| Source | UN (World Population Prospects 2024) |
| Date | 12 Jan 2025 |
As of 2024, the population of Eritrea is projected at 3.54 million, compared to 3.47 million in 2023. It ranks 132nd in the world by population and 40th in Africa. The population growth rate in 2024 is projected at 1.91 percent, the 54th highest among 237 countries and dependent territories.
There are 1.75 million males and 1.79 million females in Eritrea. The percentage of the male population is 49.36%, compared to 50.63% of the female population. Eritrea has 44896 more females than males. The sex ratio in Eritrea in 2024 will be 97.492 males per 100 females. Eritrea is in the 94th position in terms of the female-to-male ratio.
| Year | Population | Growth (%) | M per 100 F | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | |||
| 1950 | 403,322 | 411,545 | 814,866 | 1.42 | 98.002 |
| 1955 | 437,191 | 449,046 | 886,237 | 1.88 | 97.360 |
| 1960 | 478,719 | 493,827 | 972,547 | 2.31 | 96.941 |
| 1965 | 539,947 | 558,389 | 1,098,335 | 2.50 | 96.697 |
| 1970 | 610,740 | 632,713 | 1,243,453 | 2.59 | 96.527 |
| 1975 | 691,019 | 717,191 | 1,408,210 | 2.34 | 96.351 |
| 1980 | 786,036 | 819,761 | 1,605,797 | 2.70 | 95.886 |
| 1985 | 883,740 | 924,076 | 1,807,816 | 2.01 | 95.635 |
| 1990 | 993,713 | 1,039,024 | 2,032,737 | 2.19 | 95.639 |
| 1995 | 993,900 | 1,031,367 | 2,025,267 | 9.50 | 96.367 |
| 2000 | 1,096,507 | 1,150,524 | 2,247,031 | 1.21 | 95.305 |
| 2005 | 1,304,622 | 1,356,592 | 2,661,215 | 2.26 | 96.169 |
| 2010 | 1,447,728 | 1,497,458 | 2,945,186 | 2.13 | 96.679 |
| 2015 | 1,528,741 | 1,576,805 | 3,105,546 | 0.67 | 96.952 |
| 2020 | 1,622,323 | 1,668,947 | 3,291,271 | 1.77 | 97.206 |
| 2021 | 1,651,920 | 1,698,263 | 3,350,183 | 1.77 | 97.271 |
| 2022 | 1,681,805 | 1,727,642 | 3,409,447 | 1.73 | 97.347 |
| 2023 | 1,712,524 | 1,757,865 | 3,470,390 | 1.81 | 97.421 |
| 2024 | 1,745,353 | 1,790,249 | 3,535,603 | 1.91 | 97.492 |
| 2025 | 1,781,275 | 1,825,727 | 3,607,003 | 2.08 | 97.565 |
| Year | Life expectancy | Median age | Fertility rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 33.294 | 16.540 | 6.522 |
| 1955 | 35.177 | 17.210 | 6.488 |
| 1960 | 37.443 | 17.764 | 6.483 |
| 1965 | 39.576 | 17.975 | 6.494 |
| 1970 | 41.162 | 17.540 | 6.541 |
| 1975 | 39.031 | 16.931 | 6.586 |
| 1980 | 44.625 | 16.650 | 6.614 |
| 1985 | 38.586 | 16.735 | 6.587 |
| 1990 | 49.733 | 16.533 | 6.338 |
| 1995 | 54.822 | 17.015 | 5.939 |
| 2000 | 56.285 | 16.272 | 5.397 |
| 2005 | 60.628 | 17.165 | 4.934 |
| 2010 | 63.665 | 17.328 | 4.571 |
| 2015 | 65.909 | 17.349 | 4.217 |
| 2020 | 66.980 | 17.959 | 3.933 |
| 2021 | 66.940 | 18.178 | 3.867 |
| 2022 | 67.789 | 18.405 | 3.786 |
| 2023 | 68.624 | 18.651 | 3.713 |
| 2024 | 68.893 | 18.922 | 3.680 |
| 2025 | 69.151 | 19.216 | 3.613 |
| Year | Total | Crude(per 1000) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | Birth | Crude death | Crude birth | |
| 1950 | 24,816 | 36,213 | 30.454 | 44.441 |
| 1955 | 24,621 | 40,941 | 27.782 | 46.196 |
| 1960 | 24,995 | 46,418 | 25.700 | 47.729 |
| 1965 | 26,253 | 52,538 | 23.902 | 47.834 |
| 1970 | 27,727 | 58,414 | 22.299 | 46.977 |
| 1975 | 33,561 | 64,533 | 23.833 | 45.826 |
| 1980 | 30,518 | 71,911 | 19.005 | 44.782 |
| 1985 | 43,677 | 81,039 | 24.160 | 44.827 |
| 1990 | 31,149 | 88,050 | 15.323 | 43.316 |
| 1995 | 23,779 | 79,934 | 11.741 | 39.469 |
| 2000 | 25,044 | 85,318 | 11.145 | 37.969 |
| 2005 | 23,855 | 96,786 | 8.964 | 36.369 |
| 2010 | 22,427 | 98,525 | 7.615 | 33.453 |
| 2015 | 21,205 | 94,888 | 6.828 | 30.554 |
| 2020 | 21,662 | 95,027 | 6.582 | 28.872 |
| 2021 | 22,151 | 96,545 | 6.612 | 28.818 |
| 2022 | 21,543 | 97,765 | 6.319 | 28.675 |
| 2023 | 20,984 | 99,058 | 6.047 | 28.544 |
| 2024 | 21,196 | 101,539 | 5.995 | 28.719 |
| 2025 | 21,428 | 103,276 | 5.941 | 28.632 |
| Year | Population | Urban (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Rural | ||
| 1950 | 81,093 | 1,061,055 | 7.100 |
| 1955 | 104,318 | 1,144,875 | 8.351 |
| 1960 | 136,944 | 1,260,547 | 9.799 |
| 1965 | 182,223 | 1,406,956 | 11.466 |
| 1970 | 229,718 | 1,582,160 | 12.678 |
| 1975 | 280,493 | 1,795,472 | 13.511 |
| 1980 | 343,289 | 2,042,251 | 14.390 |
| 1985 | 433,816 | 2,319,335 | 15.757 |
| 1990 | 588,576 | 2,524,735 | 18.905 |
| 1995 | 695,721 | 2,394,438 | 22.514 |
| 2000 | 902,054 | 2,490,747 | 26.587 |
| 2005 | 1,234,323 | 2,734,684 | 31.099 |
| 2010 | 1,544,485 | 2,846,355 | 35.175 |
| 2015 | 1,851,851 | 2,995,125 | 38.206 |
| 2020 | 2,246,038 | 3,186,178 | 41.347 |
| 2021 | 2,332,299 | 3,222,842 | 41.985 |
| 2022 | 2,420,579 | 3,258,219 | 42.625 |
| 2023 | 2,510,963 | 3,292,413 | 43.267 |
| 2024 | 2,603,638 | 3,325,660 | 43.911 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | M per 100 F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Share (%) | ||||
| 00-04 | 236,750 | 231,230 | 467,981 | 13.24 | 102.387 |
| 05-09 | 221,136 | 216,873 | 438,009 | 12.39 | 101.966 |
| 10-14 | 222,999 | 219,386 | 442,385 | 12.51 | 101.647 |
| 15-19 | 214,265 | 211,512 | 425,777 | 12.04 | 101.302 |
| 20-24 | 180,847 | 178,868 | 359,714 | 10.17 | 101.106 |
| 25-29 | 149,562 | 147,950 | 297,512 | 8.41 | 101.090 |
| 30-34 | 107,005 | 106,715 | 213,720 | 6.04 | 100.272 |
| 35-39 | 85,291 | 87,525 | 172,816 | 4.89 | 97.448 |
| 40-44 | 68,788 | 73,743 | 142,531 | 4.03 | 93.281 |
| 45-49 | 62,479 | 71,097 | 133,576 | 3.78 | 87.879 |
| 50-54 | 53,535 | 62,531 | 116,067 | 3.28 | 85.614 |
| 55-59 | 44,726 | 53,696 | 98,422 | 2.78 | 83.295 |
| 60-64 | 34,990 | 43,505 | 78,496 | 2.22 | 80.428 |
| 65-69 | 24,412 | 31,936 | 56,347 | 1.59 | 76.440 |
| 70-74 | 16,905 | 23,232 | 40,138 | 1.14 | 72.766 |
| 75-79 | 12,388 | 16,559 | 28,947 | 0.82 | 74.811 |
| 80-84 | 6,601 | 9,385 | 15,986 | 0.45 | 70.336 |
| 85-89 | 2,249 | 3,590 | 5,839 | 0.17 | 62.646 |
| 90-94 | 409 | 842 | 1,252 | 0.04 | 48.575 |
| 95-99 | 13 | 76 | 88 | 0.00 | 17.105 |
| 100+ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | 0.000 |
| Total | 1,745,350 | 1,790,252 | 3,535,604 | 97.492 | |