Eritrea

**Eritrea** is a country on the eastern coast of Africa. Its official name is **The State of Eritrea**.

## Geography

Eritrea is located on the coast of the Red Sea. It is north of the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Horn of Africa. Eritrea has borders with the countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The land area of Eritrea is 101,000 km², and it is one of the smallest countries in Africa.

## History

Eritrea became an independent country on May 24, 1993. It is one of the newest countries in the world.

Many different countries have ruled the land that is now called Eritrea. Between 1885 and 1941 it was a colony of Italy. Between 1941 and 1952, the United Nations put it under the protection of the United Kingdom. After 1952, Eritrea became a part of Ethiopia. This was the reason for a long civil war between the Eritreans and the government of Ethiopia.

Eventually, in 1993, Eritrea became an independent country after a vote by its people.

## Eritreans

**Eritreans** are the native inhabitants of Eritrea, as well as the global diaspora of Eritreans displaced by the Eritrean War of Independence and seeking refuge from human rights violations by the Eritrean government. Eritreans constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa.

The Eritrean national identity began to develop during the Scramble for Africa, when Italy claimed Eritrea as one of its colonies. This marked the establishment of Eritrea's present-day borders. Following Italy's defeat in World War II and the subsequent British administration of Eritrea, the former colony was federated with Ethiopia in 1952. Tensions increased through the 1950s between Eritreans wishing for independence and the Ethiopian government, culminating in the Eritrean War of Independence.

#### Tigrean

The majority of the Tigrean inhabit the highlands of Eritrea; however, migration to other parts of the country has occurred. Their language is called Tigrinya. They are the largest ethnic group in the country, constituting about 60% of the population. The predominantly Tigrinya populated urban centers in Eritrea are the capital Asmara, Mendefera, Dekemhare, Adi Keyh, Adi Quala and Senafe, while there is a significant population of Tigrinya in other cities including Keren, and Massawa.

They are 96% Christians, (of which 90% are of the Eritrean Orthodox faith, 5% Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic (whose mass is held in Ge'ez as opposed to Latin), and 5% belonging to various Protestant and other Christian denominations, the majority of which belong to the (Lutheran) Evangelical Church of Eritrea).

#### Tigre

The Tigre reside in the western lowlands in Eritrea. Many also migrated to Sudan at the time of the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict and lived there since. They are a nomadic and pastoralist people, related to the Tigrinya and to the Beja people. They are a predominantly Muslim nomadic people who inhabit the northern, western, and coastal lowlands of Eritrea, where they constitute 30% of local residents. Some also inhabit areas in eastern Sudan. 95% of the Tigre people adhere to the Islamic religion Sunni Islam, but there are a small number of Christians among them as well (often referred to as the Mensaï in Eritrea). Their language is called Tigre.

#### Jeberti

The Jeberti people in Eritrea trace descent from early Muslim adherents. The term _Jeberti_ is also locally sometimes used to generically refer to all Islamic inhabitants of the highlands. The Jeberti in Eritrea speak Arabic and Tigrinya. They account for about 4% of the Tigrinya speakers in the nation.

#### Afar

According to the CIA, the Afar constitute under 5% of the nation's population. They live in the Debubawi Keyih Bahri Region of Eritrea, as well as the Afar Region in Ethiopia, and Djibouti. They speak the Afar language as a mother tongue, and are predominantly Muslim. Afars in Eritrea number about 397,000 individuals, the smallest population out of the countries they reside in. In Djibouti, there are about 780,000 group members, and in Ethiopia, they number approximately 1,300,000.

### Saho

The Saho represent 4% of Eritrea's population. They principally reside in the Debubawi Keyih Bahri Region and the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. Their language is called Saho. They are predominantly Muslim, although a few Christians known as the Irob live in the Debub Region of Eritrea and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

#### Bilen

The Bilen in Eritrea represent around 2% of the country's population. They are primarily concentrated in the north-central areas, in and around the city of Keren, and south towards Asmara, the nation's capital. Many of them entered Eritrea from Kush (central Sudan) in the 8th century and settled at Merara, after which they went to Lalibela and Lasta. The Bilen then returned to Axum in Ethiopia's Tigray Province, and battled with the natives; in the resulting aftermath, the Bilen returned to their main base at Merara. The Bilen include adherents of both Islam and Christianity. They speak the Bilen as a mother tongue. Christian adherents are mainly urban and have intermingled with the Tigrinya who live in the area. Muslim adherents are mainly rural and have interbred with the adjacent Tigre.

#### Beja

The Beja in Eritrea, or Hedareb, constitute under 5% of local residents. They mainly live along the north-western border with Sudan. Group members are predominantly Muslim and communicate in Hedareb as a first or second language. The Beja also include the Beni-Amer people, who have retained their native Beja language alongside Hedareb.

#### Kunama

According to the CIA, the Kunama constitute around 2% of Eritrea's population. They mainly live in the country's Gash Barka Region, as well as in adjacent parts of Ethiopia's Tigray Region. Many of them reside in the contested border village of Badme. Their language is called Kunama. Although some Kunama still practice traditional beliefs, most are converts to either Christianity (Roman Catholic and Protestant) or Islam.

#### Nara

The Nara represent under 5% of the nation's population. They principally reside along the south-western border with Sudan and Ethiopia. They are generally Muslim, with a few Christians and some practising their indigenous beliefs. Their language is called Nara.

#### Rashaida Arabs in Eritrean

The Rashaida are one of Eritrea's nine recognized ethnic groups. They represent around 2% of the population of Eritrea. The Rashaida reside in the northern coastal lowlands of Eritrea and the northern eastern coasts of Sudan. They are predominantly Muslim and are the only ethnic group in Eritrea to have Arabic as their communal language, specifically the Hejazi dialect. The Rashaida first came to Eritrea in the 19th century from the Arabian Coast.

#### Italians in Eritrea

A few monolingual Italian Eritreans remain. As of 2008, they were estimated at 900 people, down from around 38,000 residents at the end of World War II. They contributed with the development of the Eritrean language with a local "Pidgin".

#### Eritrean diaspora

- Eritrean Americans
- Eritrean Australians
- Eritrean Canadians
- Eritreans in Italy
- Eritreans in the United Kingdom
- Eritreans in Denmark
- Eritreans in Israel
- Eritreans in Norway
- Eritreans in Sweden
- Ethiopians
- Habesha peoples
    - Eritrean people of Ethiopian descent
    - Ethiopian people of Eritrean descent

## Government

Eritrea is known for being the most oppressive country in Africa, sometimes considered to be the "North Korea of Africa". The nation has been accused of many human rights violations, severely limited freedoms, and many arrests without reason.

## Administrative divisions

Eritrea is divided into six administrative regions. These areas are then divided into 58 districts.

|Region|Area (km<sup>2</sup>)|Population|Capital|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Central|1,300|1,053,254|Asmara|
|Anseba|23,200|893,587|Keren|
|Gash-Barka|33,200|1,103,742|Barentu|
|Southern|8,000|1,476,765|Mendefera|
|Northern Red Sea|27,800|897,454|Massawa|
|Southern Red Sea|27,600|398,073|Assab|

## Culture

The population of Eritrea is about 3.6 million. About 0.5 million people live in Asmara. People from Eritrea are called **Eritreans**. Most of them speak _Tigrinya_ or _Tigre_ as their first language. The people usually use Tigrinya or Arabic for official business.

Eritrea has nine ethnic groups. These are the Afar people, the Bilen people, the Hedareb people, the Kunama, the Nara, the Rashaida, the Saho, the Tigre, and Tigray-Tigrinya.

The currency of Eritrea is called the **Nakfa**. Eritrea is a very poor country. Almost half of Eritrea's economy comes from Eritreans who live abroad. They send money home to their families. Most of the rest comes from farming.

Football and cycling are the most popular sports in Eritrea. In recent years, Eritrean athletes have also seen increasing success in the international arena.

## Related pages

- Eritrea at the Olympics
- Eritrea national football team
- List of rivers of Eritrea

## Infobox (country)

- **native name**:

- **conventional long name**: State of Eritrea
- **common name**: Eritrea
- **image flag**: Flag of Eritrea.svg
- **image coat**: Coat of arms of Eritrea (or-argent-azur).svg
- **symbol type**: Emblem
- **image map**: Eritrea (Africa orthographic projection).svg
- **national anthem**:
"Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea"
- **official languages**: Tigrinya language, Tigrinya
Arabic language, Arabic
English language, English
- **demonym**: Eritrean
- **ethnic groups**: 55% Tigray-Tigrinya people, Tigrinya
30% Tigre people, Tigre
4% Saho people, Saho
2% Kunama people, Kunama
2% Rashaida people, Rashaida
2% Bilen people, Bilen
5% other<sup>a</sup>
- **ethnic groups year**: 2012
- **capital**: Asmara
- **largest city**: capital
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary Single-party state, single-party presidential republic under an Totalitarianism, totalitarian dictatorship
- **leader title1**: President of Eritrea, President
- **leader name1**: Isaias Afewerki
- **sovereignty type**: Independence
- **established event1**: From Italy
- **established date1**: November 1941
- **established event2**: From United Kingdom under UN Mandate
- **established date2**: 1951
- **established event3**: from Ethiopia _de facto_
- **established date3**: May 24, 1991
- **established event4**: From Ethiopia _de jure_
- **established date4**: May 24, 1993
- **area rank**: 101st
- **area km2**: 117,600
- **area sq mi**: 45,405
- **percent water**: 0.14%
- **population estimate**: 6,086,495
- **population estimate rank**: 107th
- **population estimate year**: 2012
- **population census**: 5,291,370
- **population census year**: 2008
- **population density km2**: 51.8
- **population density sq mi**: 111.7
- **population density rank**: 154th
- **gdp ppp**: $4.397 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2012
- **gdp ppp per capita**: $777
- **gdp nominal**: $3.108 billion
- **gdp nominal year**: 2012
- **gdp nominal per capita**: $549
- **hdi**: 0.349
- **hdi change**: steady
- **hdi rank**: 177th
- **hdi year**: 2011
- **currency**: Eritrean nakfa, Nakfa
- **currency code**: ERN
- **time zone**: East Africa Time, EAT
- **utc offset**: +3
- **time zone dst**: not observed
- **utc offset dst**: +3
- **drives on**: right
- **cctld**: .er
- **calling code**: 291
- **footnote a**: Afar people, Afar, Beni-Amer, Nara people, Nara.
- **footnote b**: Working languages only.


## Infobox (ethnic group)

- **group**: Eritreans
- **population**:  Eritrea: 3.6–6.7 million
Eritrean diaspora: ≥600,000
- **pop1**: 3.6–6.7 million
- **pop2**: 179,276
- **pop3**: 159,748
- **pop4**: 84,000
- **pop5**: 49,913
- **pop6**: 49,636
- **pop7**: 47,449
- **pop8**: 42,978
- **pop9**: 36,290
- **region10**: and
- **pop10**: 24,812
- **pop11**: 20,500
- **pop12**: 19,957
- **pop13**: 17,916
- **pop14**: 13,592
- **pop15**: 9,383
- **pop16**: 8,060
- **pop17**: 4,725
- **pop18**: 3,318
- **pop19**: 2,368
- **pop20**: 2,150
- **pop21**: 2,127
- **pop22**: 1,983
- **pop23**: 1,854
- **pop24**: 1,642
- **pop25**: 1,604
- **pop26**: 1,550
- **pop27**: 1,055
- **pop28**: 1,009
- **pop29**: 55
- **langs**: Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Tigre language, Tigre, Kunama language, Kunama, Bilen language, Bilen, Nara language, Nara, Saho language, Saho, Afar language, Afar, Beja language, Beja, and other Languages of Eritrea
- **religions**: Christianity, Christian (Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox, P'ent'ay, Catholic Church, Catholic, Protestantism, Protestant), Islam, Muslim, Animism
- **related groups**: Ethiopians, Djiboutians, Somalis, other Horn of Africa, Horn Africans, and other Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Saharan populations.