Eritrea

of 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&nbsp;km², and it is one of the smallest countries in Africa.

## History 
Eritrea became an independent country on May 24, 1993. 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.

### Component Ethnicities 
#### 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. 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.

#### 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.

## Culture 
The population of Eritrea is about 3.6&nbsp;million. About 0.5&nbsp;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

## References