The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2021 to 2025 Africa
Military - note Eritrea, in 5 editions.
The entry for Eritrea published Military - note in 5 editions of 33, from 2021 to 2025. The text changed in 4 editions. Each is shown as published. Military - note in every entry.
- editions changed the text
- 4
- the first edition with it
- 2021
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Military - note” (2021 to 2025).
field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.
2025 edition
Changed since 2024- in 2020-2021, the Eritrean military assisted the Ethiopian Government in its war with the Tigray regional government, providing ground forces and combat aircraft;
- information is limited and varied, but the Eritrean military in 2021 reportedly consisted of about 20 Army divisions (approximately 15 light infantry, 4 mechanized, and 1 commando/special operations) while the Air Force had 2 fighter/ground attack squadrons
in 2020-2021, the Eritrean military assisted the Ethiopian Government in its war with the Tigray regional government, providing ground forces and combat aircraft; information is limited and varied, but the Eritrean military in 2021 reportedly consisted of about 20 Army divisions (approximately 15 light infantry, 4 mechanized, and 1 commando/special operations) while the Air Force had 2 fighter/ground attack squadrons
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray War (2020-2022) (2022)
Rewritten: too little of the 2021 text remains to mark the changes.
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray War (2020-2022) (2022)
- the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion;
- the Army is the dominant service;
- it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces;
- the Air Force has a small number of Soviet-era combat aircraft and helicopters, while the Navy maintains a limited number of coastal patrol vessels
- since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022);
- during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses including executions, rape, and torture of civilians within Ethiopia (2023)
Rewritten: too little of the 2022 text remains to mark the changes.
the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion; the Army is the dominant service; it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces; the Air Force has a small number of Soviet-era combat aircraft and helicopters, while the Navy maintains a limited number of coastal patrol vessels
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses including executions, rape, and torture of civilians within Ethiopia (2023)
- the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion;
- the Army is the dominant service;
- it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces
- since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022);
- during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses (2023)
the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion; the Army is the dominant service; it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces; the Air Force has a small number of Soviet-era combat aircraft and helicopters, while the Navy maintains a limited number of coastal patrol vessels forces
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses including executions, rape, and torture of civilians within Ethiopia (2023)
- the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion;
- the conscript-based Army is the dominant service
- since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022);
- during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of human rights abuses;
- in recent years, it has provided training support to the military of Somalia (2025)
the military’s primary responsibilities are external defense, border security, and providing the regime a vehicle for national cohesion; the conscript-based Army is the dominant service; it is a large, conscript-based force and estimated to have more than 20 infantry divisions, including some that are mechanized, as well as a division of commandos/special forces service
since the country's independence in 1991, the Eritrean military has participated in numerous conflicts, including the Hanish Island Crisis with Yemen (1995), the First Congo War (1996-1997), the Second Sudanese Civil War (1996-1998), the Eritrea-Ethiopia War (1998-2000), the Djiboutian-Eritrean border conflict (2008), and the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia (2020-2022); during the Tigray conflict, the Eritrean Defense Forces were accused of widespread human rights abuses (2023) abuses; in recent years, it has provided training support to the military of Somalia (2025)
No edition has those words. Try a shorter word.
Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. “Eritrea: Military - note.” The World Factbook, 2021–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/eritrea/military-note.