 The Italian Eritreans grew from 4,000 during World War I to nearly 100,000 at the beginning of World War II.The Italians brought to Eritrea a huge development of Catholicism and by the 1940 nearly half the Eritrean population was Catholic, mainly in Asmara where many churches were built.Italian administration of Eritrea brought improvements in the medical and agricultural sectors of Eritrean society.