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)
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate)
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents)
Languages
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Tongan, English
Exports
squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops
External Debt
$104,600,000 US
Exchange Rate
pa'anga (TOP) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.0277 (2006), 1.96 (2005), 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Area
117,600 km sq
747 km sq
Coastline
2,234 km
419 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; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December)
