SELECT EDITION
CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(8 fields)
Broadcast media
government controls broadcast media with private ownership prohibited; 1 state-owned TV station; state-owned radio operates 2 networks; purchases of satellite dishes and subscriptions to international broadcast media are permitted (2007)
Internet country code
.er
Internet users
total: 58,100 | percent of population: 0.91% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 180
Radio broadcast stations
AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Telephone system
general assessment: inadequate; most fixed-line telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system; cell phones in increasing use throughout the country | domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is less than 5 per 100 persons | international: country code - 291 (2011)
Telephones - fixed lines
total subscriptions: 64,000 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 154
Telephones - mobile cellular
total: 417,400 | subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 172
Television broadcast stations
2 (2006)
◆ ECONOMY(34 fields)
Agriculture - products
sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Budget
revenues: $1.145 billion | expenditures: $1.639 billion (2014 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)
-12.8% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 214
Commercial bank prime lending rate
NA%
Current account balance
-$35 million (2014 est.) | $12 million (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 73
Debt - external
$955.6 million (31 December 2014 est.) | $945.2 million (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 165
Economy - overview
Since formal independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced many economic problems, including lack of resources and chronic drought, which have been exacerbated by restrictive economic policies. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations, a large share of the population - nearly 80% - is engaged in subsistence agriculture, but the sector only produces a small share of the country's total output. Since the conclusion of the Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 2000, the government has expanded use of military and party-owned businesses to complete President ISAIAS's development agenda. The government has strictly controlled the use of foreign currency by limiting access and availability; new regulations in 2013 aimed at relaxing currency controls have had little economic effect. Few large private enterprises exist in Eritrea and most operate in conjunction with government partners, including a number of large international mining ventures that have recently begun production. While reliable statistics on food security are difficult to obtain, erratic rainfall and the percentage of the labor force tied up in national service continue to interfere with agricultural production and economic development. Eritrea's harvests generally cannot meet the food needs of the country without supplemental grain purchases. Copper, potash, and gold production is likely to drive economic growth over the next few years, but military spending will continue to compete with development and investment plans. Eritrea's economic future will depend on market reform, international sanctions, global food prices, and success at addressing social problems such refugee emigration.
Exchange rates
nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - | 15.375 (2014 est.) | 15.375 (2013 est.) | 15.375 (2012 est.) | 15.375 (2011 est.) | 15.375 (2010 est.)
Exports
$504.9 million (2014 est.) | $462 million (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 173
Exports - commodities
gold and other minerals, livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP (official exchange rate)
$3.858 billion (2014 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$7.842 billion (2014 est.) | $7.711 billion (2013 est.) | $7.61 billion (2012 est.) | note: data are in 2014 US dollars | country comparison to the world: 163
GDP - composition, by end use
household consumption: 91.5% | government consumption: 22.8% | investment in fixed capital: 15.7% | investment in inventories: -15.3% | exports of goods and services: 10.1% | imports of goods and services: -24.8% | (2014 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 12.3% | industry: 28.7% | services: 59% (2014 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,200 (2014 est.) | $1,200 (2013 est.) | $1,200 (2012 est.) | note: data are in 2014 US dollars | country comparison to the world: 220
GDP - real growth rate
1.7% (2014 est.) | 1.3% (2013 est.) | 7% (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 162
Gross national saving
2.4% of GDP (2014 est.) | 4% of GDP (2013 est.) | 5.9% of GDP (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 170
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA% | highest 10%: NA%
Imports
$1.15 billion (2014 est.) | $1.028 billion (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 177
Imports - commodities
machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Industrial production growth rate
6.5% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 26
Industries
food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
12.3% (2014 est.) | 12.3% (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 216
Labor force
3.155 million (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 102
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture: 80% | industry and services: 20% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line
50% (2004 est.)
Public debt
125.3% of GDP (2014 est.) | 126% of GDP (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 8
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$247.8 million (31 December 2015 est.) | $218.9 million (31 December 2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 159
Stock of broad money
$4.494 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $3.983 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 134
Stock of domestic credit
$4.052 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $3.647 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 126
Stock of narrow money
$2.129 billion (31 December 2014 est.) | $1.843 billion (31 December 2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 127
Taxes and other revenues
29.7% of GDP (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 88
Unemployment rate
8.6% (2013 est.) | 10% (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 98
◆ ENERGY(23 fields)
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy
739,500 Mt (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 173
Crude oil - exports
0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 119
Crude oil - imports
0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 186
Crude oil - production
0 bbl/day (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 130
Crude oil - proved reserves
0 bbl (1 January 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 129
Electricity - consumption
284 million kWh (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 182
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 135
Electricity - from fossil fuels
98.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 51
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 171
Electricity - from nuclear fuels
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 87
Electricity - from other renewable sources
1.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 91
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 145
Electricity - installed generating capacity
140,800 kW (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 167
Electricity - production
338 million kWh (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 170
Natural gas - consumption
0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 139
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 93
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 192
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 182
Natural gas - proved reserves
0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 134
Refined petroleum products - consumption
3,500 bbl/day (2013 est.) | country comparison to the world: 178
Refined petroleum products - exports
0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 175
Refined petroleum products - imports
3,500 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 170
Refined petroleum products - production
0 bbl/day (2012 est.) | country comparison to the world: 178
◆ GEOGRAPHY(20 fields)
Area
total: 117,600 sq km | land: 101,000 sq km | water: 16,600 sq km | country comparison to the world: 101
Area - comparative
slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Climate
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Coastline
2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)
Elevation extremes
lowest point: near Kulul within the Danakil Depression -75 m | highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Environment - current issues
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection | signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
total: 0.58 cu km/yr (5%/0%/95%) | per capita: 121.3 cu m/yr (2004)
Geographic coordinates
15 00 N, 39 00 E
Geography - note
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
Irrigated land
215.9 sq km (2003)
Land boundaries
total: 1,840 km | border countries (3): Djibouti 125 km, Ethiopia 1,033 km, Sudan 682 km
Land use
agricultural land: 75.1% | arable land 6.8%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 68.3% | forest: 15.1% | other: 9.8% (2011 est.)
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references
Africa
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural hazards
frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms | volcanism: Dubbi (elev. 1,625 m), which last erupted in 1861, was the country's only historically active volcano until Nabro (2,218 m) came to life on 12 June 2011
Natural resources
gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Terrain
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Total renewable water resources
6.3 cu km (2011)
◆ GOVERNMENT(22 fields)
Administrative divisions
6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (South), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)
Capital
name: Asmara (Asmera) | geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 56 E | time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no | citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Eritrea | dual citizenship recognized: no | residency requirement for naturalization: 20 years
Constitution
adopted 23 May 1997 (not fully implemented); note - in mid-2014, the president announced plans to draft a new constitution (2015)
Country name
conventional long form: State of Eritrea | conventional short form: Eritrea | local long form: Hagere Ertra | local short form: Ertra | former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia | etymology: the country name derives from the ancient Greek appellation "Erythra Thalassa" meaning Red Sea, which is the major water body bordering the country
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Louis MAZEL (since 10 July 2014) | embassy: 179 Ala Street, Asmara | mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara | telephone: [291] (1) 120004 | FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires BERHANE Gebrehiwet Solomon (since 15 March 2011) | chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 | telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 | FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 | consulate(s) general: San Francisco
Executive branch
chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly | head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993) | cabinet: State Council appointed by the president | elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); the only election was held on 8 June 1993, following independence from Ethiopia (next election postponed indefinitely) | election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president by the transitional National Assembly; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki (PFDJ) 95%, other 5%
Flag description
red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle; green stands for the country's agriculture economy, red signifies the blood shed in the fight for freedom, and blue symbolizes the bounty of the sea; the wreath-olive branch symbol is similar to that on the first flag of Eritrea from 1952; the shape of the red triangle broadly mimics the shape of the country | note: one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Vanuatu
Government type
authoritarian presidential regime
Independence
24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International organization participation
ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS (observer), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO
Judicial branch
highest court(s): High Court (consists of 20 judges and organized into civil, commercial, criminal, labor, administrative, and customary sections) | judge selection and term of office: High Court judges appointed by the president | subordinate courts: regional/zonal courts; community courts; special courts; sharia courts (for issues dealing with Muslim marriage, inheritance, and family); military courts
Legal system
mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic religious law
Legislative branch
description: unicameral National Assembly or Hagerawi Baito (150 seats; 75 members indirectly elected by the ruling party and 75 directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms) | elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to form a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely due to the war with Ethiopia
National anthem
name: "Ertra, Ertra, Ertra" (Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea) | lyrics/music: SOLOMON Tsehaye Beraki/Isaac Abraham MEHAREZGI and ARON Tekle Tesfatsion | note: adopted 1993; upon independence from Ethiopia
National holiday
Independence Day, 24 May (1991)
National symbol(s)
camel; national colors: green, red, blue
Political parties and leaders
People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afworki] (the only party recognized by the government) | note: a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly never debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders
Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrean Kunama or DMLEK | Eritrean Democratic Alliance or EDA | Eritrean Islamic Party for Justice and Development or EIPJD (includes the Eritrean Islamic Jihad (EIJ), Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM), Eritrean Islamic Salvation, and the Eritrean Islamic Foundation) | Eritrean National Congress for Democratic Change or ENCDC | Eritrean National Salvation Front or ENSF | Eritrean People's Democratic Party or EPDP | Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization or RSADO
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
Background
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.
◆ MILITARY(5 fields)
Manpower available for military service
males age 16-49: 1,350,446 | females age 16-49: 1,362,575 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 16-49: 896,096 | females age 16-49: 953,757 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually
male: 66,829 | female: 66,731 (2010 est.)
Military branches
Eritrean Armed Forces: Eritrean Ground Forces, Eritrean Navy, Eritrean Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2011)
Military service age and obligation
18-40 years of age for male and female voluntary and compulsory military service; 16-month conscript service obligation (2012)
◆ PEOPLE AND SOCIETY(31 fields)
Age structure
0-14 years: 40.25% (male 1,320,752/female 1,306,357) | 15-24 years: 20.43% (male 665,900/female 667,509) | 25-54 years: 31.86% (male 1,031,391/female 1,048,303) | 55-64 years: 3.73% (male 104,004/female 139,637) | 65 years and over: 3.74% (male 104,513/female 139,323) (2015 est.)
Birth rate
30 births/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 41
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
38.8% (2010) | country comparison to the world: 7
Death rate
7.52 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 113
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 83.2% | youth dependency ratio: 78.4% | elderly dependency ratio: 4.8% | potential support ratio: 20.7% (2015 est.)
Drinking water source
urban: 73.2% of population | rural: 53.3% of population | total: 57.8% of population | urban: 26.8% of population | rural: 46.7% of population | total: 42.2% of population (2015 est.)
Education expenditures
2.1% of GDP (2006) | country comparison to the world: 165
Ethnic groups
nine recognized ethnic groups: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, other (Afar, Beni Amir, Nera) 5% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
0.68% (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 56
HIV/AIDS - deaths
700 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 78
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
16,100 (2014 est.) | country comparison to the world: 86
Health expenditures
3% of GDP (2013) | country comparison to the world: 184
Hospital bed density
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Infant mortality rate
total: 37.53 deaths/1,000 live births | male: 42.59 deaths/1,000 live births | female: 32.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 56
Languages
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 63.81 years | male: 61.65 years | female: 66.03 years (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 184
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write | total population: 73.8% | male: 82.4% | female: 65.5% (2015 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: high | food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever | vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever (2013)
Major urban areas - population
ASMARA (capital) 804,000 (2015)
Maternal mortality rate
501 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 46
Median age
total: 19.3 years | male: 19 years | female: 19.7 years (2015 est.)
Nationality
noun: Eritrean(s) | adjective: Eritrean
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 98
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
3.4% (2014) | country comparison to the world: 188
Population
6,527,689 (July 2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 107
Population growth rate
2.25% (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 36
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Sanitation facility access
urban: 44.5% of population | rural: 7.3% of population | total: 15.7% of population | urban: 55.5% of population | rural: 92.7% of population | total: 84.3% of population (2015 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female | 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female | 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female | 25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female | 55-64 years: 0.75 male(s)/female | 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female | total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.02 children born/woman (2015 est.) | country comparison to the world: 37
Urbanization
urban population: 22.6% of total population (2015) | rate of urbanization: 5.11% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(2 fields)
Disputes - international
Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting eastern Sudanese rebel groups; in 2008, Eritrean troops moved across the border on Ras Doumera peninsula and occupied Doumera Island with undefined sovereignty in the Red Sea
Trafficking in persons
current situation: Eritrea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor domestically and, to a lesser extent, sex and labor trafficking abroad; the country’s national service program is often abused to keep conscripts indefinitely and to force them to perform labor outside the scope of their duties; each year large numbers of migrants, often fleeing national service, depart Eritrea in search of work in Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, and Yemen, where some are likely to become victims of forced labor; Eritrean children working in various economic sectors, including domestic service, workshops, and agriculture may be subjected to forced labor; some Eritrean refugees in Sudanese camps are held for ransom in the Sinai Peninsula, where they are forced to work and are abused | tier rating: Tier 3 – Eritrea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the Eritrean Government does not operate with transparency and reported no data in 2013 regarding its efforts to combat human trafficking; no investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of any traffickers were reported, and few efforts were made to identify or to refer any victims to protective services; authorities largely lacked an understanding of human trafficking, conflating it with all forms of transnational migration; the government continued to warn its citizens of the dangers of human trafficking; Eritrea is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2014)
◆ TRANSPORTATION(8 fields)
Airports
13 (2013) | country comparison to the world: 151
Airports - with paved runways
total: 4 | over 3,047 m: 2 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2013)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 9 | over 3,047 m: 1 | 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 | 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 | 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2013)
Heliports
1 (2013)
Merchant marine
total: 4 | by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2010) | country comparison to the world: 129
Ports and terminals
major seaport(s): Assab, Massawa
Railways
total: 306 km | narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2014) | country comparison to the world: 120
Roadways
total: 4,010 km | paved: 874 km | unpaved: 3,136 km (2000) | country comparison to the world: 159