Background: After independence from Italian colonial control in 1941 and 10 years of British administrative control the UN established Eritrea as an autonomous region within the Ethiopian federation in 1952. Ethiopia's full annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a violent 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afworki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule particularly since 2001 has been highly autocratic and repressive. His government has created a highly militarized society by pursuing an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service sometimes of indefinite length. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. A UN peacekeeping operation was established that monitored a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) created in April 2003 was tasked 'to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border based on pertinent colonial treaties (1900 1902 and 1908) and applicable international law.' The EEBC on 30 November 2007 remotely demarcated the border assigning the town of Badme to Eritrea despite Ethiopia's maintaining forces there from the time of the 1998-2000 war. Eritrea insisted that the UN terminate its peacekeeping mission on 31 July 2008. Eritrea has accepted the EEBC's 'virtual demarcation' decision and repeatedly called on Ethiopia to remove its troops. Ethiopia has not accepted the demarcation decision and neither party has entered into meaningful dialogue to resolve the impasse. Eritrea is subject to several UN Security Council Resolutions (from 2009 2011 and 2012) imposing various military and economic sanctions in view of evidence that it has supported armed opposition groups in the region.

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N 39 00 E

Area
Rank: 101
Land: 101,000 km²
Water: 16,600 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Border countries: (3) Djibouti 125 km; Ethiopia 1033 km; Sudan 682 km

Coastline: 2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1151 km islands in Red Sea 1083 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 highest point: Soira 3,018 m

Natural resources: gold potash zinc copper salt possibly oil and natural gas fish

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.02%
Other: 94.12% (2011)

Irrigated land: 215.9 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 6.3 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: frequent droughts rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms
Volcanism: Dubbi (elev. 1625 m) which last erupted in 1861 was the country's only historically active volcano until Nabro (2,218 m) came to life on 12 June 2011

Geography
Note: 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

Population: 6,380,803 (July 2014 est.)
Rank: 107
Growth rate: 2.3% (2014 est.)
Growth rate rank: 38
Below poverty line: 50% (2004 est.)

Nationality
Adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic groups: nine recognized ethnic groups: Tigrinya 55% Tigre 30% Saho 4% Kunama 2% Rashaida 2% Bilen 2% other (Afar Beni Amir Nera) 5% (2010 est.)

Languages: Tigrinya (official) Arabic (official) English (official) Tigre Kunama Afar other Cushitic languages

Religions: Muslim Coptic Christian Roman Catholic Protestant

Age structure
15-24 years: 20.2% (male 644,878/female 646,518)
25-54 years: 31.5% (male 996,856/female 1,014,798)
55-64 years: 3.8% (male 101,549/female 138,016)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 102,525/female 134,246) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 79.1 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 4.2 %
Potential support ratio: 23.7 (2014 est.)

Median age
Male: 18.8 years
Female: 19.5 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.3% (2014 est.)
Rank: 38

Birth rate: 30.69 births/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 41

Death rate: 7.65 deaths/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 111

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 106

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 5.01% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: ASMARA (capital) 712,000 (2011)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 20.6

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 59
Male: 43.61 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 33.12 deaths/1000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 181
Male: 61.36 years
Female: 65.72 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.14 children born/woman (2014 est.)
Rank: 35

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 8% (2002)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.05 physicians/1000 population (2004)

Hospital bed density: 0.7 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2012 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 55
People living with hivaids: 17,800 (2012 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 86
Deaths: 1200 (2012 est.)
Deaths rank: 71

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 1.5% (2008)
Rank: 188

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 34.5% (2002)
Rank: 7

Education expenditures: 2.1% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 165

Literacy
Total population: 68.9%
Male: 79.5%
Female: 59% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 5 years
Female: 4 years (2010)

Country name
Conventional short form: Eritrea
Local long form: Hagere Ertra
Local short form: Ertra
Former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia

Government type: transitional government

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 15 20 N 38 56 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 6 regions (zobatat singular - zoba); Anseba Debub (South) Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea) Gash Barka Ma'akel (Central) Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)

Independence: 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)

National holiday: Independence Day 24 May (1993)

Constitution: adopted 23 May 1997 (not fully implemented) (2014)

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil customary and Islamic religious law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993)
Cabinet: State Council the collective exercises 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 was 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 by the transitional National Assembly; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% other 5%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: in May 1997 following the adoption of the new constitution 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF) 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely due to the war with Ethiopia

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: High Court judges appointed by the president
Subordinate courts: regional/zonal courts; community courts; special courts; sharia courts (for issues dealing with Muslim marriage inheritance and family); military courts

Political parties and leaders: 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 never debated or voted on it

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU COMESA FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS (observer) ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO (subscriber) ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAS (observer) MIGA NAM OPCW PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304
From the us embassy: 179 Ala Street Asmara
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 211 Asmara
From the us telephone: [291] (1) 120,004
From the us FAX: [291] (1) 127,584

Flag description: 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

National symbols: camel

National anthem
Lyrics and music: SOLOMON Tsehaye Beraki/Isaac Abraham MEHAREZGI and ARON Tekle Tesfatsion

Economy overview: Since formal independence from Ethiopia in 1993 Eritrea has faced many economic problems including lack of resources and chronic drought which have been exacerbated by restrictive economic policies. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations a large share of the population - nearly 80% - is engaged in subsistence agriculture but the sector only produces a small share of the country's total output. Since the conclusion of the Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 2000 the government has expanded use of military and party-owned businesses to complete President ISAIAS's development agenda. The government has strictly controled the use of foreign currency by limiting access and availability; new regulations in 2013 have slightly relaxed currently controls. Few large private enterprises exist in Eritrea and most operate in conjunction with government partners including a number of large international mining ventures that have recently begun production. While reliable statistics on food security are difficult to obtain erratic rainfall and the percentage of the labor force tied up in national service continue to interfere with agricultural production and economic development. Eritrea's harvests generally cannot meet the food needs of the country without supplemental grain purchases. Copper potash and gold production is likely to drive economic growth over the next few years but military spending will continue to compete with development and investment plans. Eritrea's economic future will depend on market reform international sanctions global food prices and success at addressing social problems such as illiteracy and low skills.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 172

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 20

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 212

Gross national saving:
Rank: 119

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 18.4%
Investment in fixed capital: 15.7%
Exports of goods and services: 10.2%
Imports of goods and services: -19.4%: (2013 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 26.9%
Services: 61.4% (2013 est.)

Agriculture products: sorghum lentils vegetables corn cotton tobacco sisal; livestock goats; fish

Industries: food processing beverages clothing and textiles light manufacturing salt cement

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2013 est.)
Rank: 36

Labor force: 2.955 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 104
By occupation industry and services: 20% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: 50% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Expenditures: $1.417 billion (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -13% of GDP (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 212

Taxes and other revenues: 28.2% of GDP (2013 est.)
Rank: 103

Public debt: 125.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 14

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 17% (2012 est.)
Rank: 216

Commercial bank prime lending rate: NA%

Stock of narrow money: $1.396 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 129

Stock of broad money: $3.11 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 135

Stock of domestic credit: $2.777 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 121

Current account balance: $174.5 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 86

Exports: $454.9 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 174
Commodities: livestock sorghum textiles food small manufactures

Imports: $972.8 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 178
Commodities: machinery petroleum products food manufactured goods

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $174.4 million (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 160

Debt external: $1.057 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 160

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 292.5 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 173
Consumption: 253.5 million kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 182
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 132
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 140
Installed generating capacity: 140,800 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 165
Generation sources fossil fuels: 98.7% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 53
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 84
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 168
Generation sources other renewable sources: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 82

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 167
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 107
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 182
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 128

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 140
Products consumption: 4,480 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 172
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 174
Products imports: 3,160 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 171

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 126
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 141
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 95
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 188
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 134

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 625,600 Mt (2011 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 60,000 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 160
Mobile cellular: 305,300 (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 174

Telephone system
Domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is less than 5 per 100 persons
International: country code - 291 (2011)

Broadcast media: 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)

Internet
Country code: .er
Hosts: 701 (2012)
Hosts rank: 177
Users: 200,000 (2008)
Users rank: 140

Military service age and obligation: 18-40 years of age for male and female voluntary and compulsory military service; 16-month conscript service obligation (2012)

Airports: 13 (2013)
Rank: 151
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Railways
Rank: 119
Narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 158
Paved: 874 km
Unpaved: 3,136 km (2000)

Merchant marine
Rank: 133
By type: cargo 2 petroleum tanker 1 roll on/roll off 1 (2010)

Disputes international: 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 moved across the border on Ras Doumera peninsula and occupied Doumera Island with undefined sovereignty in the Red Sea