The official name is the State of Eritrea (Hagere Ertra).
Located in northeast Africa. The area is 121.3 thousand km2, the population is 4.1 million people. (2003, UN estimate). The constitution adopted as working languages – the language of Tigrinya and Arabic. The capital is Asmara (435 thousand people, 2002). Public holidays – Liberation Day on May 24, Day of Remembrance of those who died for their homeland on June 20, Day of the beginning of the armed struggle for independence on September 1. The monetary unit is the nakfa (equal to 100 cents).
Member of the UN (since 1993), AU (since 1993), Non-Aligned Movement, etc.
Geography of Eritrea
It is located between 39° east longitude and 15° north latitude. In the northeast, the territory of the country is washed by the waters of the Red Sea. Eritrea belong to St. 350 islands. The length of the slightly indented coastline of St. 1000 km. Eritrea borders Sudan to the west, Ethiopia to the south, and Djibouti to the southeast. The main part of the country is located in the north of the Ethiopian highlands. The other part, stretched along the sea coast, is semi-desert. The highest point is Mount Soira (3018 m), the lowest mark is 75 m below sea level in the Afar depression. The large river is the Tekeze, the other numerous rivers are drying up (Mereb, Barka, Gash, etc.). On the Red Sea coast, brown and red-brown soils, solonchaks predominate; at altitudes of 1100–1600 m, areas of mountainous dark red humus soils; at altitudes of 1500-2500 m there are fertile soils of volcanic origin.
Flora: from the date palm to the thorny acacia of the coast, from the baobab of the savannah to the milkweed of the tropics, from the agave and eucalyptus of the temperate zones to the sycamore of the high plateau.
Fauna: hippos, elephants, crocodiles, rhinos, antelopes, lions, hyenas, jackals, hares, wild antelopes, wild boars, monkeys, baboons, porcupines, various rodents and snakes. The world of birds is diverse: common continental and regional species of birds, migratory birds of Europe and Asia. In the region of the Dahlak Islands, there are St. 250 species of fish, incl. Mediterranean, turtles are found. The climate is subequatorial, summer (wet, from May to September) and winter (dry, from October to April) seasons are typical. The average annual temperature is from 17°C on the plateau to 30°C on the coast.
The natural resources of Eritrea are little explored. Gold-bearing regions are known, there are signs of platinum-bearing minerals, there are compact deposits of iron and copper ores, valuable reserves of potash, deposits of manganese ores in combination with iron ores are likely, signs of a nickel deposit in combination with chromites. Drilling on the coast showed the presence of an oil outlet, and reserves of natural gas were discovered in the open sea. There are reserves of potash salt, table salt is mined, sea salt is evaporated.
Population of Eritrea
Since the 1980s population dynamics was determined by large flows of emigrants and refugees. According to Countryaah, more than 400 thousand refugees live in Sudan, about the same number live in the USA and Europe. In 1984 (Ethiopian census), 2.7 million people lived in the province of Eritrea, in 1997 (official data) the population of Eritrea was 3.8 million people, in 2002 (estimate) 4.5 million people.
Birth rate 42.25%, mortality 11.82%, infant mortality 73.62 people. per 1000 newborns. Life expectancy for men is 54.09 years, for women 59.13 years. Gender and age composition: 0-14 years – 42.9% (men 958 564, women 955 625), 15-64 years – 53.9% (men 1 192 454, women 1 213 313), 65 years and older – 3, 2% (men 73,017, women 72,678). Competently 25% of the adult population. OK. 80% of the population of Eritrea are rural residents. Mostly they are peasants. OK. 10% of the rural population are nomads and another 15-20% are semi-nomadic. The urban population is slightly over 20%.
The country is inhabited by several ethnic groups. Tigris make up approx. 50% of the population, tigers – 30-33%, Afars and Sakhos (5% each), Beja, Bilen, Kunama (2.5% each), Khedareb, Nara – 1.5%, Rashaida – 0.5%.
By religion, the population is divided roughly in half: Christians (mostly Tigray farmers) and Sunni Muslims (all other ethnic groups, mainly engaged in nomadic or distant pastoralism). Part of the population adheres to traditional beliefs.
