Editing Demographics of Eritrea (section)

==Population==
Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|UN DESA]] proposing a low estimate of 3.6 million for 2021<ref name="UNDESA_WPP_2019_total_population" /> and the [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]] proposing a high estimate of 6.7 million for 2019.<ref name="COMESA_ERpop_2019" /> Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.<ref name="PHS2010_full" /> In its 2019 data release, UN DESA described why its estimate was much lower than earlier estimates, stating, "The decrease is due to the availability of new official population estimates for several years (population count in 2000, official estimates up to 2018) that contribute to lower the size of the population in the recent years, as well as to revised past estimates since 1950."<ref name="UNDESA2019_release_notes" />

In the 2010s, worsening conditions fueled migration pressure, with Eritreans trying to reach Europe illegally.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21587844-eritreans-are-taking-seas-because-worsening-conditions-home-why-they Why they leave --  Eritreans are taking to the seas because of worsening conditions at home] 12 October 2013. 
"Some 30,000 people reached Italy illegally in boats in the first nine months of 2013, three times as many as in the whole of 2012, according to [[Frontex]], [...] the largest batch came from Eritrea, a country that has supposedly been at peace for the past 13 years."
[http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2014/06/12/emigration-has-left-eritrea-desolate-say-bishops/ Emigration has left Eritrea ‘desolate’, say bishops], ''Catholic Herald'', 6 September 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.worldbank.org/prospects/migrationandremittances Bilateral Estimates of Migrant Stocks in 2010] estimates 942,000 emigrants, of whom 450,000 migrated to [[Sudan]] and 290,000 to [[Ethiopia]]. Cf. the World' Bank's [http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/Resources/Factbook2011-Ebook.pdf Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011].</ref> The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs expects Eritrean population growth to accelerate to 1.8% per year from 2020 to 2030, vs. 1.1% per year from 2010 to 2020.<ref name="WPP 2010" />

The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 41.1%, 54.3% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% were 65 or older.<ref name="WPP 2010">{{cite web|title=World Population Prospects 2019, custom data acquired via website.|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/|url-status=live|access-date=14 April 2021|website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024646/https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/ |archive-date=2018-09-22 }}</ref>
[[File:Eritrea single age population pyramid 2020.png|350px|alt=|thumb|upright=1.4|Eritrea [[population pyramid]] in 2020]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"
|-
!
! width="80pt"|Population aged 0–14 (%)
! width="80pt"|Population aged 15–64 (%)
! width="80pt"|Population aged 65+ (%)
|-
| 1950||45.3||51.6||3.0
|-
| 1960||43.4||53.9||2.7
|-
| 1970||44.1||53.4||2.5
|-
| 1980||44.3||53.1||2.6
|-
| 1990||45.2||52.1||2.7
|-
| 2000||45.7||50.4||3.8
|-
| 2010||39.5||56.5||4.0
|-
| 2020||41.1||54.3||4.5
|}

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (1 July 2020) (Estimates based on the 2000 quick population count results and 1995, 2002 and 2010 Eritrea Demographic and Health Surveys.):<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2020/|title=UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics|website=unstats.un.org}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="80pt"|Age Group
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80pt"|Female
! width="80pt"|Total
! width="80pt"|%
|-
| align="right" | Total
| align="right" | 1 704 531
| align="right" | 1 760 057
| align="right" | 3 464 588
| align="right" | 100
|-
| align="right" | 0–4
| align="right" | 258 209
| align="right" | 260 452
| align="right" | 518 661
| align="right" | 14.97
|-
| align="right" | 5–9
| align="right" | 226 081
| align="right" | 229 410
| align="right" | 455 492
| align="right" | 13.15
|-
| align="right" | 10–14
| align="right" | 189 259
| align="right" | 192 799
| align="right" | 382 058
| align="right" | 11.03
|-
| align="right" | 15–19
| align="right" | 156 082
| align="right" | 159 332
| align="right" | 315 413
| align="right" | 9.10
|-
| align="right" | 20–24
| align="right" | 141 888
| align="right" | 134 220
| align="right" | 276 108
| align="right" | 7.97
|-
| align="right" | 25–29
| align="right" | 166 664
| align="right" | 158 295
| align="right" | 324 959
| align="right" | 9.38
|-
| align="right" | 30–34
| align="right" | 139 275
| align="right" | 141 835
| align="right" | 281 110
| align="right" | 9.11
|-
| align="right" | 35–39
| align="right" | 103 079
| align="right" | 103 347
| align="right" | 206 427 
| align="right" | 5.96
|-
| align="right" | 40–44
| align="right" | 62 197
| align="right" | 76 107
| align="right" | 138 304
| align="right" | 3.99
|-
| align="right" | 45–49
| align="right" | 60 159
| align="right" | 77 960
| align="right" | 138 119
| align="right" | 3.99
|-
| align="right" | 50–54
| align="right" | 47 632
| align="right" | 55 264
| align="right" | 102 896
| align="right" | 2.97
|-
| align="right" | 55–59
| align="right" | 39 491
| align="right" | 50 117
| align="right" | 89 607
| align="right" | 2.59
|-
| align="right" | 60–64
| align="right" | 34 801
| align="right" | 35 259
| align="right" | 70 060
| align="right" | 2.02
|-
| align="right" | 65–69
| align="right" | 28 019
| align="right" | 28 134
| align="right" | 56 153
| align="right" | 1.62
|-
| align="right" | 70–74
| align="right" | 22 886
| align="right" | 24 318
| align="right" | 47 204
| align="right" | 1.36
|-
| align="right" | 75–79
| align="right" | 14 576
| align="right" | 18 574
| align="right" | 33 150 
| align="right" | 0.96
|-
| align="right" | 80–84
| align="right" | 8 912
| align="right" | 10 116
| align="right" | 19 028
| align="right" | 0.55
|-
| align="right" | 85+
| align="right" | 5 323
| align="right" | 4 519
| align="right" | 9 842
| align="right" | 0.28
|-
! width="50"|Age group 
! width="80pt"|Male
! width="80"|Female
! width="80"|Total
! width="50"|Percent
|-
| align="right" | 0–14
| align="right" | 673 549
| align="right" | 682 661
| align="right" | 1 356 210
| align="right" | 39.14
|-
| align="right" | 15–64
| align="right" | 951 266
| align="right" | 991 735
| align="right" | 1 943 001
| align="right" | 56.08
|-
| align="right" | 65+
| align="right" | 79 716
| align="right" | 85 661
| align="right" | 165 377
| align="right" | 4.77
|-
|}