Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Eritrea instead of French Polynesia, you would:

Health

be 91.2% less likely to be obese

In French Polynesia, 49.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Eritrea, that number is 4.3% of people as of 2024.

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live 15.3 years less

In French Polynesia, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 87 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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Economy

be 48.7% less likely to be unemployed

In French Polynesia, 11.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Eritrea, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.

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Life

have 2.7 times more children

In French Polynesia, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Eritrea, there are 28.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 5.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In French Polynesia, approximately 4.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Eritrea, on the other hand, 24.7 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 45.6% less likely to have access to electricity

In French Polynesia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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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be 63.4% less likely to have internet access

In French Polynesia, approximately 72.7% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Eritrea, about 26.6% do as of 2022.

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Geography

see 11.5% less coastline

French Polynesia has a total of 2,525 km of coastline. In Eritrea, that number is 2,234 km.

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Safety

be 48.7 times more likely to be murdered

French Polynesia has a homicide rate of 0.3 per 100,000 people as of 2009. In Eritrea, that number is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2012.

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Infrastructure

find 99.5% less home broadband

French Polynesia has 35.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Eritrea has 0.2 as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 93.6% less CO2

French Polynesia emits 3.5 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 (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022), United Nations SDG Indicators (2009–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: French Polynesia vs. Eritrea

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Eritrea is 55.3% cheaper than French Polynesia overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
French Polynesia is about 28 times smaller than Eritrea.
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Moving from French Polynesia 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 French Polynesia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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