capita $689 (2011), life expectancy 68.9 years (2024), low income.
- India: GDP per capita $2,695 (2024), life expectancy 72.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- China: GDP per capita $13,303 (2024), life expectancy 78.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United States: GDP per capita $84,534 (2024), life expectancy 78.9 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Indonesia: GDP per capita $4,925 (2024), life expectancy 71.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Pakistan: GDP per capita $1,479 (2024), life expectancy 67.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Nigeria: GDP per capita $1,084 (2024), life expectancy 54.6 years (2024), low income.
- Brazil: GDP per capita $10,311 (2024), life expectancy 76.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Bangladesh: GDP per capita $2,593 (2024), life expectancy 74.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Russian Federation: GDP per capita $14,889 (2024), life expectancy 73.4 years (2024), high income.
- Ethiopia: GDP per capita $1,134 (2024), life expectancy 67.6 years (2024), low income.
- Mexico: GDP per capita $14,186 (2024), life expectancy 75.3 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Japan: GDP per capita $32,487 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Egypt, Arab Rep.: GDP per capita $3,338 (2024), life expectancy 71.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Philippines: GDP per capita $3,985 (2024), life expectancy 69.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Congo, Dem. Rep.: GDP per capita $693 (2024), life expectancy 62.1 years (2024), low income.
- Viet Nam: GDP per capita $4,717 (2024), life expectancy 74.7 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Iran, Islamic Rep.: GDP per capita $5,190 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Turkiye: GDP per capita $15,893 (2024), life expectancy 77.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Germany: GDP per capita $56,104 (2024), life expectancy 80.8 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Thailand: GDP per capita $7,387 (2024), life expectancy 76.6 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United Kingdom: GDP per capita $53,246 (2024), life expectancy 81.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Tanzania: GDP per capita $1,193 (2024), life expectancy 67.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- France: GDP per capita $46,103 (2024), life expectancy 83.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- South Africa: GDP per capita $6,267 (2024), life expectancy 66.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Italy: GDP per capita $40,385 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Kenya: GDP per capita $2,133 (2024), life expectancy 63.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Myanmar: GDP per capita $1,359 (2024), life expectancy 67.1 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Colombia: GDP per capita $7,951 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income, OECD member.
- Korea, Rep.: GDP per capita $36,239 (2024), life expectancy 83.6 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Sudan: GDP per capita $985 (2024), life expectancy 66.5 years (2024), low income.
Overview
Eritrea has a population of 3.5 million, making it the 131st-most populous country out of 217 tracked in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Its economy totals $2.1 billion - ranked 191st globally by total GDP. GDP per capita stands at $689, placing it in the Low income category.
Life expectancy at birth is 68.9 years (ranked 162nd globally), reflecting overall health outcomes as measured by the World Bank.
The capital is Asmara.
👥 Demographics
💰 Economy
🏥 Health
📚 Education
🌍 Environment
🏗️ Infrastructure
⚖️ Social
🌐 Livability Score
One composite verdict from 4 of 5 World Bank series (life expectancy, under-5 mortality, electricity access, clean-water access, homicide rate), each benchmarked against every country tracking that series. A missing series never silently drags the score down: its weight redistributes across the series Eritrea does report.
All indicators for Eritrea
36 latest observations from World Bank WDI, WHO GHO, and ILO ILOSTAT (vintage through 2026-08-14). Values match the topic cards above; this table is the machine-readable export view analysts expect on a country profile.
🫀 Disease Burden
Malaria still registers on Eritrea (22.2 per 100,000 vs fleet midpoint 0.3). Profiles where that cell is zero drop the card entirely. Summary metrics use 2021 data; cause-specific cards show their own observation year.
Non-communicable Diseases
Communicable & Maternal
Injuries & External Causes
Sources: WHO Global Health Observatory. NCD mortality rate: 2021. Rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population. Premature NCD risk covers cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.
Compare Eritrea with near GDP/cap peers
Side-by-side pages for the closest ABS GDP/cap neighbours - not a full-roster dropdown.
Read with Eritrea
Nearest GDP/cap peers and LE poles for Eritrea (LIC · MID), replacing the old fixed guide and region clone strip.
LIC MID
Congo, Dem. Rep. · LIC
Congo, Dem. Rep. GDP/cap $693 is higher by $4 than Eritrea; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Mozambique · LIC
Mozambique GDP/cap $657 is lower by $32 than Eritrea; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Niger · LIC
Niger GDP/cap $730 is higher by $41 than Eritrea; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Yemen, Rep. · LIC
Yemen, Rep. GDP/cap $634 is lower by $55 than Eritrea; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Somalia, Fed. Rep. (SHORT LE pole)
Somalia, Fed. Rep. sits near Eritrea on GDP/cap yet stamps SHORT while this page stamps MID.
GDP/cap leaderboard (#206)
Eritrea ranks #206 of 214 on NY.GDP.PCAP.CD under the LIC Atlas band.
What the data says about Eritrea
Statistical infrastructure in low-income economies like Eritrea typically relies more heavily on household surveys and modeled estimates than on continuous administrative registration, so several figures on this profile carry a wider margin of uncertainty and a longer lag between the reference year and today than a high-income country's data would. With a small population, a single survey round or a change in methodology can shift Eritrea's reported figures noticeably from one release to the next, independent of any real change on the ground. Where a field on this page reads "N/A," it usually means the relevant international agency has not yet published a recent estimate for Eritrea, not that the underlying condition doesn't exist.
Eritrea lands in the lower third of GDP/cap (#206 of 214) - LIC · MID - so national averages need rural/urban caution.
Eritrea's 3.5 million people and $2.1 billion GDP (191st) yield $689 per person in the lower GDP/cap third. Life expectancy 68.9 years (162nd, MID) and survey lag both matter when reading single-year cells. 36 official points sit in the tables.
Nearest ABS GDP/cap peer: Congo, Dem. Rep. at $693 (Δ $4). Open that profile or the GDP/cap leaderboard before treating any single year as destiny.
What to do with Eritrea's numbers
Eritrea is classified LIC with MID. Use that context before comparing any single figure to another country.
- Compare Eritrea directly against any other country, side by side, on the indicators that matter to you. Compare countries
- See exactly where Eritrea ranks among all 217 tracked countries on a specific indicator, not just the ones shown here. Indicator rank finder
- Learn the common mistakes people make citing country statistics before you quote a number from this page. Reading country profiles
Figures above are sourced from World Bank, WHO, and ILO (OECD where applicable) as cited below; always verify against the primary source before citing a specific number.
Source: World Bank Open Data, Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, Source: ILO ILOSTAT. World Bank and ILO data licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Disclaimer: This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice. See our full disclaimer and editorial policy.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced and computed.