Eritrea

• 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

• deforestation;
• desertification;
• soil erosion;
• overgrazing;
• loss of infrastructure from civil warfare

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes;
• Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993

0-14 years:

44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349)

15-64 years:

51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481)

65 years and over:

3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (2004 est.)

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Eritrean(s)

adjective:

Eritrean

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

• primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions;
• new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated;
• also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law

chief of state:

• President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly

head of government:

• President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly

cabinet:

State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly;
• election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated)

election results:

ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%

• People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki];
• note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it

• Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]);
• Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA];
• Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed];
• Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru];
• Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]

chief of mission:

Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom

chancery:

1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 319-1991

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-1304

consulate(s) general:

Oakland (California)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Scott H. DELISI

embassy:

Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara

mailing address:

P. O. Box 211, Asmara

telephone:

[291] (1) 120004

FAX:

[291] (1) 127584

• red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles;
• the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue;
• a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal;
• livestock, goats;
• fish

general assessment:

inadequate

domestic:

• very inadequate;
• most telephones are in Asmara;
• government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002)

international:

country code - 291; note - international connections exist

total:

306 km

narrow gauge:

306 km 0.950-m gauge

note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003)

total:

4,010 km

paved:

874 km

unpaved:

3,136 km (1999 est.)

total:

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT

by type:

bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1

registered in other countries:

1 (2004 est.)

• Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision;
• UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) continues to monitor a 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation;
• Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups;
• Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999