| Geographical Information |
| Map Location |
Africa |
| Geographical Location |
15° 00' North Latitude
39° 00' East Longitude |
| Surface Area |
121,320 sq km |
| Climate |
Hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast;
cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert |
| Natural Resources |
Gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
|
| Political Information |
 |
|
| Country Name |
State of Eritrea |
| Capital City |
Asmara |
| Government Type |
Transitional government |
| Administrative Divisions |
6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea) |
| Independence Day |
24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
|
| Demographical Information |
|
|
| Population |
4,561,599 (July 2005 est.) |
| Nationality |
Eritrean |
| Ethnic Groups |
Ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% |
| Religion |
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
| Languages |
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
| Population Growth Rate |
2.51% (2005 est.) |
|
| Economical Information |
|
|
| Currency |
Nakfa (ERN) |
| Industries |
Food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial ship repair |
| Labor Force |
NA |
| Labor Force by Sectors |
Agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% |
| Agriculture Products |
Sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
| Export Commodities |
Livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) |
| Export Partners |
Malaysia 54.7%, Italy 8.8%, France 3.7% (2004) |
| Import Commodities |
Machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) |
| Import Partners |
US 32.3%, Italy 15.5%, Turkey 5.5%, UK 4.6%, Russia 4.4%, Italy 6.4% (2004) |
|
| Transportation |
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|
| Railways |
306 km |
| Highways |
4,010 km |
| Pipelines |
- |
| Airports |
17 (2004 est.) |
| Ports and Harbors |
Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) |
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| Communication |
|
|
| Phone Code |
+291 |
| Internet Abbreviation |
.er |
|
| Other |
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|
| Short History |
Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a
30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum.
A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that
is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings
in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. |
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| www.kfrawy.com |
