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:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2010 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;
• has not accepted 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 the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• the most recent and only election held on 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Joel REIFMAN

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;
• green stands for the country's agriculture economy, red signifies the blood shed in the fight for freedom, and blue symbolizes the bounty of the sea;
• the wreath-olive branch symbol is similar to that on the first flag of Eritrea from 1952;
• the shape of the red triangle broadly mimics the shape of the country

name:

"Ertra, Ertra, Ertra" (Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea)

lyrics/music:

SOLOMON Tsehaye Beraki/Isaac Abraham MEHAREZGI and ARON Tekle Tesfatsion

note: adopted 1993; upon independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea adopted its own national anthem

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

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is only about 3 per 100 persons (2009)

international:

country code - 291; note - international connections exist

• government controls broadcast media with private ownership prohibited;
• 1 state-owned TV station;
• state-owned radio operates 2 networks;
• purchases of satellite dishes and subscriptions to international broadcast media are permitted (2007)

total:

306 km

country comparison to the world: 120

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:

1,307,012

females age 16-49:

1,319,682 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

864,608

females age 16-49:

920,104 (2010 est.)

male:

64,489

female:

64,476 (2010 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;
• Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting eastern Sudanese rebel groups;
• in 2008 Eritrean troops move across the border on Ras Doumera peninsula and occupy Doumera Island with undefined sovereignty in the Red Sea

current situation:

• Eritrea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation;
• each year, large numbers of migrant workers depart Eritrea in search of work, particularly in the Gulf States, where some likely become victims of forced labor, including in domestic servitude, or commercial sexual exploitation;
• thousands of Eritreans flee the country illegally, mostly to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya where their illegal status makes them vulnerable to situations of human trafficking;
• the government remains complicit in conscripting children into military service

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the Government of Eritrea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the Eritrean government does not operate with transparency and published neither data nor statistics regarding its efforts to combat human trafficking;
• it did not respond to requests to provide information for this report;
• the government made no known progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking crimes over the reporting period and did not appear to provide any significant assistance to victims of trafficking during the reporting period (2009)