Eritrea Demographics Profile 2009

Population

5,647,168 (July 2009 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 42.8% (male 1,212,848/female 1,202,240)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 1,483,169/female 1,547,078)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 92,009/female 109,824) (2009 est.)

Median age

total: 18.4 years
male: 18 years
female: 18.8 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate

2.577% (2009 est.)

Birth rate

34.2 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate

8.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate

NA

Urbanization

urban population: 21% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 43.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 37.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 61.78 years
male: 59.71 years
female: 63.9 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.72 children born/woman (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

1.3% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

38,000 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

2,600 (2007 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2009)

Nationality

noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic groups

Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%

Religions

Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant

Languages

Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6%
male: 69.9%
female: 47.6% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 5 years
male: 6 years
female: 4 years (2004)

Education expenditures

2.4% of GDP (2006)