Eritrea

"Erythrea" redirects here. For other uses, see Erythrean (disambiguation), Eritrea (disambiguation), and Eritrean (disambiguation).

State of Eritrea
ሃገረ ኤርትራ (Tigrinya)
Anthem: ኤርትራ ኤርትራ ኤርትራ (Tigrinya)
"Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea"
Capital
and largest city
Asmara
15°20′N 38°55′E / 15.333°N 38.917°E / 15.333; 38.917
Official languagesNone[1]
Recognised national languages
Working languages
Ethnic groups
(2021)[3]
Religion
See Religion in Eritrea
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary one-party presidential republic under a totalitarian dictatorship[4][5][6][7][8]
• President
Isaias Afwerki
LegislatureNational Assembly
Independence 
from Ethiopia
1 September 1961
• De facto
24 May 1991
• De jure
24 May 1993
Area
• Total
120,000 km2 (46,000 sq mi)[9][10][11] (97th)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• 2020 estimate
3.6–6.7 million[12][13][a]
GDP (PPP)2019 estimate
• Total
$6.42 billion[15]
• Per capita
$1,835[15]
GDP (nominal)2019 estimate
• Total
$1.98 billion[15]
• Per capita
$566[15]
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.493[16]
low (175th)
CurrencyNakfa (ERN)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (not observed)
Drives onright
Calling code+291
ISO 3166 codeER
Internet TLD.er
  1. ^ Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.[14]
You may need rendering support to display the Ethiopic text in this article correctly.

Eritrea (/ˌɛrɪˈtriːə/ ⓘ ERR-ih-TREE-ə or /-ˈtreɪ-/ -⁠TRAY-;[17][18][19] Tigrinya: ኤርትራ, romanized: Ertra, pronounced [ʔer(ɨ)trä] ⓘ), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city being 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),[9][10] 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. The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was established during the first or second century AD.[20][21] It adopted Christianity around the middle of the fourth century.[22] Beginning in the 12th century, the Ethiopian Zagwe and Solomonid dynasties held sway to a fluctuating extent over the entire plateau and the Red Sea coast. Eritrea's central highlands, known as Mereb Melash ("Beyond the Mereb"), were the northern frontier region of the Ethiopian kingdoms and were ruled by a governor titled the Bahri Negasi ("lord of the sea"). In the 16th century, the Ottomans conquered the Eritrean coastline, then in May 1865 much of the coastal lowlands came under the rule of the Khedivate of Egypt, until it was transferred to Italy in February 1885. Beginning in 1885–1890, Italian troops systematically spread out from Massawa toward the highlands, eventually resulting in the formation of the colony of Italian Eritrea in 1889, establishing the present-day boundaries of the country. Italian rule continued until 1942 when Eritrea was placed under British Military Administration during World War II; following a 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.[23]

Contemporary Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with nine recognised ethnic groups, each of which has a distinct language. The most widely spoken languages are Tigrinya and Arabic. The others are Tigre, Saho, Kuinama, Nara, Afar, Beja, Bilen and English.[24] Tigrinya, Arabic and English serve as the three working languages.[2][25][26][27] 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 50% 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.[28]

Eritrea is one of the least developed countries. It is a unitary one-party presidential republic in which national legislative and presidential elections have never been held.[29][6] 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.[30] The Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated.[31] 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 2022 Reporters Without Borders considers the country to be among those with the least press freedom.[32] 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.[33]

  1. ^ "Constitution of the State of Eritrea". Shaebia.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Eritrea at a Glance". Eritrea Ministry of Information. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Eritrea", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 23 September 2022, retrieved 1 April 2024Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea". UNHRC website. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Eritrea: Events of 2016". Human Rights Watch. 12 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b Saad, Asma (21 February 2018). "Eritrea's Silent Totalitarianism".
  7. ^ Keane, Fergal (10 July 2018). "Making peace with 'Africa's North Korea'". BBC News.
  8. ^ Taylor, Adam (12 June 2015). "The brutal dictatorship the world keeps ignoring". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Eritrea". Central Intelligence Agency. 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via CIA.gov.
  10. ^ a b "Eritrea country profile". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "World Population Prospects 2019". UN DESA. 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Eritrea)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024". United Nations Development Programme. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Eritrea". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  18. ^ "Eritrea". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  19. ^ "Name change for Eritrea and other minor corrections" (PDF). International Organization for Standardization. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  20. ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart (1991). Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity (PDF). Edinburgh: University Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-7486-0106-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  21. ^ Henze, Paul B. (2005) Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, ISBN 1-85065-522-7.
  22. ^ Aksumite Ethiopia. Workmall.com (24 March 2007). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  23. ^ "Encyclopedia Britannica". www.britannica.com. 18 March 2024.
  24. ^ "EASO Country of Origin Information Report: Eritrea Country Focus" (PDF). European Asylum Support Office. May 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  25. ^ "National Unity: Eritrea's core value for peace and stability".
  26. ^ "Eritrea at a Glance".
  27. ^ "Eritrea Constitution" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Eritrea". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 September 2021.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference gi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference hrw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "Eritrea: A dictatorship in which the media have no rights". Reporters Without Borders. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Arab League Fast Facts". CNN. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.