Eritrea: environment

What share of Eritreans have electricity?

55.3% of Eritrea's population had access to electricity in 2024, according to World Bank Open Data, from the World Bank SDG 7.1.1 electrification dataset.

The data are collected from industry, national surveys and international sources. Urban and rural shares are published separately in the same database. No official energy statistics were found on Eritrean government sites checked on 15 October 2026.

Official sources: World Bank: Access to electricity (% of population), Eritrea

How much of Eritrea's energy is renewable?

Renewable energy made up 80.7% of Eritrea's total final energy consumption in 2021, according to World Bank Open Data.

The share counts all renewable sources, including traditional biomass such as firewood and charcoal. It is a share of all final energy use, not of electricity generation, so it does not mean that 80.7% of electricity is renewable. The World Bank takes the figure from the International Energy Agency energy statistics.

Official sources: World Bank: Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption), Eritrea

What are Eritrea's greenhouse gas emissions?

Eritrea emitted 6.58 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024, excluding land use, land-use change and forestry, according to World Bank Open Data.

The total covers the six Kyoto Protocol gases from the energy, industry, waste and agriculture sectors, converted to CO2 equivalents using IPCC Fifth Assessment Report values. Land use and forestry are excluded because those fluxes have larger uncertainties. The figures come from the EDGAR database of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, not from a national inventory.

Official sources: World Bank: Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), Eritrea

How many dams has Eritrea built?

Eritrea has about 850 dams and water reservoirs, up from about 130 in 1991, according to a review of agricultural development published by the Ministry of Information on 11 May 2026. It says 293,000 hectares of farmland and 135,000 hectares of catchment have been rehabilitated, and that check dams hold more than 6.2 million cubic metres.

These figures cover 35 years of construction and are given in rounded form. Freshwater withdrawals were 11.2% of available freshwater resources in 2022, according to the FAO measure of water stress in World Bank Open Data, which counts withdrawals for farming, industry and households.

Official sources: Ministry of Information: Eritrea's agricultural development over the past 35 years, part I (11 May 2026) · World Bank: water stress, Eritrea

How much solar power does Eritrea have?

Eritrea's solar plants include a 34 megawatt plant at Dekemhare, 2 megawatts around Asmara and 2.25 megawatts at Areza and Mai-Dima, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines as reported by the Ministry of Information on 24 August 2026. The ministry says about 200,000 people use fuel-saving smokeless ovens.

Megawatts measure the maximum output of a plant, not how much electricity it produces over a year, which depends on sunshine and storage. Smokeless ovens are designed to cut the firewood households burn for cooking. The share of the population with electricity is given in the electricity access answer.

Official sources: Ministry of Information: Efforts to expand the supply and use of renewable energy (24 August 2026)

How many trees does Eritrea plant each year?

More than 30,000 students, 37% of them female, took part in the 28th Students Summer Work Program from 6 July to 15 August 2026, working at 160 centres, according to the Ministry of Information. It says 97% of the work was soil and water conservation and afforestation, and that more than 1.4 million seedlings were prepared.

These are plans announced at the start of the programme, not results counted at the end. Prepared seedlings are not the same as trees planted or surviving. Forest covered 12.0% of Eritrea's land in 2024, according to the FAO estimate in World Bank Open Data, which counts land with trees over 5 metres high on more than 0.5 hectares.

Official sources: Ministry of Information: Students Summer Work Program to begin nationwide (3 July 2026) · World Bank: forest area, Eritrea

How polluted is the air in Eritrea?

The average person in Eritrea was exposed to 33.7 micrograms of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) per cubic metre of air in 2023, according to World Bank Open Data. The WHO guideline for annual exposure is 5 micrograms.

The figure is an estimate weighted by where people live, built from satellite data and models rather than a national network of monitors. It counts all fine particles, from natural sources such as dust as well as from burning fuels. No air quality monitoring data were found on Eritrean government sites checked on 15 October 2026.

Official sources: World Bank: PM2.5 exposure, Eritrea

How much CO2 does Eritrea emit per person?

The latest figure from the European Commission's EDGAR database, for 2024, is 0.2 tonnes. Its high point since 2005 was 2005, at 0.2 tonnes; its low point was 2008, at 0.2 tonnes. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 0.4 tonnes; Eritrea is 33rd highest of 47. Of 186 countries with 2024 data, 168th highest.

What are Eritrea's emissions?

In 2024, total greenhouse gas emissions in Eritrea was 6.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to the European Commission's EDGAR database. That is the highest since at least 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 24.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent; Eritrea is 37th highest of 47. World rank, highest first: 149th of 186.

How much renewable energy does Eritrea use?

In 2021, the renewable share of final energy use in Eritrea was 80.7%, according to the IEA, IRENA, the UN Statistics Division, the World Bank and the WHO. The peak was 81.7% in 2009 and the low 74.7% in 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 71.1%; Eritrea is 13th highest of 48. Worldwide: 15th of 191.

What share of Eritrea is covered by forest?

According to the FAO, forest area as a share of land in Eritrea was 12.0% in 2024. That is the lowest since at least 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 22.2%, and Eritrea placed 36th highest of 48. Of 190 countries with 2024 data, 145th highest.

What is air pollution like in Eritrea?

33.7 micrograms per cubic metre: that is average exposure to fine particle air pollution (PM2.5) in Eritrea for 2023, according to the Global Burden of Disease study. The peak was 37.9 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017 and the low 29.1 micrograms per cubic metre in 2014. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 27.5 micrograms per cubic metre, and Eritrea placed 18th highest of 48. Worldwide: 36th of 192.

How much of Eritrea's land is protected?

The UN Environment Programme puts the share of land in protected areas in Eritrea at 0.0% in 2025. That is the lowest since at least 2013. It is 47th highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 16.9%. World rank, highest first: 189th of 192.

How much of Eritrea's fresh water is used?

11.2%: that is water stress in Eritrea for 2022, according to the FAO. It has not changed since 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 5.1%, and Eritrea placed 16th highest of 47. Worldwide: 86th of 175.