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 were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
republic, parliamentary democracy
Independence date
6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty)
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Roman Catholic 87.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, other Christian 1.9%, other 2.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.2% (2006 census)
Languages
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
Exports
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products
External Debt
$2,352,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
3
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
Area
117,600 km sq
70,273 km sq
Coastline
2,234 km
1,448 km
Climate
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
