Country · Africa
Eritrea
State of Eritrea
Eritrea is a country in Eastern Africa. About 6.2 million people live there, in an area of 117 600 square kilometres. Its capital city is Asmara.
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Where is Eritrea?
Eritrea lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 670 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 2 234 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan.
How big is Eritrea?
Eritrea covers 117 600 square kilometres.
That is about 2.8 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 99th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 52.8 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Eritrea?
About 6.2 million people live in Eritrea.
That is the 111th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic, English and Tigrinya.
They pay with the Eritrean nakfa (Nfk).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 56 years.
The land of Eritrea
The land of Eritrea sits on average 853 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 2 234 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 112 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Eritrea different?
Dishes the country is known for: Zigini with injera, Gored gored and raw meat.
Websites from here often end in .er.
Eritrea and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Eritrea.
It takes up about 0.09 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 37th of 54 by size, and 36th by population.
Eritrea and its neighbours
Sudan, its largest neighbour, is about 16 times bigger.
Sudan has more people: 41.8 million against 6.2 million.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is Emba Soira, at 3 018 metres. The longest river in the country is the Barka River.
How big is Eritrea compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 80 times as big as Eritrea: 9 372 610 km² against 117 600 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 2.1 times as big as Eritrea: 242 900 km² against 117 600 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Eritrea?
The capital of Eritrea is Asmara. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Eritrea?
About 6.2 million people live in Eritrea, which makes it the 111th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Eritrea?
How big is Eritrea?
Eritrea covers 117 600 square kilometres, making it the 99th largest country in the world. That is about 2.8 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Eritrea?
The highest mountain in Eritrea is Emba Soira, 3 018 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Eritrea?
The longest river in Eritrea is the Barka River, about 640 kilometres long.
Which continent is Eritrea in?
Eritrea is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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