Global InformationEritrea information
Coordinates: 15°N 39°E / 15°N 39°E
State of Eritrea | |
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 Flag
 Emblem
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| Anthem: "Ertra, Ertra, Ertra" (English: "Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea") | |
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| Capital and largest city | Asmara 15°20′N 38°55′E / 15.333°N 38.917°E |
| Official languages | None[1] (see working languages) |
| Recognised national languages |
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| Working languages |
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| Ethnic groups (2021)[3][4] |
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| Religion (2020)[a] |
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| Demonym(s) |
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| Government | Unitary one-party presidential republic under a totalitarian dictatorship[5][6][7][8][9] |
• Party Chairman and President | Isaias Afwerki |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Independence from Ethiopia | |
• Eritrean War of Independence | 1 September 1961 |
• De facto | 24 May 1991 |
• De jure | 24 May 1993 |
| Area | |
• Total | 117,600 km2 (45,400 sq mi) (97th) |
• Water (%) | 14.1% |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 3.6-6.7 million[10][11][b] |
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $6.88 billion[13] |
• Per capita | $1,910[13] |
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate |
• Total | $2.25 billion[13] |
• Per capita | $626[13] |
| HDI (2019) |  0.459[14]low · 180th |
| Currency | Nakfa (ERN) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (not observed) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +291 |
| ISO 3166 code | ER |
| Internet TLD | .er |
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Eritrea (/ˌɛrɪˈtriː.ə, -ˈtreɪ-/)[15][16] (
listen),[17] officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Human remains found in Eritrea have been dated to 1 million years old and anthropological research indicates that the area may contain significant records related to the evolution of humans. Contemporary Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with nine recognised ethnic groups. Nine different languages are spoken by the nine recognised ethnic groups, the most widely spoken language being Tigrinya, the others being Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Nara, Afar, Beja, Bilen and Arabic.[18] Tigrinya, Arabic, and English serve as the three working languages.[2][19][20][21] Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches. Among these communities, the Tigrinyas make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are several Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic groups. Most people in the country adhere to Christianity or Islam, with a small minority adhering to traditional faiths.[22]
The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was established during the first or second century AD.[23][24] It adopted Christianity around the middle of the fourth century.[25] In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, with a smaller region being part of Hamasien. The creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms (for example, Medri Bahri and the Sultanate of Aussa) eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. After the defeat of the Italian colonial army in 1942, Eritrea was administered by the British Military Administration until 1952. Following the UN General Assembly decision in 1952, Eritrea would govern itself with a local Eritrean parliament, but for foreign affairs and defense, it would enter into a federal status with Ethiopia for ten years. However, in 1962, the government of Ethiopia annulled the Eritrean parliament and formally annexed Eritrea. The Eritrean secessionist movement organised the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1961 and fought the Eritrean War of Independence until Eritrea gained de facto independence in 1991. Eritrea gained de jure independence in 1993 after an independence referendum.
Eritrea is a unitary one-party presidential republic in which national legislative and presidential elections have never been held.[26][7] Isaias Afwerki has served as president since its official independence in 1993. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean government's human rights record is among the worst in the world.[27] The Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated.[28] Freedom of the press in Eritrea is extremely limited; the Press Freedom Index consistently ranks it as one of the least free countries. As of 2021 Reporters Without Borders considers the country to have the overall worst press freedom in the world, even lower than North Korea, as all media publications and access are heavily controlled by the government.[29]
Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and is an observer state in the Arab League alongside Brazil and Venezuela.[30]
- ^ "Constitution of the State of Eritrea". Shaebia.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Eritrea at a Glance". Eritrea Ministry of Information. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Eritrea" (PDF). The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "Eritrea", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 23 September 2022, retrieved 3 October 2022
- ^ "Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea". UNHRC website. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Eritrea: Events of 2016". World Report 2017: Rights Trends in Eritrea. Human Rights Watch. 12 January 2017.
- ^ a b Saad, Asma (21 February 2018). "Eritrea's Silent Totalitarianism".
- ^ Keane, Fergal (10 July 2018). "Making peace with 'Africa's North Korea'". BBC News.
- ^ Taylor, Adam (12 June 2015). "The brutal dictatorship the world keeps ignoring". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2019". UN DESA. 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "Eritrea – Indicators – Population (million people), 2018". Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "Eritrea – Population and Health Survey 2010" (PDF). National Statistics Office, Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "The State of Eritrea". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Eritrea". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- ^ "Eritrea". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-13 International Organization for Standardization
- ^ "EASO Country of Origin Information Report: Eritrea Country Focus" (PDF). European Asylum Support Office. May 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "National Unity: Eritrea's core value for peace and stability".
- ^ "Eritrea at a Glance".
- ^ "Eritrea Constitution" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Eritrea". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 September 2021.
- ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart (1991). Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity (PDF). Edinburgh: University Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-7486-0106-6.
- ^ Henze, Paul B. (2005) Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, ISBN 1-85065-522-7.
- ^ Aksumite Ethiopia. Workmall.com (24 March 2007). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
giwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
hrwwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Human Rights and Eritrea's Reality" (PDF). E Smart. E Smart Campaign. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Eritrea: A dictatorship in which the media have no rights". rsf.org. Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Arab League Fast Facts". CNN. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.