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
26 September 1907 (from UK)
Religions
Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist 2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other 3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census)
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages
English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language (official)
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Exports
dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery
External Debt
$85,650,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
New Zealand dollars (NZD) per US dollar - 1.4151 (2008 est.), 1.3811 (2007), 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
9
0
Location
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
267,710 km sq
117,600 km sq
Coastline
15,134 km
2,234 km
Climate
temperate with sharp regional contrasts
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
