Country Guide

This republic on the Red Sea coast lies between the Sudan in the northwest and Djibouti in the southeast, while Ethiopia borders it on the south.

To the west of the coastal plain rises an inland plateau, the most densely populated region of the country. The climate here is invigorating, with cool breezes, about 1,150 mm/46 in of rainfall annually, almost constant sunshine, and little change in seasonal temperature.

Much of the coast and a broad reach of the south of the country, by contrast, belongs to the Danakil desert, renowned as one of the hottest places on earth. It has virtually no rainfall. The scrubby, rocky hill country in the very north of the country is another dry wilderness area, as are the western lowlands bordering the Sudan and Ethiopia.

For weather similar to that in the inland plateau of Eritrea see the tables for Addis Ababa and Harrar both in the neighbouring Ethiopian highlands.

For weather similar to that in the Danakil desert region of Eritrea, see the table for Djibouti.