Eritrea vs Ethiopia
Ethiopia is 9.39 times larger than Eritrea. Eritrea would fit into Ethiopia about 9.4 times.
EritreaEthiopiaEritrea moved onto Ethiopia · Equal-area projection
0.11×
Eritrea is 0.11× the area of Ethiopia. Put the other way, Ethiopia is 9.39× the size of Eritrea.
 Eritrea |  Ethiopia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEthiopia: 9.39× the area | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 | 1,104,300 km²#26 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEthiopia: 37.6× the population | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 | 135,472,051#10 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEthiopia: 4.0× the density | 31 / km²#150 of 194 | 123 / km²#73 of 194 |
| Urban populationEritrea: 1.43× the urban share | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 24%#182 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEthiopia: 1.06× the births per woman | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 | 3.91 per woman#26 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEthiopia: 0.55 points higher | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 | +2.55%#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEthiopia: 1.1× the birth rate | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 | 31.5 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateAbout the same death rate | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 | 5.9 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Ethiopia: 1.2 points higher | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 | 38.8%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Eritrea: 1.0 points higher | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationEthiopia: 2.1 per 1,000 higher | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 | +0.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 127× the refugees for its size | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 | 1.21 per 1,000#54 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEritrea: 1.3 years longer | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 | 67.6 years#146 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEthiopia: 1.4× the infant mortality | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 | 34.5 per 1,000 births#36 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEthiopia: 1.56× the doctors per person | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexEritrea: 0.006 higher | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 | 0.497#177 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $1,110#168 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $126.36B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $3,622#165 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +9.8%#5 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +13.2%#17 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEritrea: 1.82× the unemployment | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 38.6%#23 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 31.1#110 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureEthiopia: 4.6 points higher | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 | 60.1% of jobs#14 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEritrea: 6.3 points higher | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 | 6.4% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesEthiopia: 1.6 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 33.4% of jobs#161 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 13.3% of GDP#153 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersEthiopia: 1.53× the share online | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 | 22%#171 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsEthiopia: 1.1× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEthiopia: 1.98× the forest share | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 | 24% of land#113 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personEritrea: 1.47× the CO₂ per person | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEthiopia: 9.9 points higher | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 | 90.6%#7 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityEthiopia: 1.3 points higher | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 | 56.6%#167 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Eritrea: 1.42× the air pollution | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 | 23.8 µg/m³#63 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEthiopia: 17.0 points higher | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 | 17.0% of land#100 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEthiopia: 8.9 points higher | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 | 14.6% of land#75 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEthiopia: 2.88× the water stress | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 | 32.3%#52 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEthiopia: 2.21× the rain and snow | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 | 848 mm#101 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityEritrea: 1.25 higher | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 | −1.85#183 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEthiopia: 1.24 higher | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 | −0.37#108 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party stateauthoritarian | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | BRICS |
| Capital | Asmara | Addis Ababa |
| Currency | Nakfa (ERN) | Ethiopian birr (ETB) |
| Official languages | English, Arabic, Tigrinya | Amharic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +291 | +251 |
| 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. Eritrea sits at about 15° N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Ethiopia at 9° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Eritrea bigger than Ethiopia?
- No. Eritrea is 9.39 times smaller than Ethiopia. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km².
- How many times does Eritrea fit into Ethiopia?
- About 9.4 times: Ethiopia has 9.39× the area of Eritrea.
- Why do Eritrea and Ethiopia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eritrea is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Ethiopia about 1.02×. 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, Eritrea or Ethiopia?
- Ethiopia: 135,472,051 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Ethiopia 123 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Eritrea or Ethiopia?
- In Eritrea: life expectancy at birth is 68.9 years, against 67.6 — 1.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Eritrea and Ethiopia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Eritrea: one-party state; Ethiopia: parliamentary republic.