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Eritrea |
Capital: Asmara
Languages: Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Currency: Nakfa (ERN)
Background: Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002. However, both parties have been unable to reach agreement on implementing the decision. In November 2006, the international commission informed Eritrea and Ethiopia they had one year to demarcate the border or the border demarcation would be based on coordinates. On 30 November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission remotely demarcated the border by coordinates and dissolved itself, leaving Ethiopia still occupying several tracts of disputed territory. Eritrea accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from the TSZ that it states is Eritrean territory. Ethiopia has not accepted the virtual demarcation decision.
PEOPLE
Population: 4,906,585 (July 2007 est.); 5,792,984 (July 2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
2007
Total population: 59.55 years
Male: 57.88 years
Female: 61.28 years (2007 est.)
2010
Total population: 62.15 years
Male: 60.06 years
Female: 64.3 years (2010 est.)
Age structure:
2007
0-14 years: 43.5% (male 1,073,404/female 1,060,674)
15-64 years: 52.9% (male 1,286,613/female 1,310,294)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 85,052/female 90,548) (2007 est.)
2010
0-14 years: 42.8% (male 1,212,848/female 1,202,240)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 1,483,169/female 1,547,078)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 92,009/female 109,824) (2010 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.461% (2007 est.); 2.522% (2010 est.)
Population below poverty line: 50% (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate: 2.7% (2003 est.); 1.3% (2007 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 60,000 (2003 est.); 38,000 (2007 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 58.6%
Male: 69.9%
Female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Refugees and Internally Displaced People:
IDPs: 40,000-45,000 (border war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000; most IDPs are near the central border region) (2006)
ECONOMY
Unemployment rate: N/A
Labour force by Occupation: agriculture: 80%, industry and services: 20% (2004 est.)
Agricultural Products: sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
Exports – Commodities: livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports – Partners: Italy 26.7%, France 13.8%, Australia 8.2%, Sudan 7.9%, US 7.8%, China 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Jordan 5.2% (2006)
Imports – Commodities: machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Imports – Partners: Italy 15.8%, Saudi Arabia 15.7%, China 15.6%, Netherlands 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, Germany 5.3% (2006)
ENVIRONMENT
Environment – Current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Natural hazards: frequent droughts; locust swarms
Source: CIA World Factbook
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