Eritrea
Profiled in Asmara · East Africa
A Red Sea state whose capital is a UNESCO-listed Italian modernist city, held under one of the world's most closed political systems with indefinite national service.
Cost of living
What a month costs
Officially cheap, but a rationed economy, currency controls and scarce goods make practical life difficult. Travel permits are required to leave Asmara.
The scores
How it rates for a moving family
See and do
Top 10 in Asmara
- AsmaraUNESCO-listed capital of Italian modernist and futurist architecture.
- Fiat Tagliero Building1938 service station shaped like an aeroplane.
- Asmara Opera HouseItalian colonial theatre on Harnet Avenue.
- Tank GraveyardField of wrecked armour from the independence war.
- Massawa Old TownCoral-block Ottoman architecture, war-damaged.
- St Mary's CathedralLombard-Romanesque cathedral in central Asmara.
- Medeber MarketRecycling and metalwork market in Asmara.
- Dahlak IslandsLargely uninhabited Red Sea archipelago.
Where to go
Weekend escapes
- MassawaOttoman and Egyptian port on the Red Sea coast.
- KerenHighland market town north-west of the capital.
- Dahlak ArchipelagoCoral islands off Massawa.
- FilfilGreen belt escarpment on the road to the coast.
- QohaitoAncient plateau site south of Asmara.
Residency
There is no investor route and entry is tightly controlled. Eritrea is one of only two states that tax citizens abroad, through a 2% diaspora levy condemned in UN Security Council Resolution 2023 (2011).
Tax
Personal rates reach 30% and the corporate rate is 30%. A 2% recovery and rehabilitation tax applies to the worldwide income of citizens living abroad. There is no wealth or inheritance tax.
Curious what you would actually pay? See the Eritrea tax profile: income, corporate, VAT and exit rules →
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