Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 2.4 years longer

In Sudan, the average life expectancy is 67 years (63 years for men, 70 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 75.7% less likely to be obese

In Sudan, 17.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Eritrea, that number is 4.3% of people as of 2024.

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see 3.1 times more spent on your healthcare

Sudan spends $28 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Eritrea spends $87 as of 2023.

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be 4.2 times more likely to die by suicide

Sudan has a suicide rate of 3.2 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 47.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Sudan, 11.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2023. In Eritrea, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.

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Life

be 26.2% more likely to be literate

In Sudan, the literacy rate is 60.7% as of 2018. In Eritrea, it is 76.6% as of 2018.

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be 42.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Sudan, approximately 42.9 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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have 13.0% fewer children

In Sudan, there are approximately 33.0 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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Basic Needs

be 17.6% less likely to have access to electricity

In Sudan, approximately 66% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 54% 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 29.1% more on healthcare

Sudan spends 2.9% 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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Geography

see 2.6 times more coastline

Sudan has a total of 853 km of coastline. In Eritrea, that number is 2,234 km.

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Infrastructure

find 2.8 times more home broadband

Sudan has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Eritrea has 0.2 as of 2022.

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live with 90.6% less strain on fresh water

Sudan withdraws 119% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Eritrea withdraws 11% as of 2022.

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use 44.6% less electricity

Sudan uses 223 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Eritrea uses 123 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 48.8% less CO2

Sudan emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Eritrea emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 11.4% more likely to die from air pollution

In Sudan, air pollution causes 70.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Eritrea, it causes 78.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2018–2023), World Health Organization (2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this

Compare further: Sudan vs. Eritrea

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Eritrea is 59.6% more expensive than Sudan overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Sudan is about 16 times bigger than Eritrea.
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Moving from Sudan to Eritrea · UN DESA 2020
181 people born in Sudan 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 Sudan? See an in-depth size comparison.

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