Water Risk Country Profile: Eritrea.


Eritrea


Between 2019 and 2024, Eritrea recorded the largest improvement in water risk of any low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, it held the fourth worst water risk score globally; by 2024 it had improved to 25th. Although still classified as high risk, sustained government initiatives have expanded water access nationwide and reduced some exposure to water scarcity. In recent decades, access to safe drinking water has risen dramatically, from just 13% of the population in the early 1990s to nearly 85 per cent in 2024. More than half of schools now have access to drinking water and sanitation facilities, and infrastructure investment has expanded the number of dams from 138 in 1993 to nearly 800 today. A further 17 dam projects have been planned for the country, demonstrating the government’s continued commitment to improving water security. Despite these new dams, Eritrea remains heavily dependent on groundwater, which supplies freshwater for nearly 80 per cent of the population. Reliance on these sources places significant pressure on aquifers that are slow to refill, increasingly stressed, and highly vulnerable to contamination. Of 5,365 water points identified across the country, more than 4,600 are unprotected dug wells or contaminated surface water points. Eritrea’s rapid population growth, projected to increase by more than 50 per cent by 2050, will significantly intensify water demand and strain already scarce and unreliable freshwater resources. Progress has also been constrained by environmental pressures. Drought across the Horn of Africa between 2020 and 2023 reduced rainfall and weakened water security across much of the country. The Debubawi Keyih Bahri region was particularly affected, with reliance on small dams and seasonal runoff leaving the population highly vulnerable to rainfall variability and rising temperatures. Improvements in this region have been further hindered by Eritrea’s involvement in the Tigray conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia, which has diverted resources away from rural infrastructure and ended development cooperation with the European Union. As a result, sustaining advances in water infrastructure has become increasingly difficult, with many households forced to travel longer distances to secure reliable water or resort to unsafe sources. Diarrhoea, often linked to unsafe drinking water, remains one of the three leading causes of child mortality in Eritrea, where the under-five mortality rate was estimated to be 3.7 per cent in 2024

Location: Eritrea

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