Population: 3,984,723 (july 1999 estimate)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 859,899; female 852,329
15-64 years: 54% (male 1.061,921; female 1,078,102)
65 years and over: 3% (male 67,969; female 64,503)
(july 1999 estimate)
Population growth rate: 3.88% (1999 estimate)
Birth rate: 42.56 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 12.32 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 76.84/1,000 live births
(1999 estimate)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 55.74 years
Male: 53.61 years
Female: 57.95 years (1999 estimate)
Total fertility rate: 5.96 children born/woman
(1999 estimate)
Eritrea has a mixed Afro-Asiatic population that is divided by
religion and language. There are nine etnic groups in Eritrea,
which are:
The Kushitic linguistic groups: Afar 4%, (Denkalia), Bilen 2%
(Keren area), Hedareb 2% (Tessenei), Saho 3% (Foro)
The Nilotic linguistic groups: Kunama 3% and Nara 2%
(or Baria) (Western lowlands)
The Semitic linguistic groups: Tigre 35% (Sahel) and Tigrinya
48% (mainly in the highlands)
Groups of recent arab origin: Rashaida 1% (near Massawa)
