Eritrea on Pixibot

áˆƒáŒáˆ¬ áŠ¤áˆá‰µáˆ« Hagere Ertra


(In Detail)	(In Detail)

National motto: None

Official languages

Tigrigna, Arabic and English

Capital

Asmara

President

Isaias Afewerki

Area - Total - % water

Ranked 97th 121,320 kmÂ² Negligible

Population - Estimated (2005) - Total (2002) - Density

Ranked 115th 4,561,599 4,298,269 38/kmÂ² (135th)

GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita

2005 estimate 4,250 (155th) 917 (177th)

Independence - Limited - Fully

From Ethiopia May 29, 1991 May 24, 1993

Currency

Nakfa

Time zone

UTC 3

National anthem

Ertra, Ertra, Ertra

Internet TLD

.er

Calling Code

291

The State of Eritrea (from the Italian form of the Greek name Î•Î¡Î¥Î˜Î¡Î‘Î™Î‘ (ErythraÃ®a), which derives from the Greek name for the Red Sea) is a country in northeast Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country has an extensive coastline with the Red Sea. Having achieved independence on May 24, 1993 from Ethiopia, it is one of the youngest independent states.

History

History of Eritrea Eritrea

Eritrea had been ruled by many powers before it was colonised by the Italians in 1885. Previously, the coast was long occupied by the Ottoman Turks, who then left it to their Egyptian heirs in the mid 19th century. The interior, particularly the Christian highlands of Hamasein, Akale Guzai, and Serai, were traditionally part of the Ethiopian Empire. An Italian Roman Catholic priest by the name of Sapetto purchased the port of Asab from the Afar Sultan (a vassal of the Emperor of Ethiopia) on behalf of an Italian commercial conglomerate. Later, as the Egyptians were retreating out of Egypt during the Mahdist rebellion, the British brokered an agreement whereby the Egyptians could retreat out of the Sudan through Ethiopia, and in exchange, they would allow the Emperor to occupy those lowland districts that he had disputed with the Turks and Egyptians. Emperor Yohannis IV believed this included Massawa, but instead, the port was handed by the Egyptians and the British, to the Italians, who united it with the already nationalized port of Asab to form a coastal Italian possession. The Italians took advantage of disorder in northern Ethiopia following the death of Emperor Yohannis IV to occupy the highlands, and established their new colony, henceforth known as Eritrea, and achieved recognition by Ethiopia's new Emperor Menelik II. The Italians remained the colonial power in Eritrea until they were defeated by Allied forces in World War II (1941), and Eritrea became a British protectorate. After the war, the United Nations, after a lengthy inquiry in which those who wanted union with Ethiopia and those who wanted independence lobbied the great powers and the U.N. extensively, eventually reached a compromise that the former Italian colony was to join Ethiopia as part of a federation. Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration, and would be represented in the Ethiopian parliament which would function as the Federal Parliament. The Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie would be the monarch of Eritrea and would be represented there by a viceroy. Both unionists and pro-independence people found the federation to be undesirable, but it was the unionists, who after obtaining a majority in the Eritrean parliament, voted to abolish the government structures and establish a full union with Ethiopia. The Emperor agreed readily and annexed Eritrea in 1960. Promptly, pro-independence Eritreans went into rebellion and launched a long war of independence. They were joined by disaffected federationists who now were convinced Eritrea would be better off as an independent state. The war would last 31 years.

The war of Eritrean Independence would escalate considerably after the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, when a hardline Marxist military junta known as the Derg seized power, and launched a major offensive in Eritrea.

The liberation struggle was dominated by two movements, the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), often refered to as "Jebha", and by the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF), often known as "Shabia" Eritrea News . The ELF was dominated by Muslim lowlanders, and was a conservative grass roots movement, where as the EPLF was dominated by Christian highlanders, and had a Marxist-Leninist philosophy. The ELF received backing from the more conservative Arab governments, whereas the EPLF from the more leftist ones, and some Eastern bloc countries which abandoned it in favor of the Derg regime in Ethiopia upon the Ethiopian revolution. The ELF and EPLF made attempts to consolidate their operations, but soon found that they could not work together. The ELF was eventually overshadowed and eliminated by the EPLF.

This war ended in 1991, when joint Eritrean and rebellious Ethiopian forces defeated the Ethiopian army, and the Derg regime fell. Two years later, after a referendum with the blessing of the new Ethiopian government, Eritrean independence was declared. The leader of the EPLF, Isaias Afewerki became Eritrea's first President. The Eritrean Peoples Liberation front (EPLF or Shabia), bacame the sole legal ruling party, and changed its name to the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).

In 1998, a border war with Ethiopia broke out which killed thousands of soldiers from both countries and left Eritrea with significant economic and social stresses, including massive population displacement, reduced economic development, and one of Africa's more severe landmine problems. In spite of initially promising economic and political strides, the government cracked down on the free press and on opposition in 1998 when questions about the conduct of the war were raised, as well as the failure of the government to implement the new Constitution and hold long promised elections. Later, the government of Eritrea banned the practice of all religions other than the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Mekane Yesus Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Islam. All other sects in general, and fundamentalist Evangelical Protestant Christians in particularly, were suppressed across the country.

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War ended in 2000 with a negotiated agreement known as the Algiers Agreement. One of the terms of the agreement was the establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation, known as the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE); over 4,000 UN peacekeepers remain as of August 2004. Another term of the Algiers Agreement was the establishment of a final demarcation of the disputed border area between Eritrea and Ethiopia. An independent, UN-associated boundary commission known as the Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundary Commission (EEBC), after extensive study, issued a final border ruling in 2003, but its decision was rejected by Ethiopia Asmara Eritrea . As of June 2005 the border question remains in dispute, even while a tentative and tense peace remains in place.

Politics

Politics of Eritrea

Because the Eritrean constitution is not yet in effect, the unicameral Eritrean parliament, the National Assembly, is entirely populated by members of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. This assembly of 150 seats, formed in 1993 shortly after independence, elected the current president, Isaias Afewerki. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled. Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in 2001 the government closed down all of the nation's privately owned print media and outspoken critics of the government have been allegedly arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its record of religious persecution (see below).

Regions

Regions of Eritrea

Eritrea is divided into 6 regions:

Central (Maekel)
Anseba
Southern Red Sea (Debubawi-Keih-Bahri)
Northern Red Sea (Semienawi-Keih-Bahri)
Southern (Debub)
Gash-Barka

Geography

Geography of Eritrea

Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea. Off the sandy and arid coastline, the Dahlak Archipelago is situated, an archipelago with fishing grounds. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightly less dry, and cooler. The highest point of the country, Soira, is located in the centre of Eritrea, at 3018 m above sea level.

The main cities of the country are the capital city of Asmara, the port town of Assab in the southeast, as well as the towns of Massawa and Keren.

Economy

Economy of Eritrea Ethiopia Eritrea

Since independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding.

The Ethiopian-Eritrea war severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%.

Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to convert its diaspora money and expertise into economic growth.

Eritrea is at the brink of a famine, with food supplies currently (February 2005) only lasting for one month.

Demographics

Demographics of Eritrea

Eritrea's two main ethnic groups are the Tigrigna, which forms about half of the population, and the Tigre and Kunama, which amount to 40%. The remaining people are the, Afar, Bilen, Nara, Rashaida, Hidarb, and Saho. The local Tigrigna and the wider Arabic language are the two predominant languages for official purposes, but Amharic languages as well as English and Italian are also spoken.

Dahlak is a newly discoved language spoken on the Dahlak Archipelago.

Religion

The dominant religions are Islam and Christianity, each group representing roughly 50% of the population. The Christians consist primarily of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, but small groups of Roman Catholics and Protestants also exist.

Members of the Eritrean Orthodox Church are sometimes described as Coptic Christians because the hierarchy of that church was formerly subject to that of the Tawahido Church of Ethiopia, which was in turn formerly (before 1950) subject to the Coptic Pope. But the word Coptic means Egyptian or indigenous (pre-Arab) Egyptian, and so is a misnomer. The Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches are still in full communion with the Coptic Church in Egypt. In 1993 it was granted autocephaly, and in 1998 the Archbishopric of Asmara, the young nation's capital, was elevated to the rank of patriarchate of Eritrea, within the Coptic church.

The vast majority of Muslims in Eritrea are Sunni Muslims.

As of May 2002, the government of Eritrea only officially recognizes the Islamic, Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Lutheran churches (the Eritrean Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox Communion, not to the Eastern Orthodox Communion). Other religions are not registered and cannot worship freely. The government's registration system forces religious groups to submit personal information in order to be allowed worship. Eritrea Map