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Ethnic Composition

Out of a total population estimated at 6.3 million people, there are nine linguistically defined sub-nationalities, or ethnic groups in Eritrea: Tigrinya (55 percent), Tigre (30 percent), Saho (4 percent), Kunama (2 percent), Rashaida (2 percent), Bilen (2 percent), and others (Afar, Beja and Nara, 5 percent). The eight official ethnic groups, Tigrinya, Saho, Blen, Tigre, Kunama, Rashaida, Nara, and the Afar, have strong ties to their areas and maintain their own languages. The Djeberti, Hadareb-Beja, and the Tukrir are ethnic groups that are not officially recognized by the GSE, although the Hadareb, a sub-group of the Beja are often considered the ninth ethnic group of Eritrea.

The shared experience of the 30-year struggle for independence created a strong sense of national identity for most Eritreans. The Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) promotes Eritrea as having "one heart" or "hade libbi" in Tigrinya - a motto that is seen often in the days leading up to Eritrean Independence Day on May 24. The efforts of the GSE to establish a sense of nationality that is greater than an ethnic or religious affiliation extends back during the time of the struggle for independence. Isaias Afwerki, now Eritrea's President, and the other leaders of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) believed that overcoming ethnic and religious identities by creating a nationalism that was stronger was critical to a unified and successful Eritrea. In 1996, the GSE divided Eritrea into six administrative districts or zobas: Maekel, Debub, Anseba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, and Gash Barka. These six zobas are administrative only and overlap eight ethnic and cultural areas, which had emerged during the Italian and British colonial periods. The eight ethnic and cultural areas of Eritrea, with their "capital" cities are: Akeleguzay (Dekemhare), Barka (Agordat), Hamasien (Asmara), Sahel (Nakfa), Semhar (Massawa), Senhit (Keren), and Seraye (Mendefera). Seven of the eight ethnic and cultural areas are dominated by one religious group, either Christian or Muslim. The Afar, also called the Dankils, are one of nine ethnic groups of Eritrea and live in the southern Red Sea region. Predominantly Muslim, the Afar people live also in Djibouti and Ethiopia. Many of them are herders and fisherman, while some participate in regional trade to support the black market. Traditionally pastoralists raising goats, sheep and cattle in the desert, the Afar people form an ethnic group spread across Ethiopia, northern Djibouti and southern Eritrea. Afar people speak the Afar language and the majority are Muslim.

Ethnic affiliation is strong for the Afar people, and an ethnic cohesiveness among the Afar crosses the borders between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Many Afar prioritize their ethnicity ahead of their nationality. The Sultan of the Afar resides in the Assab area and has met in the past with foreigners. The Afar have a wobbly relationship with the GSE. Isolated geographically in a desolate and dry region of the country, the provision of services by the GSE to the Afar is reportedly less than in other regions of the country.

Opposition officials say Afar people living in Eritrea, also known as Red Sea Afars, are routinely subjected to neglect, discrimination, repression, displacement, and in recent years to a campaign of ethnic cleansing particularly after the 1998-2000 border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. With the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea as yet unresolved, relations between the two countries remains tense. The Eritrean government suspects its own Afar people of aligning themselves with their fellow Ethiopian Afars. Opposition officials allege that hundreds of Afars were killed by Eritrean government on suspicion they were spying for Ethiopia. The Afar are an indigenous pastoralist nomadic people inhabiting a triangular region spanning Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Most continue their traditional way of life and are engaged in animal husbandry, fishing, trade and salt mining.

The Beja people inhabit Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt and the Sahara desert. In Eritrea they reside in the Gash-Barka, Northern Red Sea and Anseba regions. They speak the Beja language and are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The Beja contain smaller clans such as the Bisharin, Hedareb, Hadendowa (or Hadendoa), the Amarar (or Amar’ar), Beni-Amir, Hallenga and Hamra.

The Beja people are Muslim pastoralists who routinely move from western Eritrea near Agordat across the border into eastern Sudan near Kassala and Gedaref in Sudan. There are approximately 3 million Beja, divided into at least five subgroups that move back and forth. The five primary subgroups are: Hadendowa, Amarir, Beni Amir, Bishriyyin, and Halenga. The Beni Amir and the Hadendowa Beja are the largest sub-groups in Eritrea and often collectively referred to as Hedareb. The Hedareb-Beja are considered by some to be the ninth ethnic group of Eritrea. The Hedareb-Beja speak Beja and many also speak Tigre or Arabic. Many Eritrean Hedareb-Beja intermarry with Beja in Eastern Sudan.

The Bilen people are concentrated in central Eritrea, in and around Keren and further south towards Asmara. Their mother tongue is the Bilen language, though many also speak Tigre and Tigrinya, and younger Bilen are said to use Arabic words and expressions in their everyday speech. They are both Christian and Muslim. Muslim adherents are mainly in rural areas and have often intermingled with the Tigre. Christian Bilen reside in urban areas and have often mixed with the Tigrinya.

The Bilen or Blen people are from the area surrounding Keren at the edge of the highlands. Mostly Muslim, some of them converted to Catholicism during the Italian colonial era for economic reasons. There are few Protestant Blen, and even fewer Orthodox Christians. They claim their origin in Ethiopia, having left Ethiopia several centuries ago due to persecution by Ethiopians and the Orthodox Church. Historically, because of their geographic location at the edge of the highlands, many Blen are traders and entrepreneurs. Most small businesses in Keren are owned by the Blen. Reportedly because the Blen were well-represented in the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), few Blen are represented in the GSE today.

The Kunama people are an ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language. Although almost 80 per cent of the group resides in Eritrea, they constitute a small minority there. Formerly nomadic, they are nowadays pastoralists and farmers, mainly living in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers, near the border with Ethiopia. During the 1998-2000 border war, an estimated 4,000 Kunama fled to Ethiopia.

The Kunama live on the Badme plain and in the areas surrounding Barentu in western Eritrea. Formerly known as the Gash Seite region and now part of the Gash Barka zoba, the region is part of Eritrea's breadbasket and was ravaged during the 1998-2000 war. The Kunama's religious affiliations are a combination of Muslim, Catholic (converts during the Italian colonial period), and those practicing traditional animist Kunama beliefs. The Kunama, like the Afar of the Southern Red Sea, are fiercely independent and many of them believe they should not be part of Eritrea, or any other nation.

The Democratic Movement for the Liberation of the Eritrean Kunama (DMLEK) is an active Kunama opposition party that seeks to separate Kunama lands from Eritrea and establish a Kunama state. Some foreigners and Kunama believe the GSE discriminates against the Kunama and that they are not provided with the same level of support by the GSE as the Tigrinya and Tigre people. They are a nomadic people traditionally and some Kunama live in Ethiopia. Some highlanders speak disparagingly about the Kunama, using derogatory terms for them, including "bariya," which means slave.

The Nara people used to call themselves the Barya. They are divided into four subgroups: Higir, Mogareb, Koyta, and Santora. Like Kunamas, Nara people speak a Nilo-Saharan language called Nara Bana. They are typically agrarian and today have settled mostly along the border with Sudan. The Nara people are generally Muslim, with a minority following Christianity and a few who practice traditional beliefs.

The Nara, who live in southwestern Eritrea near Tesseney and the Sudanese border, are one of the smallest ethnic groups in Eritrea and are predominantly Muslim. They are mainly farmers and pastoralists. Speaking a Nilotic language, they are often subject to discrimination and described in similarly negative terms as the Kunama. The facial markings the Nara men receive during rites of passage indicate their ethnic identity among the Eritreans.

The GSE often recruits Nara to serve as police in Asmara, telling the Nara that the Asmarinos are mean and untrustworthy as a means to instigate tensions between the groups and prompt the Nara to act more forcefully toward the Asmarinos during round-ups and detention. The Nara have limited educational opportunities and are not well-represented in the GSE. Due to the high rate of poverty within the ethnic group and the limited opportunities available to them, some of those who are recruited by the GSE are reportedly just glad to have a meal and a place to sleep and are easy victims of the GSE's manipulation.

The Rashaida, Rashaayda or Bani Rashid, meaning “refugees” in Arabic, are a nomadic people living in Eritrea and northern Sudan. Many migrated from Hejaz, in present day Saudi Arabia, in 1846 after tribal warfare broke out in their homeland. A large number of them are still found in the Arabian Peninsula. After the independence of Eritrea, the Government encouraged the Rashaida to adopt agriculturalist life on land set aside near Sheeb, a village almost 60 kilometres northwest of Massawa. It is unknown how many Rashaida maintain their nomadic tradition. The majority of Rashaida are adherents of Sunni Islam and speak Arabic.

North of Massawa, in the Northern Red Sea zoba is the domain of the Rashaida. Extending up the coast into Eastern Sudan, this Muslim tribe is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Eritrea. Despite their size, they reportedly wield great influence as the organizers and business leaders who manage much of the black market activity supporting Eritrea's economy today.

They are one of Eritrea's newest ethnic groups, arriving in Eritrea from the Arabian peninsula and Sudan two centuries ago. They are herdsmen and smugglers and many Eritreans comment on their affinity for Toyota pickups and Land Cruisers. They are isolated from the other ethnic groups, particularly the highlanders, and like the Afar have an ethnic affiliation that often supersedes their nationality. Some Eritreans claim that the low representation of Rashaida in government positions is due to their nomadic lifestyle.

The majority of the Saho, or Soho people, inhabit the Southern and Northern Red Sea regions of Eritrea, while smaller populations live in the border areas of the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Although there are no official statistics, the Saho are estimated to be the third largest ethnic group in Eritrea. They speak the Saho language. They are predominantly Muslim.

Living in the hilly region of southeastern Eritrea, the Saho people are mainly Muslims who live near Adi Keih and Senafe. Saho, like Blen, is a Cushitic language. Some believe that the Sahos are the third largest ethnic group in Eritrea. Primarily pastoral nomads and farmers, the Sahos have held most land of the region in common ownership, with some portions reserved for sub-group and then kinship use. Perceived by Eritreans as being better educated than other lowlanders and lowland Muslims (probably due to the region's proximity to Asmara and Massawa and the presence of the Catholic education system in Akeleguzay), they are perhaps the best represented of the non-Tigrinya ethnic groups in the government.

The Tigre people are nomadic pastoralist people who inhabit the northern, western and coastal lowlands of Eritrea (Gash-Barka, Anseba and Northern Red Sea regions), as well as eastern Sudan. They speak the Tigre language. The Tigre are predominantly adherents of Sunni Islam though a small proportion are Christian, often referred to as Mensaï in Eritrea.

The Tigre people, together with the Tigrinya, comprise nearly eighty percent of Eritrea's population. Some estimate that thirty to forty percent of Eritrea's population is Tigre. Occupying areas in the north and west of Eritrea bordering Sudan, they are mostly Muslims. Living in the historic regions of Semhar, Sahel, and northern Barka, many are nomadic shepherds. The Tigre language, like Tigrinya, is considered a Semitic language.

The Tigray-Tigrinya people are a large ethnic group in Ethiopia and Eritrea. In Ethiopia, they are known as Tigray, eponymous with the Tigray region they inhabit. In Eritrea, they are known as Tigrinya and primarily live in the Kebessa highlands. The Tigray-Tigrinya speak the Tigrinya language, which although closely related to the Tigre language, is distinct from it. In Eritrea, the majority of the Tigrinya people are farmers and Christians: 73 per cent Eritrean Orthodox, 10 per cent Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic and 7 per cent of various Protestant and Christian denominations. The remaining 10 per cent are Muslims and are usually known as Jeberti, a term used to generically refer to all Islamic inhabitants of the highlands.

The Tigrinya ethnic group dominates the areas of Akeleguzay, Seraye, and Hamasien. Often referred to as the "Christian Highlanders," they are Tigrinya speakers. Most are Christian -- Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox Christian -- although there are highlanders who are Muslim, including the Djeberti sub-group from Seraye. The Muslim Djebertis originated in the Tigray region of Ethiopia although they have resided in Eritrea for centuries. They consider themselves to be a separate ethnic group from the Tigrinya; however, as their ethnic language is Tigrinya, the GSE denied their request to be recognized as an official ethnic group. The Akeleguzay, Seraye, Hamasien, and Djeberti are considered the four sub-groups of the Tigrinya and some older Eritreans maintain these social distinctions quite strongly, objecting to marriages across the sub-groups. Many Christian Tigrinyans consider the Muslim Djeberti to be of a lower status. Among the younger generation, these distinctions have blurred to some extent into just being Tigrinya; however, the historic alliances and tensions remain.

The Hamasien region, the area around Asmara, is the historic center of power in the region. Many perceive that Hamasiens, because of their residence in Asmara, tend to have access to better educational opportunities, giving them an advantage over their fellow Eritreans from other regions. Within the Hamasien, there are at least three sub-groups: Karenshim, Dembezan, and Seharti. The majority of the senior government officials are Tigrinya. For example, President Isaias is a Tigrinya, Hamasien from Karneshim.

The Hamasien-Tigrinya ethnic group were the founders of the EPLF and found easy recruits in their fellow Tigrinya speakers and historic allies, the Seraye and the Akeleguzay. Yet despite these alliances, the Hamasien sub-group tend to be overly represented in the current regime, a situation resented by some Akeleguzay who believe they provided more fighters during the struggle and suffered more than others but have not received their fair share even today.