Urban population growth in Eritrea
Eritrea: Urban population growth was 2.0% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population growth in Eritrea, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Eritrea stood at 2.0%.
The figure is up 43.6% on the previous year and up 916.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Eritrea peaked at 13.3% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2015.
That places Eritrea 68th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Urban population growth in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5.1% | — |
| 1962 | 5.0% | -1.8% |
| 1963 | 4.9% | -2.1% |
| 1964 | 4.7% | -2.4% |
| 1965 | 4.6% | -2.6% |
| 1966 | 4.4% | -5.0% |
| 1967 | 4.3% | -2.7% |
| 1968 | 4.2% | -0.7% |
| 1969 | 4.1% | -3.3% |
| 1970 | 4.0% | -2.3% |
| 1971 | 3.9% | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 3.8% | -3.1% |
| 1973 | 3.7% | -2.7% |
| 1974 | 3.6% | -3.8% |
| 1975 | 3.4% | -3.5% |
| 1976 | 3.6% | +4.2% |
| 1977 | 3.7% | +4.2% |
| 1978 | 3.8% | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 3.8% | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 3.9% | +1.8% |
| 1981 | 3.9% | +2.2% |
| 1982 | 4.0% | +1.9% |
| 1983 | 3.7% | -6.8% |
| 1984 | 3.5% | -6.4% |
| 1985 | 3.8% | +8.8% |
| 1986 | 4.1% | +8.5% |
| 1987 | 5.0% | +21.5% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | +9.9% |
| 1989 | 8.3% | +49.3% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | -12.7% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | -88.3% |
| 1992 | 1.3% | +49.7% |
| 1993 | 11.4% | +798.0% |
| 1994 | 11.2% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 13.3% | +18.6% |
| 1996 | 11.8% | -11.1% |
| 1997 | 6.9% | -41.2% |
| 1998 | 6.0% | -14.1% |
| 1999 | 4.8% | -19.7% |
| 2000 | 3.3% | -30.4% |
| 2001 | 3.5% | +5.6% |
| 2002 | 4.1% | +15.7% |
| 2003 | 4.7% | +15.9% |
| 2004 | 4.6% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 2.9% | -38.0% |
| 2006 | 2.0% | -30.4% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -8.9% |
| 2008 | 2.9% | +60.7% |
| 2009 | 2.7% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -22.3% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -11.3% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | -30.9% |
| 2013 | 1.2% | -8.9% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -50.8% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -66.3% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +117.6% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | +35.8% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +81.7% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | +9.6% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | +14.7% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 1.3% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 1.4% | +4.6% |
| 2025 | 2.0% | +43.6% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 2.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 50% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 2.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 60% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Eritrea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +798.0% | 1.3% | 11.4% |
| 2016 | +117.6% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| 1991 | -88.3% | 7.2% | 0.8% |
| 2018 | +81.7% | 0.6% | 1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.6% | 4.1% | 5.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.6% | 3.5% | 8.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.5% | 0.8% | 13.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 1.8% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.2% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 2.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More climate change data for Eritrea
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 2.10 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 6,163 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,872 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,292 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 7.06 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 153.28 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 87.04 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 82.68 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4.36 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.312 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Eritrea?
- Urban population growth in Eritrea was 2.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 13.3% in 1995.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2015.
- How does Eritrea rank for urban population growth?
- Eritrea ranks 68th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 916.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Eritrea data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.