Population:

5,028,475 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 42.9% (male 1,085,116/female 1,072,262)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 1,332,349/female 1,355,494)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 88,068/female 95,186) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 18.1 years
male: 17.9 years
female: 18.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.447% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

33.62 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

9.15 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 44.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 49.93 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 38.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 60.05 years
male: 58.29 years
female: 61.87 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.84 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

2.7% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

60,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

6,300 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic groups:

Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%

Religions:

Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant

Languages:

Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6%
male: 69.9%
female: 47.6% (2003 est.)