ERI · snapshot 2026-08-09
Eritrea
Insufficient dataOverall risk score
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Percentile of scored universe
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Data coverage
67%
vs Australia (16.1)
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Sanctions & banking access
Where sanctions make Eritrea hard to operate in — under Australian law, under US/EU extraterritorial reach, and in practice at the bank. Comprehensive frameworks force Very High; severe secondary exposure or severed banking floors the band at High; the rest is disclosure.
Australian sanctions
DFAT frameworks that legally restrict Australian companies
No framework, program, or de-risking pattern identified.
US/EU secondary sanctions
Extraterritorial programs that bind you regardless of Australian law
US and EU designations of military and party-linked entities arising from the Tigray conflict
Banking access
Will correspondent banks actually move your money out
Minimal correspondent access; state-controlled financial system largely outside Western channels
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Very High6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Financial & Currency Risk
Very High5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Security & Crime
High3 indicators · 80% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
Very High3 indicators · 75% coverage
Cultural Distance
Insufficient dataInsufficient data · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Eritrea does not meet the floors for an overall rating: data coverage is 67%, below the 70% floor. Treat the category detail below as partial evidence, not a verdict.
No Australian sanctions framework applies, but the practical picture is harder: US/EU designations require enhanced screening: US and EU designations of military and party-linked entities arising from the Tigray conflict. Further, correspondent banking is constrained: Minimal correspondent access; state-controlled financial system largely outside Western channels.
The main risk drivers are elevated sovereign credit risk (OECD Category 7 / 7 — in default), no double-tax agreement with Australia, no investment-treaty protection with Australia, weak civic voice and accountability and weak regulatory quality.
Possible mitigations
- Secondary-sanctions exposure. US/EU sanctions reach further than Australian law: screen counterparties against the OFAC SDN list as well as the DFAT list, remember that any USD transaction creates US jurisdiction, and obtain specialist advice before contracting with state-linked entities.
- Repatriation channel risk. Correspondent banks may refuse or delay payments even where they are legal: test the channel with pilot transfers before committing capital, maintain more than one banking relationship, consider non-USD invoicing where lawful, and build payment delays into working capital.
- Duty of care for people. DFAT advises against non-essential travel. Review duty-of-care obligations, prefer remote engagement, and use in-country agents rather than travelling staff where possible.
- Corruption and legal recourse. Run a strong anti-bribery program (Australian foreign-bribery law follows you abroad), conduct third-party due diligence, and seat dispute resolution offshore — arbitration clauses (e.g. SIAC or HKIAC) beat local courts.
- Getting money out. Confirm profit-repatriation channels before committing capital: seek central-bank pre-approvals where required, consider an export-first model over an in-country entity, and structure via clear remittance jurisdictions.
- Currency risk. Invoice in AUD or USD where the market allows, hedge unavoidable exposure, shorten receivable cycles, and build FX buffers into pricing.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 16.8 | 99.8 | Very High | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 23.0 | 94.4 | Very High | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 22.8 | 99.8 | Very High | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 25.9 | 96.4 | Very High | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 14.8 | 97.8 | Very High | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 53.8 | 78.0 | Very High | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 260.4 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $1,742 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 0.00 | 92.0 | Very High | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Pegged — fragile (unbacked, high inflation gap) | 82.0 | Very High | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 7 / 7 — in default | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 2.1 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.0 | 69.4 | High | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 15.6 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 3.9 | 19.0 | Low | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 3 — Reconsider your need to travel | 70.0 | High | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.629 | 97.1 | Very High | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 4.8 | 70.4 | High | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 90.3 | 99.1 | Very High | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 65.7 | 79.1 | Very High | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.2 | 98.2 | Very High | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 14.3 | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.0 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 2.0 | 98.8 | Very High | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
6.0%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
No Australian FTA in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
Higher levels apply in some areas (up to Level 4)
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Eritrea in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.