Djibouti vs Eritrea
Eritrea is 5.07 times larger than Djibouti. Djibouti would fit into Eritrea about 5.1 times.
DjiboutiEritreaDjibouti moved onto Eritrea · Equal-area projection
0.2×
Djibouti is 0.2× the area of Eritrea. Put the other way, Eritrea is 5.07× the size of Djibouti.
 Djibouti |  Eritrea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEritrea: 5.07× the area | 23,200 km²#147 of 194 | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEritrea: 3.05× the population | 1,184,076#157 of 194 · 2025 | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityDjibouti: 1.66× the density | 51 / km²#135 of 194 | 31 / km²#150 of 194 |
| Urban populationDjibouti: 2.12× the urban share | 73%#62 of 192 · 2025 | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEritrea: 1.4× the births per woman | 2.62 per woman#68 of 192 · 2024 | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEritrea: 0.69 points higher | +1.31%#76 of 192 · 2025 | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEritrea: 1.37× the birth rate | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateDjibouti: 1.25× the death rate | 7.5 per 1,000#86 of 192 · 2024 | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Eritrea: 8.8 points higher | 28.8%#75 of 192 · 2025 | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Djibouti: 0.7 points higher | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationDjibouti: 1.4 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 81.8× the refugees for its size | 1.88 per 1,000#45 of 190 · 2025 | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEritrea: 2.7 years longer | 66.2 years#161 of 192 · 2024 | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityDjibouti: 1.74× the infant mortality | 43.0 per 1,000 births#21 of 191 · 2024 | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsDjibouti: 2.33× the doctors per person | 0.21 per 1,000#147 of 178 · 2022 | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexDjibouti: 0.010 higher | 0.513#172 of 190 · 2023 | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $3,960#125 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $4.63B2025 | — |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $8,452#136 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +6.5%#23 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | −0.3%#168 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentDjibouti: 4.33× the unemployment | 26.0%#3 of 178 · 2025 | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 25.4%#30 of 149 · 2017 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 41.6#31 of 149 · 2017 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureEritrea: 54.3 points higher | 1.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEritrea: 6.0 points higher | 6.7% of jobs#173 of 178 · 2025 | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesDjibouti: 60.4 points higher | 92.2% of jobs#1 of 178 · 2025 | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | 3.2% of GDP#61 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 110.5% of GDP#6 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersDjibouti: 4.57× the share online | 65%#129 of 184 · 2024 | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEritrea: 1.23× the mobile subscriptions | 48 per 100#184 of 191 · 2023 | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEritrea: 40× the forest share | 0% of land#186 of 192 · 2024 | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personDjibouti: 3.5× the CO₂ per person | 0.77 t a year#136 of 185 · 2024 | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEritrea: 53.8 points higher | 26.9%#90 of 190 · 2022 | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityDjibouti: 13.9 points higher | 69.2%#155 of 192 · 2024 | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Djibouti: 1.2× the air pollution | 40.3 µg/m³#22 of 191 · 2023 | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landDjibouti: 1.6 points higher | 1.6% of land#181 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEritrea: 5.5 points higher | 0.2% of land#190 of 190 · 2024 | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEritrea: 1.78× the water stress | 6.3%#109 of 176 · 2022 | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEritrea: 1.75× the rain and snow | 220 mm#163 of 180 · 2022 | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityDjibouti: 0.11 higher | −0.49#138 of 193 · 2025 | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionDjibouti: 0.68 higher | −0.93#148 of 193 · 2025 | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | One-party stateauthoritarian |
| Capital | Djibouti | Asmara |
| Currency | Djiboutian franc (DJF) | Nakfa (ERN) |
| Official languages | French, Arabic | English, Arabic, Tigrinya |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +253 | +291 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Djibouti sits at about 12° N and is stretched to 1.04× its true area; Eritrea at 15° N is stretched to 1.08×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Djibouti bigger than Eritrea?
- No. Djibouti is 5.07 times smaller than Eritrea. Djibouti covers 23,200 km² and Eritrea covers 117,600 km².
- How many times does Djibouti fit into Eritrea?
- About 5.1 times: Eritrea has 5.07× the area of Djibouti.
- Why do Djibouti and Eritrea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Djibouti is drawn about 1.04× its true area there and Eritrea about 1.08×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Djibouti or Eritrea?
- Eritrea: 3,607,003 people against 1,184,076. Density: Djibouti 51 per km², Eritrea 31 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Djibouti or Eritrea?
- In Eritrea: life expectancy at birth is 68.9 years, against 66.2 — 2.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Djibouti and Eritrea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Djibouti: presidential republic; Eritrea: one-party state.