Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Eritrea instead of South Africa, you would:

Health

be 97.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In South Africa, 19.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Eritrea, that number is 0.5% of people as of 2020.

live 1.5 years longer

In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (64 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2022. In Eritrea, that number is 67 years (64 years for men, 70 years for women) as of 2022.

be 82.3% less likely to be obese

In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Eritrea, that number is 5.0% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 79.0% less likely to be unemployed

In South Africa, 28.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Eritrea, that number is 5.9% as of 2023.

make 88.8% less money

South Africa has a GDP per capita of $14,300 as of 2023, while in Eritrea, the GDP per capita is $1,600 as of 2017.

be 3.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In South Africa, 16.6% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Eritrea, however, that number is 50.0% as of 2004.

Life

have 48.6% more children

In South Africa, there are approximately 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Eritrea, there are 26.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In South Africa, approximately 127.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Eritrea, 322.0 women do as of 2020.

be 19.4% less likely to be literate

In South Africa, the literacy rate is 95.0% as of 2019. In Eritrea, it is 76.6% as of 2018.

be 60.4% more likely to die during infancy

In South Africa, approximately 25.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Eritrea, on the other hand, 41.5 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 36.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In South Africa, approximately 86% of people have electricity access (87% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Eritrea, that number is 55% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 36% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 69.4% less likely to have internet access

In South Africa, approximately 72.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Eritrea, about 22.0% do as of 2021.

be 40.2% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In South Africa, approximately 97% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 90% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Eritrea, that number is 58% of people on average (73% in urban areas, and 53% in rural areas) as of 2015.

Expenditures

spend 52.3% less on healthcare

South Africa spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Eritrea, that number is 4.1% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 20.2% less coastline

South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Eritrea, that number is 2,234 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Eritrea: At a glance

Eritrea is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 101,000 sq km. After independence from Italian colonial control in 1941 and 10 years of British administrative control, the UN established Eritrea as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952. Ethiopia's full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afworki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule, particularly since 2001, has been highly autocratic and repressive. His government has created a highly militarized society by pursuing an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service, sometimes of indefinite length. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. A UN peacekeeping operation was established that monitored a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) created in April 2003 was tasked "to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902, and 1908) and applicable international law." The EEBC on 30 November 2007 remotely demarcated the border, assigning the town of Badme to Eritrea, despite Ethiopia's maintaining forces there from the time of the 1998-2000 war. Eritrea insisted that the UN terminate its peacekeeping mission on 31 July 2008. Eritrea has accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and repeatedly called on Ethiopia to remove its troops. Ethiopia has not accepted the demarcation decision, and neither party has entered into meaningful dialogue to resolve the impasse. Eritrea is subject to several UN Security Council Resolutions (from 2009, 2011, and 2012) imposing various military and economic sanctions, in view of evidence that it has supported armed opposition groups in the region.
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How big is Eritrea compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.

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