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)
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%
Languages
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
English, French patois
Exports
External Debt
Exchange Rate
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Area
117,600 km sq
389 km sq
Coastline
2,234 km
84 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
tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
