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Eritrea
Background :
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 in December 2000. Eritrea hosted a UN peacekeeping operation that monitored a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) on the border with Ethiopia. Eritrea's denial of fuel to the mission caused the UN to withdraw the mission and terminate its mandate 31 July 2008. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002. However, both parties have been unable to reach agreement on implementing the decision. On 30 November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission remotely demarcated the border by coordinates and dissolved itself, leaving Ethiopia still occupying several tracts of disputed territory, including the town of Badme. Eritrea accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from the TSZ which it states is Eritrean territory. Ethiopia has not accepted the virtual demarcation decision.
Location :
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Geographic Coordinates Center :
15 00 N, 39 00 E (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | 36.44 |
| North | 18.00 |
| East | 43.13 |
| South | 12.36 |
Map references :
Africa
Area :
| total | 117 600 | square km |
| land | 101 000 | square km |
| water | 16 600 | square km |
Land boundaries :
| total | 1 626 | km |
| Djibouti (dj) | 109 | km |
| Ethiopia (et) | 912 | km |
| Sudan (sd) | 605 | km |
Coastline :
2234.00 km
Climate :
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Terrain :
dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Elevation extremes :
| lowest point | 75 | metres |
| highest point | 3 018 | metres |
Natural resources :
| copper | fish |
| gold | possibly oil and natural gas |
| potash | salt |
| zinc |
Land use :
| arable land | 4.78 | % |
| permanent crops | 0.03 | % |
| other | 95.19 | % |
Irrigated land :
210 square km
Total renewable water resources :
6 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| frequent droughts |
current issues :
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
international agreements :
| Biodiversity | Climate Change |
| Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol | Desertification |
| Endangered Species | Hazardous Wastes |
| Ozone Layer Protection |
Population :
5 647 168
Indicators :
| Growth rate | 2.58 | % |
| Birth rate | 34.20 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 4.72 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 8.43 | deaths/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 42.80 | % |
| 15-64 years | 53.70 | % |
| 65 years and over | 3.60 | % |
Median age :
| total | 18.40 | years |
| male | 18.00 | years |
| female | 18.80 | years |
Sex ratio :
| at birth | 1.03 | male(s)/female |
| under 15 years | 1.01 | male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.96 | male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.84 | male(s)/female |
| total population | 0.98 | male(s)/female |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 43.33 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 61.78 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 59.71 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 63.90 | years |
| HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate | 1.30 | % |
| HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS | 38 000 | |
| HIV-AIDS deaths | 2 600 |
Religions :
| Muslim | |
| Coptic Christian | |
| Roman Catholic |
Languages :
| Afar | |
| Arabic | |
| Tigre | |
| Kunama | |
| Tigrinya | |
| Cushitic |
Literacy :
| total population | 58.60 | % |
| male | 69.90 | % |
| female | 47.60 | % |
Country name :
| conventional long form | State of Eritrea |
| conventional short form | Eritrea |
| local long form | Hagere Ertra |
| local short form | Ertra |
| former | Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | ER |
| ISO Numeric | 232 |
| ISO3 | ERI |
| FIPS | ER |
| ccTLD | er |
| English | Eritrea |
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)
Capital :
| name | Asmara |
| geographic coordinates | 15 20 N, 38 56 E |
| time difference | 3.00 |
International organization participation :
| ACP | AU |
| AfDB | COMESA |
| FAO | G-77 |
| IAEA | IBRD |
| ICAO | ICCt (signatory) |
| IDA | IFAD |
| IFC | IFRCS (observer) |
| ILO | IMF |
| IMO | IOC |
| ISO (subscriber) | ITU |
| ITUC | Interpol |
| LAS (observer) | MIGA |
| NAM | OPCW |
| PCA | UN |
| UNCTAD | UNESCO |
| UNIDO | UNWTO |
| UPU | WCO |
| WFTU | WHO |
| WIPO | WMO |
Independence :
1993-05-24
National holiday :
Independence Day
1993-05-24
Executive branch :
| President ISAIAS Afworki |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 4 101 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 1 694 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | 2.50 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 700 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 17.30 | % |
| industry | 23.20 | % |
| services | 59.50 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 80.00 | % |
| services | 20.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 1 935 000 | people |
| Population below poverty line | 50.00 | % |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15.50 | % |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 18.70 | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | - 254 000 000 | $ |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 22 000 000 | $ |
| Debt external | 311 000 000 | $ |
| Military expenditures | 6.30 | % of GDP |
Budget :
| revenues | 232 700 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 576 100 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| corn | cotton |
| fish | goats |
| lentils | livestock |
| sisal | sorghum |
| tobacco | vegetables |
Industries :
| beverages | cement |
| clothing | food processing |
| light manufacturing | salt |
| textiles |
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 271 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 228 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Consumption | 5 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Imports | 4 790 | bbl/day |
Value :
12 000 000 $
Partners :
| India (in) | 25.30 | % |
| Italy (it) | 20.70 | % |
| Sudan (sd) | 14.10 | % |
| China (cn) | 12.90 | % |
| France (fr) | 5.50 | % |
| Saudi Arabia (sa) | 5.40 | % |
Commodities :
| food | livestock |
| small manufactures | sorghum |
| textiles |
Value :
590 000 000 $
Partners :
| Saudi Arabia (sa) | 20.70 | % |
| India (in) | 13.60 | % |
| Italy (it) | 12.60 | % |
| China (cn) | 9.90 | % |
| United States (us) | 5.10 | % |
| Germany (de) | 4.60 | % |
Commodities :
| food | machinery |
| manufactured products | petroleum products |
Currency-code :
ERN
Currency-name :
nakfa
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 40 400 | |
| Telephons Mobile, Cellular | 108 600 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 2 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | er | |
| Internet Hosts | 1 307 | |
| Internet Users | 200 000 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 4 | |
| Heliports | 1 | |
| Roadways - total | 4 010 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 874 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 3 136 | km |
| Railways | 306 | km |
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