Eritrea
Capital: Asmara · Eastern Africa
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. Its capital and largest city is Asmara.
Photo: ISS expedition 42 crew, cropped by Szczureq, Public domain · source
Partial view of the monastery Debre Bizen, near Nefasit, in Eritrea.
Photo: Grullab, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Damas railway station, Eritrean Railway Italiano: Stazioni ferroviarie dell'Eritrea : Damas 日本語: マッサワ近郊のダルナス駅
Photo: Voice of Clam, Public domain · source
Did you know?
Hominid remains found in Eritrea have been dated to 1 million years old and anthropological research indicates that the area may contain significant records related to human evolution. The Kingdom of Aksum, centred in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was established during the first or second century AD and was considered one of the four great powers of the world by the Persian prophet Mani, the founder of Manichaeism. It adopted Christianity around the middle of the fourth century.
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The Independence Day of Eritrea is one of the most important public holidays in the country. It is observed on May 24 every year. Picture taken on assignment for…
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Gerset Dam in, Eritrea, one of 800+ large and micro dams build by the country since independece
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This is an image of "African people at work" from
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Etymology
The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient (originally Greek) name for the Red Sea, the Erythraean Sea (Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα Erythra Thalassa, based on the adjective ἐρυθρός erythros "red"). It was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea (Colonia Eritrea). The name persisted throughout subsequent British and Ethiopian occupation, and was reaffirmed by the 1993 independence referendum and 1997 constitution.
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20th of June is a public holiday in Eritrea in remembrance of it's fallen heros
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The new builings of the Eritrea Institute of Technology, being built with Chinese help between 2014 and 2016. The EIT is located south west of Asmara, the capital of…
Photo: Grullab, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
History
Madam Buya, a fossil found at an Eritrean archaeological site by Italian anthropologists, has been identified as among the oldest hominid fossils found to date. This fossil has been said to reveal significant stages in human evolution and to represent a possible link between the earlier Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens. Her remains have been dated to 1 million years old, making her the oldest skeletal find of her kind. It is believed that the Danakil Depression in Eritrea was a major site of human evolution and may contain other archaeological links between Homo erectus hominids and anatomically modern humans.
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Minimum wage at Bisha is about 3,500 Nakfa per month (about $230 US Dollars or 195 Euro.) An Eritrean monthly salary runs about 2,700 Nakfa, so the mineworkers make…
Photo: Martin Schibbye, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
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Geography
Eritrea is located in East Africa. It is bordered to the northeast and east by the Red Sea, Sudan to the west, Ethiopia to the south, and Djibouti to the southeast. Eritrea lies between latitudes 12° and 18°N, and longitudes 36° and 44°E.
The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift. Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea, holds the fork in the rift. The Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandy, arid coastline.
Eritrea is split into three ecoregions.
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Government and politics
The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the only legal party in Eritrea. Other political groups are not allowed to organize, though the unimplemented Constitution of 1997 provides for the existence of multi-party politics. The National Assembly has 150 seats. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; as of 2025, none have ever been held in the country. President Isaias Afwerki has been in office since independence in 1993.
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Economy
In 2020, the IMF estimated Eritrea's GDP at $2.1 billion, or $6.4 billion on a PPP basis.
Between 2016 and 2019, Eritrea had a GDP growth between 7.6% and 10.2%, down from the peak at 30.9% in 2014. In 2023, the GDP growth is expected to be 2.8%, a decrease due to factors such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the effects of COVID-19 on value chains. However, the country's economy is expecting a steady growth in coming years.
In 2021, mining and agriculture each accounted for 20% of the GDP. As of 2020, remittances from abroad were estimated to account for 12% of GDP.
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Demographics
Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with some proposing numbers as low as 3.5 million and others as high as 6.4 million. Eritrea has never conducted an official government census, and the 1984 Ethiopian census, the last census conducted in Ethiopia before Eritrea's independence in 1993, recorded a population of 2,621,566. In 2020, the proportion of children below the age of 15 was 41.1%, 54.3% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4.5% were 65 or older.
In 2015, there was a major outflow of emigrants from Eritrea.
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Culture
Eritrean culture encompasses the collective cultural heritage of the various populations native to Eritrea and the rich culture inherited through its long history. Modern-day Eritrea is also defined by the struggle for independence. The nation has a rich oral and literary tradition, which ranges across all nine ethnic groups and includes poetry and proverbs, songs and chants, folk tales, histories, and legends. It also has a rich history in theatre and painting, often colourful and depicting a reflection of the Eritrean people's history.
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