32% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 280 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent droughts; locust swarms
Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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
Eritrea People
Population: 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0–14 years: 42.85% (male 922,691; female 918,916)
15–64 years: 53.87% (male 1,147,927; female 1,167,705)
65 years and over: 3.28% (male 71,232; female 69,798) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.84% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 7.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: according to the UNHCR, about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan have registered for voluntary repatriation, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Sudan in January 2000
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.18 years
male: 53.73 years
female: 58.71 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 2.87% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean
Ethnic groups: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%,
Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other
Cushitic languages
Literacy: definition: NA
total population: 25%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Eritrea Government
Country name: 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
Government type: transitional government
note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23–25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections have now been scheduled to take place in December 2001
Capital: Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Administrative divisions: 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale
Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, became effective in 1997; the new provinces, the names of which had not been recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the US Government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, were: Anseba, Debub, Debubawi Keyih Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri; more recently, it has been reported that these provinces have been redesignated regions and renamed Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, and Central
Independence: 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Constitution: the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
Legal system: operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: 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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority
elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next tentatively scheduled for December 2001)
election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections:
