
Population:
4,561,500 (2005 estimate)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,023,900; female 1,019,400 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,170,800; female 1,194,700) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 74,300; female 78,400) (2005 estimate) Eritrea has a mixed Afro-Asiatic population that is divided by religion and language. There are nine ethnic groups in Eritrea, which are:
The Kushitic linguistic groups: Afar 4%, (Denkalia), Bilen 2% (Keren area), Hedareb 2% (Tessenei), Saho 3% (Foro) The Nilotic linguistic groups: Kunama 3% and Nara 2% (or Baria) (Western lowlands) The Semitic linguistic groups: Tigre 35% (Sahel) and Tigrinya 48% (mainly in the highlands)
Groups of recent Arab origin: Rashaida 1% (near Massawa).Jiberti Muslims regard themselves as an additional (tenth) nationality.
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