Eritrea vs Sudan
Sudan is 16 times larger than Eritrea. Eritrea would fit into Sudan about 16 times.
EritreaSudanEritrea moved onto Sudan · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Eritrea is 0.06× the area of Sudan. Put the other way, Sudan is 16× the size of Eritrea.
 Eritrea |  Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSudan: 16× the area | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 | 1,886,068 km²#15 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSudan: 14.3× the population | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 | 51,662,147#30 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEritrea: 1.12× the density | 31 / km²#150 of 194 | 27 / km²#157 of 194 |
| Urban populationAbout the same urban share | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 35%#159 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSudan: 1.16× the births per woman | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 | 4.26 per woman#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSudan: 0.38 points higher | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 | +2.38%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSudan: 1.15× the birth rate | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 | 33.0 per 1,000#18 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSudan: 1.05× the death rate | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 | 6.3 per 1,000#128 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Sudan: 2.6 points higher | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 | 40.2%#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Eritrea: 0.9 points higher | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 | 3.4%#156 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSudan: 7.5 per 1,000 higher | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 | +5.6 per 1,000#17 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 2.82× the refugees for its size | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 | 54.60 per 1,000#7 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEritrea: 2.4 years longer | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 | 66.5 years#156 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySudan: 1.74× the infant mortality | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 | 42.9 per 1,000 births#23 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| Human Development IndexSudan: 0.008 higher | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 | 0.511#173 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $900#173 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $60.16B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $2,192#175 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +138.8%#2 of 176 · 2022 |
| UnemploymentSudan: 1.25× the unemployment | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 | 7.5%#53 of 178 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureEritrea: 15.7 points higher | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 | 39.8% of jobs#41 of 178 · 2022 |
| Jobs in industrySudan: 1.3 points higher | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 | 14.0% of jobs#143 of 178 · 2022 |
| Jobs in servicesSudan: 14.4 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 46.2% of jobs#134 of 178 · 2022 |
| Foreign investment | — | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 1.1% of GDP#168 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 0.9% of GDP#118 of 155 · 2021 |
| Internet users | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsSudan: 1.19× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 | 70 per 100#161 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAbout the same forest share | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 | 12% of land#147 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSudan: 1.95× the CO₂ per person | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 | 0.43 t a year#153 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEritrea: 19.7 points higher | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 | 61.0%#37 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySudan: 10.7 points higher | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 | 66.0%#157 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Sudan: 1.12× the air pollution | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 | 37.6 µg/m³#27 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSudan: 2.8 points higher | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 | 2.8% of land#177 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSudan: 5.5 points higher | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 | 11.2% of land#92 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSudan: 10.6× the water stress | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 | 118.7%#14 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEritrea: 1.54× the rain and snow | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 | 250 mm#158 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityEritrea: 1.47 higher | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 | −2.07#187 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSudan: 0.04 higher | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 | −1.57#188 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party stateauthoritarian | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Asmara | Khartoum |
| Currency | Nakfa (ERN) | Sudanese pound (SDG) |
| Official languages | English, Arabic, Tigrinya | English, Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +291 | +249 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Northern 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; Sudan at 16° 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 Eritrea bigger than Sudan?
- No. Eritrea is 16 times smaller than Sudan. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Sudan covers 1,886,068 km².
- How many times does Eritrea fit into Sudan?
- About 16 times: Sudan has 16× the area of Eritrea.
- Why do Eritrea and Sudan 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 Sudan 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, Eritrea or Sudan?
- Sudan: 51,662,147 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Sudan 27 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Eritrea or Sudan?
- In Eritrea: life expectancy at birth is 68.9 years, against 66.5 — 2.4 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Eritrea and Sudan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Eritrea: one-party state; Sudan: presidential republic.