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Photo: Original photograph taken by User:Voice of Clam , edited by jjron - adjusted levels, reduced highlights, sharpened. derivative work: Jjtkk · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 06 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Eritrea: Development & Human Capital
Is a country turning its resources into better lives?
Eritrea is placed 188th of 194 countries on development & human capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Maternal Mortality Ratio 291.36 (2023); Human Development Index 0.503 (2023).
Development & Human Capital
188th
of 194 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics
Not placed in the Country Index 2026 overall: measured on too few topics.
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Eritrea on development & human capital — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
Maternal Mortality Ratio
UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG)
Why it is a key: Whether a woman survives giving birth — the reach of a health system at the moment it is hardest to fake.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
291.36
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
Lower is better
Eritrea: 291.36. Across the 195 countries in this edition, values run from 0.11 (Cook Islands) to 992.83 (Nigeria); the world median is 46.65.
- World median
- 46.65
- Best in Eastern Africa
- 41.89 Seychelles
- Land neighbours
- Djibouti 161.88 · Ethiopia 194.94 · Sudan 255.71
Each grey tick is one of 195 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 3
Human Development Index
UNDP Human Development Report Office
Why it is a key: The standard composite of health, schooling and income, carrying UNDP's own published rank.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
0.503
HDI score (0–1)
Higher is better
Ranked 178th of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office
Eritrea: 0.503. Across the 193 countries in this edition, values run from 0.388 (South Sudan) to 0.972 (Iceland); the world median is 0.762.
- World median
- 0.762
- Best in Eastern Africa
- 0.848 Seychelles
- Land neighbours
- Djibouti 0.513 · Ethiopia 0.497 · Sudan 0.511
Each grey tick is one of 193 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 3 of 3
Cereal Yield
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: How much food a hectare of land produces: the clearest single measure of agricultural productivity.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
638.2
Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
Higher is better
Eritrea: 638.2. Across the 179 countries in this edition, values run from 23 (Cabo Verde) to 29,147 (Oman); the world median is 3,072.
- World median
- 3,072
- Best in Eastern Africa
- 11,643 Mauritius
- Land neighbours
- Djibouti 2,034 · Ethiopia 2,656 · Sudan 454.9
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Eritrea is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Maternal Mortality Ratio
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births · lower is better
EritreaWorld median
Eritrea fell from 741.44 in 2000 to 291.36 in 2023; the world median went from 70.99 to 46.65.
Every year’s figures
Year Eritrea World median 2023 291.4 46.7 2022 301.4 53.0 2021 338.5 76.6 2020 333.7 56.0 2019 350.7 48.4 2018 363.3 49.3 2017 379.1 47.2 2016 394.6 50.6 2015 412.9 51.9 2014 429.7 52.8 2013 443.5 53.3 2012 457.8 54.6 2011 477.5 55.0 2010 498.2 56.1 2009 514.5 56.3 2008 529.9 55.8 2007 541.4 56.8 2006 554.6 58.1 2005 566.6 60.1 2004 588.3 63.0 2003 587.6 66.8 2002 636.3 66.0 2001 650.9 68.1 2000 741.4 71.0 Human Development Index
HDI score (0–1) · higher is better
EritreaWorld median
Eritrea rose from 0.474 in 2005 to 0.503 in 2023; the world median went from 0.696 to 0.762.
Every year’s figures
Year Eritrea World median 2023 0.503 0.7620 2022 0.499 0.7610 2021 0.496 0.7450 2020 0.495 0.7425 2019 0.495 0.7515 2018 0.490 0.7520 2017 0.480 0.7480 2016 0.485 0.7500 2015 0.480 0.7430 2014 0.497 0.7410 2013 0.479 0.7390 2012 0.483 0.7350 2011 0.480 0.7250 2010 0.465 0.7250 2009 0.462 0.7220 2008 0.457 0.7180 2007 0.472 0.7100 2006 0.473 0.7045 2005 0.474 0.6960 2004 — 0.6960 2003 — 0.6910 2002 — 0.6845 2001 — 0.6770 2000 — 0.6720 Cereal Yield
Cereal yield (kg per hectare) · higher is better
EritreaWorld median
Eritrea rose from 377.2 in 2000 to 638.2 in 2023; the world median went from 2,170 to 3,072.
Every year’s figures
Year Eritrea World median 2023 638.2 3,072 2022 638.2 3,217 2021 637.7 3,003 2020 638.6 3,260 2019 638.5 3,106 2018 638.9 2,883 2017 642.2 2,984 2016 639.7 3,043 2015 642.4 3,000 2014 666.4 3,001 2013 669.8 2,970 2012 689.4 2,782 2011 649.1 2,754 2010 511.7 2,647 2009 500.1 2,653 2008 252.2 2,664 2007 938.5 2,553 2006 798.5 2,514 2005 758.2 2,512 2004 275.3 2,428 2003 261.0 2,331 2002 158.2 2,378 2001 637.1 2,199 2000 377.2 2,170
03In context
Eritrea beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 194 countries on development & human capital, never a place within the region.
1st194thNot placed · 30 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Eritrea and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 194 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Maternal Mortality RatioMaternal deaths per 100,000 live births | Human Development IndexHDI score (0–1) | Cereal YieldCereal yield (kg per hectare) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ethiopia | 154th | 194.94 | 0.497 | 2,656 |
 Djibouti | 156th | 161.88 | 0.513 | 2,034 |
 Sudan | =186th | 255.71 | 0.511 | 454.9 |
| Eritrea | 188th | 291.36 | 0.503 | 638.2 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Eastern Africa
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 194.
Placed either side on development & human capital
The countries immediately above and below Eritrea in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Eritrea is ahead of the world, and behind
18 more statistics filed under development & human capital, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median2
Statistics on which Eritrea does better than the middle country measured.
Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six MonthsUNICEF · 2024 · world median 40.7468.740.74No earlier reading
Eritrea: 68.7 · world median 40.74 · Infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed (%). UNICEF, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.497 to 83.3; higher is better.
Position 9th of 136 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.06109.34107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
Eritrea: 109.34 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 89th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median12
Statistics on which Eritrea does worse than the middle country measured.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.23100.58106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Eritrea: 100.58 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 125th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Under-Five Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 14.5434.314.54No real change since 2014
Eritrea: 34.3 · world median 14.54 · Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.26 to 115.65; lower is better.
Position 54th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Life Expectancy at BirthUN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 74.6368.6274.63▲ Improved since 2013
Eritrea: 68.62 · world median 74.63 · Years a newborn would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 54.46 to 86.37; higher is better.
Position 166th of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.9335.0919.933▼ Worsened since 2013
Eritrea: 5.091 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 168th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Planetary pressures-adjusted HDIUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6780.4960.678▲ Improved since 2013
Eritrea: 0.496 · world median 0.678 · PHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.276 to 0.827; higher is better.
Position 138th of 156 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Social Protection CoverageILO · 2025 · world median 52.18.452.1No earlier reading
Eritrea: 8.4 · world median 52.1 · Population covered by at least one social protection benefit (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 100; higher is better.
Access to ElectricityWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 10055.3100▼ Worsened since 2014
Eritrea: 55.3 · world median 100 · Population with electricity access (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 5.4 to 100; higher is better.
Child MarriageUNICEF · 2025 · world median 17.140.717.1No earlier reading
Eritrea: 40.7 · world median 17.1 · Women 20–24 married before 18 (%). UNICEF, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 76.3; lower is better.
Position 11th of 143 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Cost of Sending RemittancesWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 3.2259.163.225▼ Worsened since 2016
Eritrea: 9.16 · world median 3.225 · Average cost of sending $200 home (% of the amount). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from -49.69 to 19.63; lower is better.
Position 6th of 93 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Country Policy and Institutional AssessmentWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.2461.6923.246▲ Improved since 2015
Eritrea: 1.692 · world median 3.246 · IDA Resource Allocation Index (1 = low to 6 = high). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 1.617 to 4.225; higher is better.
Position 75th of 78 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.347.33713.34No real change since 2013
Eritrea: 7.337 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 192nd of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveUNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates) · 2024 · world median 13.852.5313.8No earlier reading
Eritrea: 52.53 · world median 13.8 · Children under 5 who are stunted (%). UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.518 to 52.8; lower is better.
Position 2nd of 162 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Level with the median, or no median to compare1
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.08106.08106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Eritrea: 106.08 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 98th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end3
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 2022 · world median 62.1494.562.14No real change since 2012
Eritrea: 94.5 · world median 62.14 · Freshwater withdrawn for agriculture (% of total). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 99.48.
Position 9th of 171 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Arable Land per PersonFAO · 2023 · world median 0.1090.1990.109No real change since 2013
Eritrea: 0.199 · world median 0.109 · Arable land (hectares per person). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 1.459.
Position 61st of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Land Under Cereal ProductionFAO · 2023 · world median 689,278478,301689,278No real change since 2013
Eritrea: 478,301 · world median 689,278 · Land under cereal production (hectares). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 103,715,108.
Position 99th of 179 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Eritrea
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2009), Cereal Import Dependency Ratio, Children with Functional Difficulties, Coefficient of Human Inequality, Completeness of Birth Registration, Dietary Energy Supply, GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Gini Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, GNI per Capita (PPP), Household Consumption (last 2011), Human Capital Index, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2009), Net Official Development Assistance Received (last 2011), Organic Agricultural Area, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, Prevalence of Undernourishment, Prosperity Gap, Statistical Performance Indicators and Violent Discipline of Children. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Development & Human Capital among Eritrea’s 8 topics
Development & Human Capital is Eritrea’s 5th best-placed topic of 8. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Environment & Sustainability59th of 1612/3 keys
- Work & Labourjoint 117th of 1824/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience130th of 1913/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing152nd of 2012/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital188th of 1943/3 keys
- Peace & Security172nd of 1772/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions192nd of 1933/5 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties198th of 1983/3 keys
No standing on Economy & Innovation, Education & Knowledge, Gender & Equality, Mobility & Connectivity: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on development & human capital
The three countries placed highest of 194, and the leaders Eritrea can most readily be measured against.
1
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
1st of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
BelgiumWestern Europe
2nd of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Gf uip · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
GermanyWestern Europe
3rd of 194 · 3 of 3 keys
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Placed highest nearby
Highest in Africa
Egypt55th3/3 keysHighest in Eastern Africa
Mauritius59th3/3 keysThis page
Eritrea188th3/3 keys
Positions out of 194 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Eritrea and development & human capital
On development & human capital
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On development & human capital
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
08Questions
Eritrea on development & human capital: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Eritrea rank on development & human capital?
Eritrea is placed 188th of 194 countries on Development & Human Capital in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Maternal Mortality Ratio, Human Development Index and Cereal Yield). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Maternal Mortality Ratio figure for Eritrea?
291.36 in 2023 (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births), according to UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). The world median in the same edition was 46.65.
What is the latest Human Development Index figure for Eritrea?
0.503 in 2023 (hDI score (0–1)), according to UNDP Human Development Report Office. The world median in the same edition was 0.762.
How does Eritrea compare with Ethiopia on development & human capital?
Ethiopia is placed 154th of 194, and Eritrea 188th. Maternal Mortality Ratio: Ethiopia 194.94, Eritrea 291.36; Human Development Index: Ethiopia 0.497, Eritrea 0.503; Cereal Yield: Ethiopia 2,656, Eritrea 638.2.
How have Eritrea’s development & human capital figures changed?
Maternal Mortality Ratio fell from 741.44 in 2000 to 291.36 in 2023; Human Development Index rose from 0.474 in 2005 to 0.503 in 2023; Cereal Yield rose from 377.2 in 2000 to 638.2 in 2023.
Which development & human capital statistics are missing for Eritrea?
No current reading is published for Eritrea on Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agricultural Irrigated Land, Agriculture Orientation Index, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Cereal Import Dependency Ratio, Children with Functional Difficulties, Coefficient of Human Inequality, Completeness of Birth Registration, Dietary Energy Supply, GDP per Capita (PPP), Gender Development Index, Gender Inequality Index, Gini Index, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, GNI per Capita (PPP), Household Consumption, Human Capital Index, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Net Official Development Assistance Received, Organic Agricultural Area, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, Prevalence of Undernourishment, Prosperity Gap, Statistical Performance Indicators and Violent Discipline of Children. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Eritrea, topic by topic
Nearby, on development & human capital
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Poverty lines, inequality and aid received are published here as context rather than as keys, often because they cover fewer countries or are measured too rarely. Development is also not the same as economic size or growth, which belong to Economy & Innovation.
How the Development & Human Capital standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 3 indicators on this topic are keys and 49 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. All of them describe 2023.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 3 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 194 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 3.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Maternal Mortality Ratio — UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Human Development Index — UNDP Human Development Report Office, CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Cereal Yield — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 18 statistics on this page come from 8 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Eritrea’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Eritrea (banner) — Original photograph taken by User:Voice of Clam , edited by jjron - adjusted levels, reduced highlights, sharpened. derivative work: Jjtkk, Public domain
- United Arab Emirates — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Belgium — Gf uip, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Germany — dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Eritrea: Development & Human Capital — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/eritrea/development