Data protection & privacy laws in Eritrea (2026)

Article 18 of the Constitution of Eritrea (adopted 23 May 1997) guarantees every person the right to privacy and protects against unreasonable interference with communications, correspondence and property. It is a foundational but unenforced privacy norm with no implementing statute.

Eritrea has enacted no standalone data-protection or privacy law. Personal data is not defined in law, and there are no statutory requirements governing collection, processing, or retention of personal data.

UNCTAD's Global Cyberlaw Tracker identifies Eritrea as one of a small number of countries worldwide that lack even a draft data-protection bill, placing it in the most undeveloped tier globally.

There is no dedicated, independent data-protection authority in Eritrea. No government body has a formal mandate to receive complaints, conduct investigations, or enforce data-protection obligations.

Eritrea imposes no legal restrictions on cross-border transfers of personal data, as no overarching data-protection framework exists to regulate such flows.

Across Africa roughly 50% of countries have enacted data-protection legislation (per UNCTAD), yet Eritrea remains among the minority with no law or draft. The African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention) has not been meaningfully advanced by Eritrea.