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
3 September 1971 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 77.5%, Christian 8.5%, other 14% (2004 census)
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Exports
liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel
External Debt
$125,300,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Qatari rials (QAR) per US dollar - 3.64 (2008 est.), 3.64 (2007), 3.64 (2006), 3.64 (2005), 3.64 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
10.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Area
11,586 km sq
117,600 km sq
Coastline
563 km
2,234 km
Climate
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid 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
