Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Eritrea instead of Burkina Faso, you would:

Health

live 7.6 years longer

In Burkina Faso, the average life expectancy is 61 years (59 years for men, 63 years for women) as of 2024. In Eritrea, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 43.7% less likely to be obese

In Burkina Faso, 7.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Eritrea, that number is 4.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 12.5% more access to essential health services

Burkina Faso scores 40 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Eritrea scores 45 as of 2021.

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see 61.3% less spent on your healthcare

Burkina Faso spends $224 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Eritrea spends $87 as of 2023.

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have 40.5% fewer doctors per person

Burkina Faso has 1.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Eritrea has 0.9 as of 2022.

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be 55.6% more likely to die by suicide

Burkina Faso has a suicide rate of 8.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Eritrea, it is 13.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 71.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Burkina Faso, 3.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Eritrea, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.

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Life

be 43.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Burkina Faso, approximately 43.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Eritrea, on the other hand, 24.7 children do as of 2024.

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be 20.2% more likely to die during childbirth

In Burkina Faso, approximately 242.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Eritrea, 291.0 women do as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 2.5 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Burkina Faso, approximately 22% of people have electricity access (63% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Eritrea, that number is 54% of people on average (77% in urban areas, and 37% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 52.8% less on healthcare

Burkina Faso spends 7.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Eritrea, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 36.3% less likely to die in a road accident

In Burkina Faso, road accidents kill 27.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Eritrea, they kill 17.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 80.0% less home broadband

Burkina Faso has 0.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Eritrea has 0.2 as of 2022.

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live with 43.0% more strain on fresh water

Burkina Faso withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Eritrea withdraws 11% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 18.5% less CO2

Burkina Faso emits 0.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Eritrea emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Burkina Faso vs. Eritrea

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Eritrea is 11.7% cheaper than Burkina Faso overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Burkina Faso is about 2.3 times bigger than Eritrea.
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Moving from Burkina Faso to Eritrea · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Eritrea: At a glance

Eritrea is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 101,000 sq km. After independence from Italian colonial control in 1941 and 10 years of British administrative control, the UN established Eritrea as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952. Ethiopia's full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afworki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule, particularly since 2001, has been highly autocratic and repressive. His government has created a highly militarized society by pursuing an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service, sometimes of indefinite length. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. A UN peacekeeping operation was established that monitored a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) created in April 2003 was tasked "to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902, and 1908) and applicable international law." The EEBC on 30 November 2007 remotely demarcated the border, assigning the town of Badme to Eritrea, despite Ethiopia's maintaining forces there from the time of the 1998-2000 war. Eritrea insisted that the UN terminate its peacekeeping mission on 31 July 2008. Eritrea has accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and repeatedly called on Ethiopia to remove its troops. Ethiopia has not accepted the demarcation decision, and neither party has entered into meaningful dialogue to resolve the impasse. Eritrea is subject to several UN Security Council Resolutions (from 2009, 2011, and 2012) imposing various military and economic sanctions, in view of evidence that it has supported armed opposition groups in the region.
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How big is Eritrea compared to Burkina Faso? See an in-depth size comparison.

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