Between 1000 and 400 BC, a semitic group of people known as the Sabeans crossed the Red Sea into the region known as present Eritrea, and intermingled with the Hamitic inhabitants who had migrated from the northern Sudan. The region was then controlled by various foreign invaders such as the Axumite kingdom, the Funji Sultans of Sudan, the Egyptians, the Portugese , the Turksn,the Italians and the British. Each of these foreign occupiers had a distinct impact on the development of present day Eritrea as a nation and in the formation of an Eritrean identity.

The more than 3,5 million citizens of Eritrea belong to eight major ethnic groups, and are part of three distinct linguistic families - the Cushitic (or Hamitic), the Semitic, and the Nilotic languages.
Cushitic languages are spoken by the Beja in western Eritrea, the Afar in the southern tip of the country, and the Saho in the eastern parts of the highlands. The biggest native languages in Eritrea are the Semitic ones, the closely related Tigrigna and Tigré. Tigrigna is spoken by 50 per cent, and Tigré by 25 per cent of the entire population.
The Kunama and the Baria are the Nilotic languages of Eritrea, spoken in the lowlands between the Gash and Setit rivers. The main working languages are Tigrigna and Tigre. English is the medium of instruction from high school level upwards.


Population
3,984,723 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure
  • 0 - 14 years:
 43% (male 859,899; female 852,329)
  • 15-64 years:
 54% (male 1,061,921; female 1,078,102)
  • 65 years and over:
 3% (male 67,969; female 64,503) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate
3.88% (1999 est.)

Birth rate
42.56 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate
12.32 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate
8.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
note: it is estimated that approximately 315,000 Eritrean refugees were still living in Sudan by the end of 1997 according to the UNHCR.

Sex ratio
  • at birth:
 1.03 male(s)/female
  • under 15 years:
 1.01 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years:
 0.98 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over:
 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate
76.84 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
  • total population:
 55.74 years
  • male:
 53.61 years
  • female:
 57.95 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate
5.96 children born/woman (1999 est.) an

Ethnic groups
  • ethnic Tigrinya 50%
  • Tigre and Kunama 40%
  • Afar 4%
  • Saho  3%

Religions
  • Coptic Christian
  • Muslim
  • Protestant & Roman Catholic
Languages
  • Bilen
  • Afar
  • Kunama
  • Tigrinya
  • Tigre
  • Saho & minor ethnic group languages