Demographics of Eritrea: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Sources disagree as to the current population of [[Eritrea]], with some proposing numbers as low as 3.6 million<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population" /> and others as high as 6.7 million.<ref name=":0COMESA_ERpop_2019"~~>{{Cite~~ ~~web|date=2021-02-28|title=COMESA in Figures, 2019 - COMSTAT Data Hub|url=https:~~//web.archive.org/web/20210228195303/https://comstat.comesa.int/lqpaqnf/comesa-in-figures-2019?tsId=1000510|access-date=2021-04-14|website=web.archive.org}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2021-02-27|title=Wayback Machine|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227235642/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx|access-date=2021-04-14|website=web.archive.org}}</ref> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.<ref name="PHS2010_full" />

The nation has nine recognized ethnic groups.<ref name="Ciaethn">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html#er|title=The World Factbook|access-date=31 May 2015}}</ref> According to [[SIL Ethnologue]], Tigriniya make up about 60% of the population; the Tigre people, who also speak a [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] language, constitute around 30% of residents. Most of the rest of the population belong to other [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]-speaking communities of the [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch. Additionally, there are a number of [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]-speaking ethnic minorities and other smaller groups.<ref name="Ciaethn"/><ref name="Minahan">{{cite book|last=Minahan|first=James|title=Miniature empires: a historical dictionary of the newly independent states|year=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0-313-30610-9|pages=76|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=RSxt-JB-PDkC&pg=PA76#v=onepage&q&f=false|quote="The majority of the Eritreans speak Semitic or Cushitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic language group. The Kunama, Baria, and other smaller groups in the north and northwest speak Nilotic languages."}}</ref>

The two most followed religions are [[Christianity]] (63% of the population) and [[Islam]] (36%).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2015-04-02|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US}}</ref>

~~A majority of Eritrea's population adheres to [[Abrahamic religions]]. The two most followed religions are [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], which have an almost equal number of followers.~~

==Ethno-linguistic groups==

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poly 279 220 271 259 419 388 442 361 319 241 [[Southern Red Sea Region]]

</imagemap>

People in Eritrea practice various religions. According to the [[Pew Research Center]] (2010), 62.9% of the population are [[Christianity|Christian]], mostly followers of Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo, and to a lesser extent, [[Roman Catholicism]], with the second-largest denomination being [[Muslims]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/total-population-percentage.php|title=Table: Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country|date=19 December 2011|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=31 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107191939/http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/total-population-percentage.php|archive-date=7 January 2012}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In general, most local residents who adhere to [[Christianity]] live in the [[Maekel Region|Maekel]] and [[Debub Region|Debub]] regions, whereas those who follow [[Islam]] predominantly inhabit the [[Anseba Region|Anseba]], [[Northern Red Sea Region|Northern Red Sea]], [[Southern Red Sea Region|Southern Red Sea]] and [[Gash-Barka Region|Gash-Barka]] regions. A few adherents of [[Traditional African religion|traditional faiths]] can also be found, particularly in the lowlands.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

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! Region

! align=center colspan=1| '''Population'''

! align=center colspan=1| '''Christians (63%)'''~~60%~~

! align=center colspan=1| '''Muslims 40(36%)%'''

! align=center colspan=1| '''Other ('''1%)

| [[Maekel Region]], ''ዞባ ማእከል''

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==Population==

Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|UN DESA]] proposing a low estimate of 3.6 million for 2021<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population" /> and the [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]] proposing a high estimate of 6.7 million for 2019.<ref name="COMESA_ERpop_2019" /> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.<ref name="PHS2010_full" /> In its 2019 data release, UN DESA described why its estimate was much lower than earlier estimates, stating, "The decrease is due to the availability of new official population estimates for several years (population count in 2000, official estimates up to 2018) that contribute to lower the size of the population in the recent years, as well as to revised past estimates since 1950."<ref name="UNDESA2019_release_notes" />

Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with some proposing numbers as low as 3.6 million and others as high as 6.7 million.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census. In the 2010s, worsening conditions ~~have fuelled~~fueled migration pressure, with Eritreans trying to reach Europe illegally.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21587844-eritreans-are-taking-seas-because-worsening-conditions-home-why-they Why they leave -- Eritreans are taking to the seas because of worsening conditions at home] 12 October 2013.

"Some 30,000 people reached Italy illegally in boats in the first nine months of 2013, three times as many as in the whole of 2012, according to [[Frontex]], [...] the largest batch came from Eritrea, a country that has supposedly been at peace for the past 13 years."

[http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/06/12/emigration-has-left-eritrea-desolate-say-bishops/ Emigration has left Eritrea ‘desolate’, say bishops], ''Catholic Herald'', 6 September 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.worldbank.org/prospects/migrationandremittances Bilateral Estimates of Migrant Stocks in 2010] estimates 942,000 emigrants, of whom 450,000 migrated to [[Sudan]] and 290,000 to [[Ethiopia]]. C.f. the World' Bank's [http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/Resources/Factbook2011-Ebook.pdf Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011].</ref> The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs expects Eritrean population growth to accelerate to 1.8% per year from 2020-2030, vs. 1.1% per year from 2010-2020.<ref name="WPP 2010" />

The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 41.1%, 54.3% ~~werebetween~~were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% ~~were65~~were ~~years~~65 or older.<ref name="WPP 2010">{{cite web|title=World Population Prospects 2019, custom data acquired via website.|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/|url-status=live|access-date=14 April 2021|website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"

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| 2020||41.1||54.3||4.5

~~The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs expects Eritrean population growth to accelerate to 1.8% per year from 2020-2030, vs. 1.1% per year from 2010-2020.<ref name="WPP 2010" />~~

==Vital statistics==

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The [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]] (UN DESA) Population Division published its ''UN DESA 2019 Revision'' (''World Population Prospects 2019'') data release<ref name="UNDESA2019_data_sources" /> based on several data samples, including the 1995 and 2002 [[Demographic and Health Surveys]] (1995 DHS, 2002 DHS) and the 2010 ''Population and Health Survey'' (2010 PHS), since a full [[census]] had not been carried out in Eritrea {{as of|2010|lc=yes}}.<ref name="PHS2010_full" />{{rp|31}}

The 1995 DHS survey was carried out in Eritrea by the Eritrean [[National Statistics Office ~~(Eritrea)|National Statistics Office]]~~ (NSO) and [[Macro International Inc.]], collecting data by interviewing 5,054 women aged 15–49 and 1,114 men aged 15–59, chosen to be a statistically representative sample, from September 1995 to January 1996.<ref name="DHS1995_full" />

The 2002 DHS survey was carried out by the NSO (renamed as the ''National Statistics and Evaluation Office''), with support from the [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID) and [[ORC Macro]], collecting data with interviews of 8,754 women in Eritrea in the 15–49 age range, in what was considered to be a statistically representative sample of the full population.<ref name="DHS2002_full" /> Key findings of the survey included a drop from 1995 to 2002 of fertility from 6.1 to 4.8 children per woman; improved knowledge of [[contraception]]; a drop in ~~postneonatal~~post-neonatal mortality; improved antenatal care; a doubling of the full vaccination rate for 12–23 month old babies from 41 to 76 percent; 38 percent of children under five years old were chronically malnourished or stunted; and near universal knowledge of [[HIV]] and [[AIDS]].<ref name="DHS2002_key_findings" />

In 2010, the NSO, supported by the [[Fafo Foundation|Fafo]] Institute for Applied International Studies]], published a ''Population and Health Survey'' (EPHS2010), based on a survey covering 34,423 households by choosing 900 areas around Eritrea, 525 rural and 375 urban, and randomly selecting 40 households in each cluster. Interviews aimed to include all women aged 15–49 and men aged 15–59 who were either residents or visitors in any selected household on the night preceding the interview. Key findings compared to the 1995 DHS survey included a decrease in early childhood mortality, increased children's vaccination, decreased maternal death, and a "wide gap between knowledge and use of [[family planning]]".<ref name="PHS2010_full" />

===Fertility and mortality===

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===Ethnic groups===

[[Tigrinya]] 55%, [[Tigre people|Tigre]] 30%, [[Saho people|Saho]] 4%, [[Kunama people|Kunama]] 2%, [[Rashaida people|Rashaida]] 2%, [[Bilen people|Bilen]] 2%, other ([[Afar people|Afar]], [[Beni-Amer people|Beni-Amer]], [[Nera ~~people|Nera]]~~) 5% (2010 est.)<ref name="CIATONGA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eritrea/|title= Africa :: ERITREA|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>

===Religions===

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==References==

{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population">{{cite web | title= World Population Prospects 2019 | website= [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|UN DESA]] |year = 2019 | url = https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx | access-date = 2021-02-28 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210227235642/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx |archive-date= 2021-02-27 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="COMESA_ERpop_2019">{{cite web | title= Eritrea – Indicators – Population (million people), 2018 | website= [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]] |year = 2019 | url = https://comstat.comesa.int/lqpaqnf/comesa-in-figures-2019?tsId=1000510 | access-date = 2021-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228195303/https://comstat.comesa.int/lqpaqnf/comesa-in-figures-2019?tsId=1000510 |archive-date= 2021-02-28 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="UNDESA2019_mortality">{{cite web | title= File MORT/3-1: Deaths (both sexes combined) by region, subregion and country, 1950-2100 (thousands) | website= [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|UN DESA]] |year = 2019 | url =https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20%28Standard%29/EXCEL_FILES/3_Mortality/WPP2019_MORT_F03_1_DEATHS_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx | access-date = 2021-03-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210310002939/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20%28Standard%29/EXCEL_FILES/3_Mortality/WPP2019_MORT_F03_1_DEATHS_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx |archive-date= 2021-03-10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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<ref name="Conversation_ER_why_risky_migration">{{cite web | last1 = Poole | first1 = Amanda | last2= Riggan | first2= Jennifer |title = Why Eritrean refugees choose the risky migration to Europe | website= [[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |date = 2021-02-28 | url = https://theconversation.com/why-eritrean-refugees-choose-the-risky-migration-to-europe-155751 | access-date = 2021-03-10 |archive-url= https://archive.today/HAeSH |archive-date= 2021-03-10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="UNDESA2019_release_notes">{{cite web | title= World Population Prospect 2019: release note about major differences in total population estimates for mid-2019 between 2017 and 2019 revisions | website= [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs]] Population Division |date = 2019-08-28 | url =https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications//Files/WPP2019_Release-Note-rev1.pdf |quote= The population of Eritrea in 2019 is 3.5 million, which is about 1.8 million (34.1 per cent) less than the previous estimate from the 2017 revision. The decrease is due to the availability of new official population estimates for several years (population count in 2000, official estimates up to 2018) that contribute to lower the size of the population in the recent years, as well as to revised past estimates since 1950. |access-date = 2021-03-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210111101908/https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications//Files/WPP2019_Release-Note-rev1.pdf |archive-date= 2021-01-11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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