Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Eritrea instead of Ethiopia, you would:

Health

live 1.3 years longer

In Ethiopia, the average life expectancy is 68 years (64 years for men, 71 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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have 28.6% more access to essential health services

Ethiopia scores 35 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Eritrea scores 45 as of 2021.

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be 48.3% more likely to be obese

In Ethiopia, 2.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Eritrea, that number is 4.3% of people as of 2024.

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have 38.5% fewer doctors per person

Ethiopia has 1.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Eritrea has 0.9 as of 2022.

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be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide

Ethiopia has a suicide rate of 6.1 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 80.1% more likely to be unemployed

In Ethiopia, 3.3% 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 28.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Ethiopia, approximately 34.5 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 49.2% more likely to die during childbirth

In Ethiopia, approximately 195.0 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 21.2% more likely to have internet access

In Ethiopia, approximately 21.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Eritrea, about 26.6% do as of 2022.

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Expenditures

spend 31.4% more on healthcare

Ethiopia spends 2.8% 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 69.8% more likely to be murdered

Ethiopia has a homicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2012. In Eritrea, that number is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2012.

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Infrastructure

live with 65.3% less strain on fresh water

Ethiopia withdraws 32% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Eritrea withdraws 11% as of 2022.

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find 71.2% less home broadband

Ethiopia has 0.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Eritrea has 0.2 as of 2022.

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Environment

be 69.6% more likely to die from air pollution

In Ethiopia, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Eritrea, it causes 78.0 as of 2019.

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emit 46.7% more CO2

Ethiopia emits 0.1 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 (2012–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Ethiopia vs. Eritrea

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Eritrea is 21.5% cheaper than Ethiopia overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Ethiopia is about 9 times bigger than Eritrea.
→
Moving from Ethiopia to Eritrea · UN DESA 2020
94 people born in Ethiopia live in Eritrea.
→

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 Ethiopia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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