Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea
Eritrea: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 63.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea stood at 63.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea peaked at 63.7% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 49.7%, in 1950.
That places Eritrea 169th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 49.7% | — |
| 1955 | 51.1% | +3.0% |
| 1960 | 52.9% | +3.4% |
| 1965 | 55.4% | +4.8% |
| 1970 | 58.0% | +4.6% |
| 1975 | 60.5% | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 62.1% | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 62.7% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 63.7% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 62.6% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 62.6% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 62.1% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 62.7% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 63.4% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 63.6% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 50.4% | 49.7% | 51.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 54.1% | 52.9% | 55.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 59.3% | 58.0% | 60.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 62.4% | 62.1% | 62.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 63.2% | 62.6% | 63.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 62.4% | 62.1% | 62.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 63.0% | 62.7% | 63.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 63.6% | 63.6% | 63.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More reference data data for Eritrea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0531 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0485 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2642 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.073 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.8 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Eritrea was 63.6% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 63.7% in 1990.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 49.7% in 1950.
- How does Eritrea rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Eritrea ranks 169th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.