Rural population in Eritrea
Eritrea: Rural population was 2.36 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Eritrea, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Eritrea is 2.36 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Eritrea peaked at 2.36 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 871,388, in 1960.
Eritrea ranks 100th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 871,388 | — |
| 1961 | 889,166 | +2.0% |
| 1962 | 907,965 | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 927,698 | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 948,190 | +2.2% |
| 1965 | 969,414 | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 990,250 | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 1.01 million | +2.2% |
| 1968 | 1.04 million | +2.3% |
| 1969 | 1.06 million | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 1.08 million | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 1.11 million | +2.4% |
| 1972 | 1.14 million | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 1.16 million | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 1.19 million | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 1.22 million | +2.2% |
| 1976 | 1.25 million | +2.4% |
| 1977 | 1.28 million | +2.5% |
| 1978 | 1.31 million | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 1.34 million | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 1.38 million | +2.5% |
| 1981 | 1.41 million | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 1.45 million | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 1.48 million | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 1.50 million | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 1.53 million | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 1.55 million | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 1.58 million | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 1.61 million | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 1.64 million | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 1.66 million | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 1.54 million | -7.0% |
| 1992 | 1.41 million | -8.2% |
| 1993 | 1.42 million | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 1.43 million | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 1.47 million | +3.0% |
| 1996 | 1.51 million | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 1.49 million | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 1.47 million | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 1.47 million | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 1.48 million | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 1.52 million | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 1.57 million | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 1.63 million | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 1.69 million | +3.9% |
| 2005 | 1.73 million | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 1.75 million | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 1.77 million | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 1.82 million | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 1.86 million | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 1.90 million | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 1.93 million | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 1.95 million | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 1.98 million | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 1.99 million | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 2.00 million | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 2.01 million | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 2.03 million | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 2.06 million | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 2.10 million | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 2.14 million | +1.8% |
| 2021 | 2.18 million | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 2.22 million | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 2.27 million | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 2.31 million | +2.1% |
| 2025 | 2.36 million | +2.0% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 2.36 million is below the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 16% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 2.36 million is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 25% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 961,007 | 871,388 | 1.06 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.21 million | 1.08 million | 1.34 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.51 million | 1.38 million | 1.64 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.49 million | 1.41 million | 1.66 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.68 million | 1.48 million | 1.86 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.00 million | 1.90 million | 2.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.25 million | 2.14 million | 2.36 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More agriculture & rural data for Eritrea
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.26 % change on previous year (2009)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1412 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2009)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 90.81 current US$ per person (2009)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0009 units per US$ of GDP (2011)
- Rural population, per capita 0.6546 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 14.1% (2009)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 14.1% (2009)
- Rural population 65.5% (2025)
- Rural population growth 2.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Eritrea?
- Rural population in Eritrea was 2.36 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.36 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 871,388 in 1960.
- How does Eritrea rank for rural population?
- Eritrea ranks 100th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.