Life expectancy in Eritrea
Eritrea: Life expectancy was 68.62 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Eritrea, 1950–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy in Eritrea stood at 68.62 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Eritrea peaked at 68.62 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 30.4 years, in 1957.
That places Eritrea 180th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 33.29 years | — |
| 1951 | 33.64 years | +1.0% |
| 1952 | 34 years | +1.1% |
| 1953 | 34.38 years | +1.1% |
| 1954 | 34.8 years | +1.2% |
| 1955 | 35.18 years | +1.1% |
| 1956 | 35.63 years | +1.3% |
| 1957 | 30.4 years | -14.7% |
| 1958 | 30.91 years | +1.7% |
| 1959 | 36.97 years | +19.6% |
| 1960 | 37.44 years | +1.3% |
| 1961 | 37.91 years | +1.3% |
| 1962 | 38.35 years | +1.1% |
| 1963 | 38.83 years | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 39.18 years | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 39.58 years | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 37.63 years | -4.9% |
| 1967 | 40.15 years | +6.7% |
| 1968 | 40.48 years | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 40.79 years | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 41.16 years | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 41.53 years | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 40.72 years | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 41.13 years | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 39 years | -5.2% |
| 1975 | 39.03 years | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 42.59 years | +9.1% |
| 1977 | 42.98 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 43.38 years | +0.9% |
| 1979 | 43.78 years | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 44.63 years | +1.9% |
| 1981 | 44.97 years | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 44.89 years | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 37.17 years | -17.2% |
| 1984 | 37.68 years | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 38.59 years | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 39.54 years | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 47.36 years | +19.8% |
| 1988 | 48.09 years | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 47.8 years | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 49.73 years | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 50.52 years | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 52.44 years | +3.8% |
| 1993 | 53.19 years | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 54.03 years | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 54.82 years | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 55.5 years | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 56.16 years | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 50 years | -11.0% |
| 1999 | 44.51 years | -11.0% |
| 2000 | 56.29 years | +26.5% |
| 2001 | 58.36 years | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 58.94 years | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 59.46 years | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 60.06 years | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 60.63 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 61.46 years | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 62 years | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 62.42 years | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 63.2 years | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 63.67 years | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 64.23 years | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 64.7 years | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 65 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 65.52 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 65.91 years | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 66.24 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 66.61 years | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 66.98 years | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 67.31 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 66.98 years | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 66.94 years | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 67.79 years | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 68.62 years | +1.2% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 68.62 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 63.65 years, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 68.62 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 years, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +26.5% | 44.51 years | 56.29 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 33.92 years | 30.4 years | 36.97 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 39.04 years | 37.44 years | 40.79 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 41.53 years | 39 years | 43.78 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 43.07 years | 37.17 years | 48.09 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 52.09 years | 44.51 years | 56.16 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.28 years | 56.29 years | 63.2 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.62 years | 63.67 years | 67.31 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 67.58 years | 66.94 years | 68.62 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More health data for Eritrea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.62 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.2 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 821.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 425 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2011)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0652 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Eritrea?
- Life expectancy in Eritrea was 68.62 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 68.62 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.4 years in 1957.
- How does Eritrea rank for life expectancy?
- Eritrea ranks 180th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.