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)
Independence date
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Exports
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
External Debt
$583,300,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
0
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
131,957 km sq
117,600 km sq
Coastline
13,676 km
2,234 km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
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
