Eritrea

• 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

total:

0.3 cu km/yr (3%/0%/97%)

per capita:

68 cu m/yr (2000)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

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

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 (2009 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

malaria (2009)

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

name:

Asmara (Asmera)

geographic coordinates:

15 20 N, 38 56 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957 with revisions;
• new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated;
• government also issues unilateral proclamations setting laws and policies;
• also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Islamic law;
• does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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)

cabinet:

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

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• the most recent and only election 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%, other 5%

• People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afworki] (the only party recognized by the government);
• note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has yet to debate or vote on it

• Eritrean Democratic Party (EDP) [HAGOS, Mesfin];
• Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (includes Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM also known as the Abu Sihel Movement);
• Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement);
• 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 GHIRMAI Ghebremariam

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 Ronald MCMULLEN

embassy:

179 Ala 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

agriculture:

80%

industry and services:

20% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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

general assessment:

inadequate; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular subscribership is only about 3 per 100 persons (2008)

domestic:

• 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

country comparison to the world: 121

narrow gauge:

306 km 0.950-m gauge (2008)

total:

4,010 km

country comparison to the world: 157

paved:

874 km

unpaved:

3,136 km (2000)

males age 16-49:

1,108,836

females age 16-49:

1,096,120 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

834,018

females age 16-49:

887,495 (2009 est.)

male:

62,265

female:

62,328 (2009 est.)

• Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision but, neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement;
• UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000;
• Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting eastern Sudanese rebel groups