Country Summary: Eritrea (State of Eritrea)
Country Name: Eritrea (State of Eritrea)
Capital: Asmara
Government Type: presidential republic
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 conflict for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean fighters defeating government forces. Eritreans overwhelmingly approved independence in a 1993 referendum. ISAIAS Afwerki has been Eritrea's only president since independence; his rule, particularly since 2001, has been characterized by highly autocratic and repressive actions. His government has created a highly militarized society by instituting an unpopular program of mandatory conscription into national service – divided between military and civilian service – 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 subsequent 2007 Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) demarcation was rejected by Ethiopia. More than a decade of a tense “no peace, no war” stalemate ended in 2018 after the newly elected Ethiopian prime minister accepted the EEBC’s 2007 ruling, and the two countries signed declarations of peace and friendship. Following the July 2018 peace agreement with Ethiopia, Eritrean leaders engaged in intensive diplomacy around the Horn of Africa, bolstering regional peace, security, and cooperation, as well as brokering rapprochements between governments and opposition groups. In November 2018, the UN Security Council lifted an arms embargo that had been imposed on Eritrea since 2009, after the UN Somalia-Eritrea Monitoring Group reported they had not found evidence of Eritrean support in recent years for al-Shabaab. The country’s rapprochement with Ethiopia led to a resumption of economic ties, but the level of air transport, trade, and tourism have remained roughly the same since late 2020. The Eritrean economy remains agriculture-dependent, and the country is still one of Africa’s poorest nations. Eritrea faced new international condemnation and US sanctions in mid-2021 for its participation in the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional State, where Eritrean forces were found to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. As most Eritrean troops were departing northern Ethiopia in January 2023, ISAIAS began a series of diplomatic engagements aimed at bolstering Eritrea’s foreign partnerships and regional influence. Despite the country's improved relations with its neighbors, ISAIAS has not let up on repression and conscription and militarization continue.
Continent: Africa
Population: 6,274,796 (2023 est.)
Ethnic Groups: Tigrinya 50%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Afar 4%, Kunama 4%, Bilen 3%, Hedareb/Beja 2%, Nara 2%, Rashaida 1% (2021 est.)
Languages: Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
Religions: Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Sunni Muslim
Economic Overview: largely agrarian economy with a significant mining sector; substantial fiscal surplus due to tight controls; high and vulnerable debts; increased Ethiopian trade and shared port usage decreasing prices; financial and economic data integrity challenges
Currency: Eritrean Nakfa (ERN)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $191.694 million (2019 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $9.702 billion (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
Real GDP Growth Rate: 5% (2017 est.)
Real GDP per Capita: $1,600 (2017 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars
Exports:
$624.3 million (2017 est.)
Comparison Ranking: 189
Export Commodities: zinc, copper, gold, clothing, stone grinders (2021)
Export Partners: China 62%, South Korea 28.3% (2017)
Imports:
$1.127 billion (2017 est.)
Comparison Ranking: 189
Import Commodities: machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Import Partners: UAE 14.5%, China 13.2%, Saudi Arabia 13.2%, Italy 12.9%, Turkey 5.6%, South Africa 4.6% (2017)
Natural Resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Agricultural Products: sorghum, milk, vegetables, barley, cereals, pulses nes, roots/tubers nes, wheat, millet, beef
Industries: food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
4.3% (2014 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Comparison Ranking: 88
Labor Force: 1.749 million (2022 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 5.97% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Natural Hazards: frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms
Volcanism: Dubbi (1,625 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:
Total: 117,600 sq km
Land: 101,000 sq km
Water: 16,600 sq km
(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)
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