Hagere Ertra ሃገረ ኤርትራ دولة إرتريا Dawlat Iritriya State of Eritrea
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Ertra, Ertra, Ertra
Capital (and largest city)		Asmara 15°20′N, 38°55′E
Official languages		none at national level1 (Tigrinya, Arabic)
Demonym		Eritrean
Government		Transitional government
-	President	Isaias Afewerki
Independence		from Ethiopia
-	de facto	May 24, 1991
-	de jure	May 24, 1993
Area
-	Total	117,600 km² (100th) 45,405 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	July 2005 estimate	4,401,009 (118th)
-	2002 census	4,298,270
-	Density	37/km² (165th) 96/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$4. The current flag of Eritrea was adopted on December 5, 1995, and uses the basic layout of the flag of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, The Coat of arms of Eritrea was adopted May 24, 1993, on the date of Declaration of independence. A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Ertra Ertra Ertra ( Tigrinya: ti '''ኤርትራ ኤርትራ ኤርትራ''' is the national anthem of Eritrea. Eritrea 's population comprises nine Ethnic groups most of which speak Semitic or Cushitic languages. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime List of Heads of State of Eritrea (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office Affiliations See also Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1946 is the first and current President of Eritrea. Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions  Areas between 10000 km² and 100000 km² are listed here This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a Fraction of 100 ( per cent meaning "per hundred" In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. 471 billion (168th)
-	Per capita	$1,000 (147)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0. There are three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 483 (low) (157th)
Currency		Nakfa (ERN)
Time zone		EAT (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.er
Calling code		+291
1	Working languages: Tigrigna, Arabic, Italian,English [1], [2]. This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The nakfa ( ISO 4217 code ERN) is the Currency of Eritrea. It is divided into 100 cents The currency was introduced in 1997 ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established East Africa Time, or EAT, is a time zone used in eastern Africa. Daylight saving time ( DST A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Eritrea (IPA: /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪə/, /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/) (Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country situated in Northeast Africa. Ge'ez (gez ግዕዝ) also called Ethiopic, is an Abugida script that was originally developed to write Ge'ez, a Semitic language Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Djibouti ( جيبوتي Jībūtī, Somali: Jabuuti) officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. The Dahlak Archipelago is an Island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. The Hanish Islands (جزر هانيش are an Island group in the Red Sea.

Eritrea was conquered by Italy and formally consolidated into a colony by the Italian government on January 1, 1890. This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In 1936 it became a province of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), along with Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. The British expelled the Italians in 1941. ^[1]

Increasing unrest and resistance in Eritrea against the federation with Ethiopia eventually led to a decision by the Ethiopian government to annex Eritrea as its 14th province in 1962. An Eritrean independence movement formed in the early 1960s which later erupted into a 31 year long civil war against successive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state Following a UN supervised referendum in Eritrea dubbed UNOVER in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993. The UN Observer Mission to Verify the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 47/114 of 1992-12-16 and lasted until 1993-04-25 ^[2] Eritrea's constitution, adopted in 1997, stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which The constitution, however, has not yet been implemented fully due to, according to the government, the prevailing border conflict with Ethiopia which began in May 1998.

Eritrea is a multilingual and multicultural country with two dominant religions (Coptic Orthodox Christianity and Sunni Islam) and nine ethnic groups. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic The country's dominant language is Tigrinya, natively spoken by around 50% of the population. Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Along with Tigrinya, Arabic and English are used for official communication. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States English is also used in all of the government's international communication and is the language of instruction in all education beyond 5th grade. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States ^[3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-history 1.2 Early history 1.3 Medieval history 1.4 Colonial era 1.5 Struggle for independence 1.6 Independence 2 Regions and districts 3 Politics and government 3.1 National elections 3.2 Foreign relations 4 Army 5 Government and media censorship 6 Geography 7 Environment 8 Economy 9 Society 9.1 Demographics 9.2 Languages 9.3 Education 9.4 Religion 10 Culture 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links

History

Main article: History of Eritrea

The oldest written reference to the territory now known as Eritrea is the chronicled expedition launched to the fabled Punt (or Ta Netjeru, meaning land of the Gods) by the Ancient Egyptians in the twenty-fifth century BC under Pharaoh Sahure. Eritrea is an ancient name associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraía ( Greek alphabet Ερυθραία) and its derived Latin form See also Puntland The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet" by the Ancient Egyptians at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the 'land of Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Sahure was the second king of Ancient Egypt 's 5th Dynasty. He was a son of queen Khentkaus I, who in her tomb at Giza, is said to have been Later sources from the Pharaoh Hatshepsut in the fifteenth century BC present a more detailed portrayal of an expedition in search of incense. Hatshepsut (or Hatchepsut, hætˈʃɛpsʊt meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies, was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of The geographical location of the missions to Punt is described as roughly corresponding to the southern west coast of the Red Sea. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia.

Pre-history

One of the oldest hominids, representing a possible link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens, was found in Buya (Eritrean Danakil) in 1995 by Italian scientists. Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The cranium was dated to over 1 million years old. ^[4] Furthermore, the Eritrean Research Project Team, composed of Eritrean, Canadian, American, Dutch, and French scientists, discovered in 1999, some of the earliest remains in the world, of humans using tools to harvest marine resources, at a site near the bay of Zula south of Massawa. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Zula (ዙላ is a small town in Eritrea near the head of Annesley Bay (also known as the Bay of Zula on the African coast of the Red Sea Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ The site contained obsidian tools dated to over 125,000 years old, from the paleolithic era. The term Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) (from Greek παλαιός palaios, " Old " and λίθος Lithos, "stone" ^[5] Epipaleolithic or mesolithic cave paintings in central and northern Eritrea attest to early hunter-gatherers in this region. The Epipaleolithic is a term used for the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age

A US paleontologist, William Sanders of the University of Michigan also discovered a possible missing link between ancient and modern elephants in the form of the fossilized remains of a pig-sized creature in Eritrea. Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal. William Sanders may refer to William Sanders (writer (born 1942 William Sanders (statistician William Sanders (businessman The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research Sanders claims that the dating of the fossil to 27 million years ago also pushes the origins of elephants and mastodons five million years further into the past than previously recorded and asserts that modern elephants originated in Africa, in contrast to mammals such as rhinos that had their origins in Europe and Asia and migrated into Africa. In addition to Sanders, the research team included scientists from the Elephant Research Foundation of Wayne State University in Michigan, USA, University of Asmara in Eritrea; Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, USA; the Eritrean ministry of mines and energy; Global Resources in Asmara, Eritrea; the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris; the National Museum of Eritrea; and German Primate Center in Gottingen, Germany. Wayne State University is located in Detroit, Michigan, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center. The University of Asmara (UoA was Eritrea 's first university and is located in the capital city Asmara. Franklin & Marshall College (abbreviated as " F&M " is a four-year private co-educational liberal arts college in Lancaster Pennsylvania. The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle ( MNHN) is the French national Museum of Natural history. The National Museum of Eritrea was inaugurated in 1992 by Woldeab Woldemariam. The German Primate Centre ( DPZ, founded in 1977) is a non-profit independent research and service institute

Early history

The earliest evidence of agriculture, urban settlement and trade in Eritrea was found in the western region of the country consisting of archeological remains dating back to 3500 BC in sites called the Gash group. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Based on the archaeological evidence, there seems to have been a connection between the peoples of the Gash group and the civilizations of the Nile Valley namely Ancient Egypt and Nubia. The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now This article is about the region in Africa for other uses see Nubia (disambiguation. ^[6] Ancient Egyptian sources also give references to cities and trading posts along the southwestern Red Sea coast, roughly corresponding to modern day Eritrea, calling this the land of Punt famed for its incense. See also Puntland The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet" by the Ancient Egyptians at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the 'land of Expeditions to this very land were launched by the Ancient Egyptians as early as the 25th century BC and were chronicled in more detail in later expeditions during the reign of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Hatshepsut (or Hatchepsut, hætˈʃɛpsʊt meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies, was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of

In the highlands, in the capital city Asmara's suburbs, scores of ancient sites have been documented, including Sembel, Mai Chiot, Ona Gudo, Mai Temenai, Weki Duba, and Mai Hutsa. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa Mostly dating to the early and mid-1st millennium BCE (800 to 350 BCE), these communities ranged from small towns, villages, and hamlets built of stone. People practiced a mixed economy of pastoralism and grain agriculture, but little evidence for trade with the outside world has been found. The proximity of these ancient communities to gold mines suggest that part of their prosperity is linked to mining and processing of gold. Around the mid-1st millennium, several sites with Sabaean remains (inscriptions, artifacts, monuments, etc. ) seem to emerge in the central highlands, for example, at Keskese. There is evidence at Keskese that older remains, similar to those around Asmara, are present. The Sabaean remains, however, are not accompanied by evidence for residence of people from that southern Arabian kingdom. It appears to archaeologists that these remains represent the growth of local elites who appropriated powerful symbols from Saba in their quest for legitimacy. ^[7]

Between the eighth and firth century BCE, a kingdom known as D'mt was supposedly established in what is today Eritrea and northern Ethiopia (Tigray), with what some archaeologists speculate was its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. Dʿmt ( ESA: Himjar ajinPNG|10px]]Himjar ta2PNG|10px]] was a kingdom located in current region of Eritrea and northern Ethiopia that existed For other uses please see Tigre (disambiguation Tigray Region (ትግራይ ክልል Tigrāy Kilil) is the northernmost of the nine Yeha ( Ge'ez ይሐ yiḥa, older ESA Himjar waPNG|12px]] ḤW) is a village in northern Ethiopia, located in the Mehakelegnaw Many speculative theories try to explain the presence of Sabaean material culture by saying that this area had extensive relations with the Sabaeans in present day Yemen across the Red Sea, but these views are not sustained by archaeological evidence. See also Ancient history of Yemen The Sabaeans ( Arabic: السبأيين were an ancient people speaking an Old South Arabian language who Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ^[8][9][10] After D'mt's decline around the fifth century BC, the state of Aksum arose in much of Eritrea and northern Ethiopian Highlands. The Aksumite Empire or Axumite Empire (sometimes called the Kingdom of Aksum or Axum ( Ge'ez: አክሱም was an important trading The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea (which is sometimes referred to as the Eritrean Highlands) and northern It grew during the fourth century BC and came into prominence during the first century AD, minting its own coins by the third century, converting in the fourth century to Christianity, as the second official Christian state (after Armenia) and the first country to feature the cross on its coins. Aksumite currency was the only native Currency to be issued in Africa without direct influence by an outside culture like the Romans or Greeks According to Mani, it grew to be one of the four greatest civilizations in the world, on a par with China, Persia, and Rome. Chinese civilization originated in various city-states along the Yellow River ( valley in the Neolithic era The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial In the seventh century; with the advent of Islam across the Red Sea in Arabia, and the Arab invasion and subsequent destruction of Adulis, Aksum's trade and power on the Red Sea began to decline and the empire gradually diminished and overtaken by smaller rival Kingdoms. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab)

Medieval history

During the medieval period, contemporary with and following the gradual disintegration of the Axumite state between the 9th and 10th centuries, several states as well as tribal and clan lands emerged in the area known today as Eritrea. Between the eighth and thirteenth century, northern and northwestern Eritrea had largely come under the domination of the Beja, a Cushitic people from northeastern Sudan. The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. They formed five independent islamic kingdoms known as: Naqis, Baqlin, Bazin, Jarin and Qata. ^[11] The Beja brought Islam to large parts of Eritrea and connected the region to the greater Islamic world dominated by the Ummayad Caliphate, followed by the Abbasid (and Mamluk) and later the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Ummayads had taken the Dahlak archipelago by 702. The Dahlak Archipelago is an Island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. Christians of the Axumite era continued nonetheless to inhabit these areas and retain their religion. The southeastern parts of Eritrea, inhabited by the independent Afar since ancient times, came to form part of the islamic sultanate of Adal in the early 13th century. Afar (Afar alphabet Qafár Feera ዐፋር ʿāfār, عفار Amh Parts of the southwestern lowlands of Eritrea, were under the dominion of the then christian/animist Funj sultanate of Sinnar. The Funj sultanate of Sinnar, also Sennar, was a Sultanate in the north of Sudan, named Funj after the ethnic group of its dynasty or Sinnar (or Sennar

In the main highland area and adjacent coastline of what were previously moslem (Beja) ruled areas, there broke out a christian Kingdom called Midir Bahr or Midri Bahri (Tigrinya for land of the sea) ruled by the Bahr negus or Bahr negash, ("ruler of the sea") in the 15th century. For other uses see Negus (disambiguation Negus ( Ge'ez gez ንጉሥ, Amharic; cf ^[12] Barely a century later, an invading force of the islamic Ottoman Empire, under Suleiman I, conquered Massawa in 1557 from the christians, building what is now considered the "old town" of Massawa on Batsi island. Suleiman I (سليمان Sulaymān, Süleyman almost always Kanuni Sultan Süleyman) ( 6 November 1494 5/ 6 September 1566 Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ They also conquered the towns of Hergigo, and Debarwa, the capital city of the contemporary christian Bahr negus (ruler), Yeshaq. Arkiko (alternately Archigo, Arqiqo, Ercoco, Hirgigo, Hargigo, or Harkiko) is a town on the Red Sea and part Debarwa (ድባርዋ is a market town with a population of about 25000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. For other uses see Negus (disambiguation Negus ( Ge'ez gez ንጉሥ, Amharic; cf Bahri negus Yeshaq (died 1578 was an Eritrean ruler of Midri Bahri during the mid to late 16th century Suleiman's forces fought as far south as southeastern Tigray in Ethiopia before being repulsed. Yeshaq was able to retake much of what the Ottomans captured with Ethiopian assistance, but he later twice revolted against the Emperor of Ethiopia with Ottoman support. The Emperor ( Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት nəgusä nägäst " King of Kings " of Ethiopia was the hereditary By 1578, all revolts had ended, leaving the Ottomans in control of the important ports of Massawa and Hergigo and their environs, and leaving the interior domains (province) which they had dubbed: "Habesh", to Beja Na'ibs (deputies). Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ Arkiko (alternately Archigo, Arqiqo, Ercoco, Hirgigo, Hargigo, or Harkiko) is a town on the Red Sea and part Habesh (Habeş / Hebeşe was an Ottoman province that bordered the Red Sea. The Ottomans maintained their dominion over the coastal areas for nearly 300 years, absorbing the coastal areas of the disintegrated Adal sultanate as vassals in the 16th century. The Funj sultanate of Sinnar converted to Islam in the 16th century but maintained independent control of the southwestern areas of Eritrea until being absorbed into the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century.

The extent of the islamic Beja's rule over the Eritrean interior from the 16th century and on, did not extend very far into the mainly christian highland (Kebessa) areas. With the feodal rule of the Bahr negash severely weakened, the area became dubbed Mereb Mellash by locals and neighboring Ethiopians alike, meaning "beyond the Mereb" (in Tigrinya). This name defined the territory as being north of the Mareb River which to this day is a natural boundary between the modern states of Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Mareb River (or Gash River) is a river flowing out of northern Ethiopia (near Adigrat and Tserona) which partly forms a natural frontier ^[13] Roughly the same area also came to be referred to as Hamasien in the nineteenth century. Hamasien (ሓማሴን was the name of a province including and surrounding Asmara, now part of modern Eritrea. In these areas, feudal authority was particularly weak or inexistent and the autonomy of the landowning peasantry was particularly strong, a kind of Republic was prevalent, governed by local customary laws legislated by elected elder's councils (shimagile). ^[14] In 1770, the Scottish researcher James Bruce describes Hamasien and Abyssinia as "different countries who are often fighting" (SUKE, p. 25). The name Hamasien later came to designate a much smaller area in Eritrea, a province immediately surrounding the capital, until being absorbed into the new administrative divisions in 1994.

Colonial era

A Roman Catholic Priest by the name of Giuseppe Sapetto acting on behalf of a Genovese shipping company called Rubattino in 1869 purchased the locality of Assab from the Afar Sultan of Obock, an Ottoman vassal. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Assab (or Aseb, anciently Avalites) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. This happened in the same year as the opening of the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation ^[15] In the ongoing Scramble for Africa, Italy as one of the European colonial powers, began vying for a possession along the strategic coast of what was to become the world's busiest shipping lane. The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New With the approval of the Italian parliament and King Umberto I of Italy (later succeeded by his son Victor Emmanuel III), the government of Italy bought the Rubattino company's holdings and expanded its possessions northward along the Red Sea coast toward and beyond Massawa, encroaching on and quickly expelling previously 'Egyptian' possessions. Umberto I King of Italy or Humbert I of Italy ( Umberto Ranieri Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoy) English Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele III 11 November, 1869 – 28 December, 1947) was a member of the House of Savoy and The Italians met with stiffer resistance in the Eritrean highlands from the invading army of the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. The Emperor ( Ge'ez: ንጉሠ ነገሥት nəgusä nägäst " King of Kings " of Ethiopia was the hereditary Emperor Yohannes IV ( Ge'ez ዮሓንስ Yōḥānnis, Amharic Yōhānnis, also known as "John" c

Nevertheless the Italians consolidated their possessions into one colony, henceforth known as Eritrea, territory of Italy as of New Years Day 1890. New Year's Day is the first day of the Year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome (though This led to Italy's first attempt to colonize Ethiopia, under prime minister Francesco Crispi. Italy had offered to make Ethiopia an Italian protectorate, Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia on the other hand, was intent, like his predecessors, on creating an Ethiopian empire of his own by laying claims to- and invading surrounding territories in competition with the European colonialists. He subsequently declared war on the Italians, defeating an Italian incursion on Ethiopian territory at Adowa in 1896. Upon the treaty with Italy, Emperor Menelik II in 1889 stated

The territories north of the Merab Melash (Modern Eritrea) do not belong to nor are under my rule. I am the Emperor of Abyssinia. The lands referred to as Eritrea is not peopled by Abyssinians, they are Adals, Bejas, and Tigres. Abyssinia will defend her territories but it will not fight for foreign lands of which Eritrea is to my knowledge.

Italy refrained from further attempts at invading Ethiopia, until 1935, when under Fascism and Mussolini, Italy attempted to conquer Ethiopia again, this time fighting against Emperor Haile Selassie - using its colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland as its base, Italy was successful in conquering Ethiopia. The Kingdom of Italy ruled Eritrea from 1890 to 1940. The Kingdom of Italy ( Italian: Regno d'Italia) was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom In 1936, fascist dictator Benito Mussolini created the Italian Empire (Italian East Africa), with the union of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. Italian East Africa ( Italian: Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI was a short-lived (1936-1941 Italian Colony in Africa consisting of Eritrea enjoyed considerable industrialization and development of modern infrastructure during Italian rule (such as roads and the Eritrean Railway). The Eritrean Railway is the only Railway system in Eritrea, constructed between 1887 and 1932

The Italians remained the colonial power in Eritrea throughout the lifetime of fascism and the beginnings of World War II when they were defeated by Allied forces in 1941, and Eritrea became a United Nations protectorate placing it under the trusteeship of Great Britain. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought in East Africa during World War II. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect ^[15] Noted artist Aldo Giorgini was a young child caught up in this difficult transitional period, and his experiences during this time became a recurrent theme in his artwork. Aldo Giorgini ( March 15, 1934 - October 1994 was an Italian artist and a pioneer in computer graphics The best Italian colonial forces were the Eritrean Ascari, who were defined by Amedeo Guillet as "the Prussians of Africa, but without the defects of the Prussians". Askari is an Arabic, Turkish, Somali, Persian, and Swahili word meaning "soldier" (عسكري ‘askarī Amedeo Guillet (born 1909 in Piacenza) is a former officer of the Italian Army. They actively supported even the Italian guerrilla against the British between 1941 and 1943. The Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia was as an armed struggle fought - from summer 1941 to autumn 1943 - by remnants of Italian troops in Italian East Africa, following the

After the war, the United Nations conducted a lengthy inquiry regarding the status of Eritrea, with the superpowers each vying for a stake in the state's future. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Britain, the last administrator at the time, put forth the suggestion to partition Eritrea between Sudan and Ethiopia, separating Christians and Muslims. The idea was instantly rejected by Eritrean political parties as well as the UN. ^[16] The United States point of view was expressed by its then chief foreign policy advisor John Foster Dulles who said:

From the point of view of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interests of the United States in the Red Sea Basin and considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country [Eritrea] be linked with our ally, Ethiopia.

—John Foster Dulles, 1952

A UN plebiscite voted 46 to 10 to have Eritrea be federated with Ethiopia which was later stipulated on December 2, 1950 in resolution 390 (V). A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Eritrea would have its own parliament and administration and would be represented in what had been the Ethiopian parliament and would become the federal parliament. TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those ^[17] In 1961 the 30-year Eritrean Struggle for Independence began, following the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I's dissolution of the federation and shutting down of Eritrea's parliament. The Eritrean War of Independence ( 1 September 1961 - 29 May 1991) was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was The Emperor declared Eritrea the fourteenth province of Ethiopia in 1962. ^[18]

Struggle for independence

Eritreans formed the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and rebelled. The Eritrean Liberation Front was the main secessionist movement in Eritrea which sought Eritrea's Independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and 1970s The ELF was initially a conservative grass-roots movement dominated by Muslim lowlanders and thus received backing from Arab socialist governments such as Syria and Egypt. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Ethiopia's imperial government received support from the United States which had established a radio listening base (the Kagnew base) in Eritrea's Ethiopian-occupied capital, Asmara. Internal divisions within the ELF based on religion, ethnicity, clan and, sometimes, personalities and ideologies, led to the weakening and factioning of the ELF from which sprung the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF was an armed organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia.

The EPLF professed Marxism and egalitarian values devoid of gender, religion, or ethnic bias. Its leadership was educated in China. It came to be supported by a growing Eritrean diaspora. Bitter fighting broke out between the ELF and EPLF during the late 1970s and 1980s for dominance over Eritrea. The ELF continued to dominate the Eritrean landscape well into the 1970s when the struggle for independence neared victory due to Ethiopia's internal turmoil caused by a socialist revolution against monarchy there.

The ELF's gains suffered when Ethiopia's ailing US-backed Emperor was deposed and replaced by the Derg, a Marxist military junta with backing from the Soviet Union and other communist countries, who continued the Ethiopian policy of repressing Eritrean "separatists" with increased military assistance and fervour. The Derg or Dergue was a communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Nevertheless, the Eritrean resistance which saw itself forced to retreat from most of the Eritrean countryside it had previously occupied, became instead entrenched in the northern parts of the country around the Sudanese border from where the most important supply lines came. The heavily bombarded and embattled northern town of Nakfa came to symbolize the Eritrean struggle. (The Eritrean currency is named after it. The nakfa ( ISO 4217 code ERN) is the Currency of Eritrea. It is divided into 100 cents The currency was introduced in 1997 )^[19]

The numbers of the EPLF swelled in the 1980s as did that of Ethiopian resistance movements with which the EPLF struck alliances to overthrow the communist Ethiopian regime, weakening and all but annihilating the precursor ELF. However, due to their own Marxist orientation, neither EPLF nor any of the Ethiopian resistance movements were able to acquire any significant US/Western or Arab support against the Soviet backed might of the Ethiopian military which has since been sub-Saharan Africa's largest, outside of South Africa. The EPLF relied largely on armaments captured from the Ethiopian army itself as well as financial and political support from the Eritrean diaspora and the cooperation of neighbouring states hostile to Ethiopia such as Somalia and Sudan (although the support of the latter was briefly interrupted and turned into hostility against EPLF and Eritrean refugees at large, in agreement with Ethiopia during the Gaafar Nimeiry administration between 1971 and 1985). Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise known as Jaafar Nimeiry, Gaafar Nimeiry or Ga'far Muhammad an-Numayri; born 1 January 1930)

Drought, famine, and intensive offensives launched by the Ethiopian army on Eritrea took a heavy toll on the population — more than half a million fled to Sudan as refugees. Amid the culmination of Soviet support to Ethiopia and a major fall-out between Eritrean and Ethiopian anti-government rebels, the EPLF achieved two of its greatest and most decisive victories alone and unsupported. In 1985, Eritrean elite commandos infiltrated the Ethiopian and Soviet held air force base in Asmara and destroyed all 30 fighter jets there, suffering only one casualty. In 1988 during a massive Ethiopian military offensive against Eritrean rebels, a third of the Ethiopian army was annihilated in the northern Eritrean town of Afabet. ^[20]

Following the decline of the Soviet Union in 1989 and diminishing support for the Ethiopian war, Eritrean rebels advanced further, capturing the port of Massawa and putting the Ethiopian and Soviet naval capabilities there out of action. By 1990 and early 1991 virtually all Eritrean territory had been liberated by EPLF except for the capital, whose only connection with the rest of government-held Ethiopia during the last year of the war was by an air-bridge. In 1991, Eritrean and Ethiopian rebels jointly held the Ethiopian capital under siege as the Ethiopian president Mengistu Haile Mariam fled to Zimbabwe where he lives to this day despite requests for extradition by both Eritrea and Ethiopia. Mengistu Haile Mariam (መንግስቱ ኃይለ ማርያም məngɨstu hi lə maryam (born 1937 a repression campaign against the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and See also Great Zimbabwe National Monument. For information about the March and June 2008 presidential elections see Zimbabwean presidential election

The Ethiopian army finally capitulated and Eritrea was completely in Eritrean hands in May 24, 1991 when the rebels marched into Asmara while Ethiopian rebels with Eritrean assistance overtook the government in Ethiopia. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The new Ethiopian government conceded to Eritrea's demands to have an internationally (UN) supervised referendum dubbed UNOVER to be held in Eritrea which ended in April 1993 with an overwhelming vote by Eritreans for independence. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The UN Observer Mission to Verify the Referendum in Eritrea (UNOVER was established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 47/114 of 1992-12-16 and lasted until 1993-04-25 Independence was declared on May 24, 1993. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) ^[21]

Independence

Upon Eritrea's declaration of independence, the leader of the EPLF, Isaias Afewerki, became Eritrea's first Provisional President, and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (later renamed the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, or PFDJ) created a government. Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1946 is the first and current President of Eritrea. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice ( PFDJ) is the only legal political entity in Eritrea. ^[22]

Faced with limited economic resources and a country shattered by decades of war, the government embarked on a reconstruction and defense effort later called the Warsai Yikalo Program based on the labour of national servicemen and women. The Wefri Warsay Yika'alo ( WWY) or Warsay Yika'alo Program of Eritrea is an ambitious project of post-war recovery It is still ongoing and deploys the enlisted into a combination of duties ranging from military service to construction projects, health care, teaching and training/education as well as agricultural work to improve the country's food security. ^[23]

The government also attempts to tap into the resources of the Eritreans living abroad by levying a 2% tax on the gross income of those who wish to gain full economic rights and access as citizens in Eritrea (land ownership, business licenses and other privileges for nationals etc). ^[24] while at the same time encouraging tourism and investment both from Eritreans living abroad and other foreign investors.

This has been complicated by Eritrea's tumultuous relations with its neighbours, lack of stability and subsequent political problems.

Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with Sudan in 1994 citing that the latter was hosting islamic terrorist groups to destabilize Eritrea and both countries entered into an acrimonious relationship, each accusing the other of hosting various opposition rebel groups or "terrorists" and soliciting outside support to destabilize the other. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Diplomatic relations were resumed over 10 years later in 2005 following a reconciliation agreement reached with the help of Qatar's negotiation in 1999. Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated ^[25][26] Eritrea now plays a prominent role in the internal Sudanese peace and reconciliation effort. ^[27]

Eritrea was also embroiled in a brief war with Yemen over a border dispute surrounding the Hanish Islands in 1996 which was later resolved by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 1998^[28]. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Hanish Islands (جزر هانيش are an Island group in the Red Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ( PCA) is an International organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands. Yemen was granted full ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral islands to the southwest of the larger islands^[29]. Relations between both states have since normalized.

Perhaps the conflict with the deepest impact on independent Eritrea has been the renewed hostility with Ethiopia. In 1998, a border war with Ethiopia over the town of Badme occurred. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the Conflicts in the Horn of Africa NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Badme is a town in the Horn of Africa and the focus of a Territorial dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War ended in 2000 with a negotiated agreement known as the Algiers Agreement, which assigned an independent, UN-associated boundary commission known as the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), whose task was to clearly identify the border between the two countries and issue a final and binding ruling. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the Conflicts in the Horn of Africa Along with the agreement the UN established a Temporary Security Zone consisting of a 25 kilometre demilitarized buffer zone within Eritrea running along the length of the disputed border between the two states and patrolled by UN troops in the mission named UNMEE. The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea ( UNMEE) was established in July 2000 to monitor a Ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 Ethiopia was to withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of hostilities in May of 1998 there among Badme. The peace agreement would be completed with the implementation of the Border Commission's ruling, also ending the task of the peacekeeping mission of UNMEE. The EEBC's verdict came in April 2002 which awarded Badme to Eritrea. Badme is a town in the Horn of Africa and the focus of a Territorial dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia. However, Ethiopia refused to withdraw its military from positions in the disputed areas, including Badme, and also refused to implement the EEBC's ruling and the dispute is ongoing. ^[30] Eritrea's diplomatic relations with Djibouti were briefly severed during the border war with Ethiopia in 1998 due to a dispute over Djibouti's intimate relation with Ethiopia during the war but were restored and normalized in 2000. ^[31]

Regions and districts

Main articles: Regions of Eritrea and Districts of Eritrea

Eritrea is divided into six regions (zobas) and subdivided into districts ("sub-zobas"). ||}At the time of Independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten provinces The regions of Eritrea are divided into districts as follows Source Awate ||}At the time of Independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten provinces Gash-Barka (ጋሽ-ባርካ is one of the six regions of Eritrea. ||}At the time of Independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten provinces The regions of Eritrea are divided into districts as follows Source Awate The geographical extent of the regions is based on their respective hydrological properties. This a dual intent on the part of the Eritrean government: to provide each administration with sufficient control over its agricultural capacity and eliminate historical intra-regional conflicts.

The regions, followed by the sub-region, are:

No.	Region (ዞባ)	Sub-region (ንኡስ ዞባ)
1	Central (ዞባ ማእከል)	Berikh, Ghala-Nefhi, Semienawi Mibraq, Serejaka, Debubawi Mibraq, Semienawi Mi'erab, Debubawi Mi'erab
2	Southern (ዞባ ደቡብ)	Adi Keyh, Adi Quala, Areza, Debarwa, Dekemhare, Mai Ayni, Mai Mne, Mendefera, Segeneiti, Senafe, Tserona
3	Gash-Barka (ዞባ ጋሽ ባርካ)	Agordat, Barentu, Dghe, Forto, Gogne, Haykota, Logo-Anseba, Mensura, Mogolo, Molki, Guluj, Shambuko, Tesseney, La'elay Gash
4	Anseba (ዞባ ዓንሰባ)	Adi Tekelezan, Asmat, Elabered, Geleb, Hagaz, Halhal, Habero, Keren City, Kerkebet, Sel'a
5	Northern Red Sea (ዞባ ሰሜናዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ)	Afabet, Dahlak, Ghel'alo, Foro, Ghinda, Karura, Massawa, Nakfa, She'eb
6	Southern Red Sea (ዞባ ደቡባዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ)	Are'eta, Central Dankalia, Southern Dankalia, Assab

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Eritrea

Eritrea is a single-party state, run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Maekel, or Maakel, or the Central region is one of the six regions of Eritrea. Debub is a region of Eritrea, also known as the Southern region. Adi Keyh (also Addi Qeyh, Addi Keyh etc Ge'ez: ዓዲ ቀይሕ ʿāddī ḳeyḥ, also ዓዲ ቐይሕ ʿāddī ẋeyḥ, "Red Adi Quala (ዓዲ ዃላ is a Market town in Eritrea, lying south of Mendefera near the Ethiopian border over 2000m above Sea level Debarwa (ድባርዋ is a market town with a population of about 25000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. Senafe (ሰንዓፈ is a Market town in southern Eritrea, on the edge of the Ethiopian highlands. Gash-Barka (ጋሽ-ባርካ is one of the six regions of Eritrea. Agordat (also Akordat or Ak'ordat, Ge'ez ኣቆርዳት was the former capital of the now defunct Barka Anseba (ኣንሰባ is an inland region of Eritrea, in the west of the country Adi Tekelezan (in Tigrinya, Ad Tekelezan in Tigre and Arabic) is a small town in the Anseba region of Eritrea. Keren (formerly Cheren) is the second largest city in Eritrea, lying north west of Asmara. The Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea is one of the country's six regions. Afabet (ኣፍዓበት is a town in northern Eritrea. The site of a major battle in the Eritrean War of Independence, the town is still surrounded The Dahlak Archipelago is an Island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. Ghinda is a town in the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea, lying between Asmara and Massawa. Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ Nakfa (ናቕፋ is a town in northern Eritrea, after which the nakfa currency is named She'eb is a town in northeastern Eritrea in the Northern Red Sea administrative region with its capital in Massawa. The Southern Red Sea region of Eritrea is one of the six main Regions of Eritrea. Assab (or Aseb, anciently Avalites) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. Politics of Eritrea takes place in a framework of a single-party presidential Republic, whereby the President of Eritrea is both Head of state Other political groups are allowed to organise, although the non-implemented Constitution of 1997 provided for the existence of multi-party politics. The National Assembly of 150 seats (of which 75 were occupied by handpicked EPLF guerilla members while the rest went to local candidates and diasporans more or less sympathetic of the regime), formed in 1993 shortly after independence, "elected" the current president, Isaias Afewerki. Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1946 is the first and current President of Eritrea. No time frame was announced for the alleged obscure presidency. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in September 2001 the government closed down all of the nation's privately owned print media, and outspoken critics of the government have been arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public Human Rights Watch is a United States -based international Non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on Human rights. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its alleged record of religious persecution (see below). Country of Particular Concern is a designation by the United States Secretary of State (under authority delegated by the President of a nation guilty of particularly severe Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual/group by another group In 2007, Reporters Without Borders, ranked Eritrea bottom in the world for overall press freedom in its annual study.

National elections

Eritrean National elections were set for 1995 and then postponed until 2001; it was then decided that because 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation that elections would be postponed until the resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia. However, local elections have continued in Eritrea. The most recent round of local government elections were held in May 2004. On further elections, the President's Chief of Staff, Yemane Ghebremeskel said,^[32]

“

The electoral commission is handling these elections this time round so that may be the new element in this process. The national assembly has also mandated the electoral commission to set the date for national elections, so whenever the electoral commission sets the date there will be national elections. It's not dependent on regional elections, although that might be a very helpful process. Multipartyism, in general principle yes, it is there but the law on political parties has to be approved by the national assembly. It was not approved the last time. The view from the beginning was that you don't necessarily need a party law to hold national elections. You can have national elections and the party law can be adopted at any time. So in terms of commitment it's very clear, in terms of the process it has its own pace, its own characteristics.

”

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Eritrea

Eritrea is a member in good standing of the African Union (AU), the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Eritrea is a member in good standing of the African Union (AU the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU and is an observing member of the Arab League But it has withdrawn its representative to the AU in protest of the AU's lack of leadership in facilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Eritrea's relationship with the United States is complicated. Although the two nations have a close working relationship regarding the on-going war on terror, there has been a growing tension in other areas. As of September 2007, relations with the US appear to be worsening. US Assistant Secretary of State, Jendayi Frazer,has called the nation a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and the US government is considering adding Eritrea to its list of rogue states, along with Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The Assistant Secretary of State, from 1853 until 1913 was the second-ranking official within the American Department of State. Jendayi Elizabeth Frazer is the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, heading the Bureau of African Affairs. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la The reason for this is the presence of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an exiled Somali Islamist leader, whom the US suspects of having links to Al Qaeda, at a recent Somalian opposition conference in Asmara. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys ( Sheekh Xasan Daahir Aweys) (born in 1935- aged 71 in 2006, was the head of the 90-member Shura council of the Islamic Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa Economic sanctions against Eritrea could soon follow. ^[33] Eritrea's relationship with Italy and the EU has become equally strained in many areas in the last three years.

Within the region, Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia turned from that of close alliance to a deadly rivalry that led to a war from May 1998 to June 2000 in which approximately 19,000 Eritreans^[34] and 123,000 Ethiopians^[35][36] were killed.

External issues include an undemarcated border with Sudan, a war with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996, and a recent border conflict with Ethiopia. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Hanish Islands (جزر هانيش are an Island group in the Red Sea. NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page

The undemarcated border with Sudan poses a problem for Eritrean external relations. ^[37] After a high-level delegation to Sudan from the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ties are being normalized. Meanwhile, Eritrea has been recognized as a broker for peace between the separate factions of the Sudanese civil war. "It is known that Eritrea played a role in bringing about the peace agreement [between the Southern Sudanese and Government],"^[38] while the Sudanese Government and Eastern Front rebels have requested Eritrea to mediate peace talks. ^[39]

A dispute with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 resulted in a brief war. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Hanish Islands (جزر هانيش are an Island group in the Red Sea. As part of an agreement to cease hostilities the two nations agreed to refer the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ( PCA) is an International organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands. At the conclusion of the proceedings, both nations acquiesced to the decision. Since 1996 both governments have remained wary of one another but relations are relatively normal. ^[40]

The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issue facing Eritrea. This led to a long and bloody border war between 1998 and 2000. As a result, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is occupying a 25 kilometers by 900 kilometers area on the border to help stabilize the region. The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea ( UNMEE) was established in July 2000 to monitor a Ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 ^[41] Disagreements following the war have resulted in stalemate punctuated by periods of elevated tension and renewed threats of war. ^[42][43][44] Central to the continuation of the stalemate is Ethiopia's failure to abide by the border delimitation ruling and reneging on its commitment to demarcation. The stalemate has led the President of Eritrea to urge the UN to take action on Ethiopia. This request is outlined in the Eleven Letters penned by the President to the United Nations Security Council. The situation is further escalated by the continued effort of the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders in supporting each other's opposition. On July 26, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Eritrea had been supplying weapons to the Somali insurgent group Al-Shabaab, but no evidence was discovered, who is allegedly tied to al Qaeda. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio Al-Shabaab (Arabic "The Youth") also known as As-Shabaab, Hizbul Shabaab (Arabic "The Party of Youth") and Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The The incident has fueled concerns that Somalia may become the grounds for a de-facto war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, who invaded Somalia in December 2006 with U.S. assistance to overthrow the rule of the widely popular Islamic Courts Union which had stabilized the country and unified the capital Mogadishu for the first time since 1991. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Islamic Courts Union ( ICU, Somali: Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga Arabic: اتحاد المحاكم الإسلامية Ittihād al-mahākim Mogadishu ( Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar, Hamar; مقديشو Maqadīshū Amid fears of an emerging islamic and nationalist Somalia, Ethiopia with US assistance invaded Somalia, putting in place the weak and locally unpopular UN/AU-backed government which without Ethiopian support had been unable to exercise any control beyond its base in Baidoa and along the Ethio-Somali border. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Baidoa ( Baydhabo) is a city in south-central Somalia, situated 256 kilometers (159 miles by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. ^[45] For its part, Eritrea is hosting members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts and the Somali Free Parliament. The Eritrean government has been accused of sponsoring, arming and hosting numerous militant leaderships and separatist rebels in the horn of Africa. ^[46] According to the United States, the Isaias's government is "sponsoring and supporting the rebel groups" who are "also attacking civilians and are a part of the problem in Darfur. " Thus, even though the Eritrean government bringing these same rebels to the table is positive, the US claims that the Eritrean government is doing this "by effectively destabilizing Sudan, because they're paying for rebels who are part of the process of destabilizing that country. "^[47] The United States is considering to label Eritrea a state sponsor of terrorism which carries sanctions with it. ^[48]

Army

Government and media censorship

In the 2007 Reporters Without Borders Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index Eritrea ranked last at number 169,^[49] unseating the previous holder North Korea which had been last every other year of the survey. North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK) a State located in East Asia, Reporters Without Borders claims that, in Eritrea, a private newspaper has been shut down and generally exorcised from the country by the President Isaias Afewerki. Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1946 is the first and current President of Eritrea. Also, any journalists who criticize the president or his regime are immediately put into prison; amongst the many reporters and writers who have been put in jail, four have died in detention. ^[50]

Although Eritrea is new at the very bottom of the list in 2007, its positions by year are as follows:

Year	Rank
2002	132 of 139[51]
2003	162 of 166[52]
2004	163 of 167[53]
2005	166 of 167[54]
2006	166 of 168[55]
2007	169 of 169[56]

Geography

Main article: Geography of Eritrea

Eritrea is located in East Africa, more specifically the Horn of Africa, and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea. Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea, on the west and northwest by Sudan, on the south by The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The country is virtually bisected by one of the world's longest mountain ranges, the Great Rift Valley, with fertile lands to the west and the descent to desert in the East. The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by English explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trough approximately in length that runs Off the sandy and arid coastline is situated the Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds. The Dahlak Archipelago is an Island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightly drier and cooler. Eritrea at the southern end of the Red Sea is the home of the fork in the rift.

The Afar Triangle or Danakil Depression of Eritrea is the probable location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somali plate) splitting along the East African Rift Zone (USGS). The Afar Depression (also called the Danakil Depression or the Afar Triangle) is a Geological depression in the Horn of Africa, where it A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three Tectonic plates meet The highest point of the country, Emba Soira, is located in the center of Eritrea, at 9,902 ft (3,018 metres ) above sea level.

The main cities of the country are the capital city of Asmara and the port town of Asseb in the southeast, as well as the towns of Massawa to the east, and Keren to the north. Asmara (English ( Ge'ez: ኣስመራ Asmera, formerly known as Asmera, or in أسمرا Asmaraa Assab (or Aseb, anciently Avalites) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ Keren (formerly Cheren) is the second largest city in Eritrea, lying north west of Asmara.

Environment

Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. Elephants ( family: Elephantidae) are large land Mammals of the order Proboscidea. Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used it as a source of war elephants in the third century BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom in and around Egypt began following Alexander the Great 's conquest in 332 BC and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reported sightings of elephant herds, and they were thought to have fallen victim to the war of independence. In December 2001 a herd of about 30, including 10 juveniles, was observed in the vicinity of the Gash River. The Mareb River (or Gash River) is a river flowing out of northern Ethiopia (near Adigrat and Tserona) which partly forms a natural frontier The elephants seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons. The Olive Baboon ( Papio anubis) also called the Anubis Baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae ( Old World monkeys. It is estimated that there are around 100 elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants. ^[57]

In 2006, Eritrea announced it would become the first country in the world to turn its entire coast into an environmentally protected zone. The 1,347 km (837 mile) coastline, along with another 1,946 km (1,209-miles) of coast around its more than 350 islands, will come under governmental protection.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Eritrea

See also: Eritrean Railway and Transport in Eritrea

Like the economies of many other African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. As of 2005, Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world The Eritrean Railway is the only Railway system in Eritrea, constructed between 1887 and 1932 article summarizes characteristics of a number of forms of transport in the coastal African nation of Eritrea. Agordat (also Akordat or Ak'ordat, Ge'ez ኣቆርዳት was the former capital of the now defunct Barka Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture The only natural disaster that sometimes affects Eritrea, drought, has often created trouble in the farming areas. ^[58]

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War severely hurt Eritrea's economy. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the Conflicts in the Horn of Africa GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8. 2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into southern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. ^[59][60]

Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges as a part of the Warsay Yika'alo Program. Infrastructure typically refers to the technical structures that support a society such as Roads Water supply, Wastewater, Power grids The Wefri Warsay Yika'alo ( WWY) or Warsay Yika'alo Program of Eritrea is an ambitious project of post-war recovery The most significant of these projects was the building of a coastal highway of more than 500 km connecting Massawa with Asseb as well as the rehabilitation of the Eritrean Railway. Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa ( Ge'ez ምጽዋ miṣṣiwa, Arabic مصوع maṣṣawaʿ Assab (or Aseb, anciently Avalites) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea on the west coast of the Red Sea. The Eritrean Railway is the only Railway system in Eritrea, constructed between 1887 and 1932 The rail line now runs between the Port of Massawa and the capital Asmara.

Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, and low skills. traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen,

As of May 6th, 2008 Eritrea is the most expensive place in the world to buy fuel. At $9. 58 per gallon, gasoline is 85c a gallon higher than in the next most expensive country, Norway. ^[61]

Society

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Eritrea

Eritrean society is ethnically heterogeneous. Eritrea 's population comprises nine Ethnic groups most of which speak Semitic or Cushitic languages. A wedding is the Ceremony in which two people are united in Marriage. Independent census has yet to be conducted but the Tigrinya people and the Tigre people together make up about 80%. The article has so much wrong statements Readers should not take it serious For other uses please see Tigre (disambiguation The Tigre are an ethnic group of north Eritrea who speak the Tigre language. These form the bulk of the country's predominantly Semitic population which are thought to have originated from massive migrations from Saba in Southern Arabia between 900 and 500 BC. In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ The Sabean area in Eritrea is mainly to be found in the Kebessa highlands in central and northern Eritrea. There the Sabeans found the same geographical conditions as in their native Saba, suitable to terracing and their pre-existing agricultural modes of production. Later more recent migrations from Arabia includes the Arabic speaking Rashaida who arrived in Eritrea in the late 19th century and comprise less than 1% of the population. The Rashaida are a Bedouin people populating either side of the Red Sea.

The rest of the population comprises the smaller nations of the Saho, Hedareb, Afar, Bilen who constitute the cushitic stock of the population and are thought to be some of the oldest inhabitants of the Horn of Africa region along with the nilotic peoples who are represented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara. The Saho, sometimes called Soho, are an ethnic group living largely in the Southern and Northern Red Sea regions of Eritrea, but some also live The Hedareb people include the Beni-Amer people who have retained the use of the Beja language, To-Bedawi (Hedareb Afar (Afar alphabet Qafár Feera ዐፋር ʿāfār, عفار Amh The Bilen, Blin or Bilin are an African Ethnic group of south-central Eritrea, in and around the city of Keren, and south The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage refers to some Ethnic groups mainly in Southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern The Kunama are a Nilotic ethnic group living in Eritrea and Ethiopia, making up only 2 percent of the population of Eritrea where they are one of the smallest The Nara are a Nilotic ethnic group living in Eritrea and make up less than 1% of the population

Each nationality speaks a different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speak more than one language.

There exist minorities of Italians and Ethiopian Tigrayans. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging Neither is generally given citizenship unless through marriage or even more rarely: having it conferred upon them by the State.

The most recent addition to the nationalities of Eritrea is the Rashaida. The Rashaida are a Bedouin people populating either side of the Red Sea. The Rashaida came to Eritrea in the 19th century^[62] from the Arabian Coast. The Rashaida do not typically intermarry, are typically nomadic, and number approximately 61,000, less than 1% of the population.

The Kunama are one of the earliest settled peoples in Eritrea. They adopted rain-fed agriculture and settled into communal villages in the "lowlands" of Eritrea.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Eritrea

Many languages are spoken in Eritrea today. Eritrea is generally considered to have nine ethno-linguistic groups The country has two official languages Tigrinya and Arabic. Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Italian and English are also widely understood ^[63]. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The two language families that most of the languages stem from are the Semitic and Cushitic families. The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken in the Horn of Africa. The Semitic languages in Eritrea are Arabic (spoken natively by the Rashaida Arabs), Tigre, Tigrinya, and the newly recognized Dahlik; these languages (primarily Tigre and Tigrinya) are spoken as a first language by over 80% of the population. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Rashaida are a Bedouin people populating either side of the Red Sea. For other uses please see Tigre (disambiguation Tigre ( Ge'ez ትግረ tigre or ትግሬ tigrē; sometimes written as Tigrinya ( Ge'ez: ትግርኛ tigriññā) also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is Dahlik (Dahaalik Dahalik Dahlak is a newly discovered language spoken exclusively in Eritrea off the coast of Massawa, on three islands in the Dahlak The Cushitic languages in Eritrea are just as numerous, including Afar, Beja, Blin, and Saho. Afar (aa ''Qafár af'' is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Beja (also called Bedawi Bedauye To Bedawie is an Afro-Asiatic language of the southern coast of the Red Sea, spoken by about two million nomads the Note Blin is the English spelling which is preferred by native speakers but Bilin and Bilen (ቢለን are also commonly used The Saho language is a Cushitic language of Eritrea, spoken in the middle of the country Kunama and Nara are also spoken in Eritrea and belong to the Nilo-Saharan language family. The Kunama language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken by the Kunama people who straddle the western Eritrean Ethiopian border The Nara (Nera or Barea (Barya language is a Nilo-Saharan language spoken chiefly in western Eritrea. The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers (hence the term English is spoken to a degree by more educated Eritreans. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Italian is a leftover from colonial times. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy.

The local Tigrinya and the wider Arabic language are the two predominant languages for official purposes.

Education

Main article: Education in Eritrea

There are five levels of education in Eritrea: pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary. Education in Eritrea is officially compulsory between 7 and 13 years of age There are nearly 238,000 students in the primary, middle, and secondary levels of education. There are approximately 824 schools^[64] in Eritrea and two universities (University of Asmara and the Institute of Science and Technology) as well as several smaller colleges and technical schools.

One of the most important goals of Eritrea's education policy is to provide basic education in each of Eritrea's mother tongues, as well as to develop a self-motivated and conscientious population to fight poverty and disease. Furthermore it is tooled to produce a society that is equipped with the necessary skills to function with a culture of self-reliance in the modern economy.

The education system in Eritrea is also designed to promote private sector schooling, equal access for all groups (i. In Economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private Profit and is not controlled by the State. e. , prevent gender discrimination, ethnic discrimination, and class discrimination, etc. Sexism is the belief or attitude that one Gender or Sex is inferior to or less valuable than the other and can also refer to a Hatred or distrust towards List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that ) and promote continuing education, both formally and informally.

Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, school fees (for registration and materials), and the opportunity costs of low-income households. A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture Opportunity cost or economic opportunity loss is the value of a product forgone to produce or obtain Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and ^[65]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Eritrea

Eritrea has two dominant religions, Islam and Christianity, 50% Islam and 50% Christianity, in the population. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Most Muslims follow Sunni Islam. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic The Christians consist primarily of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, but small groups of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other denominations also exist. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

Since May 2002, the Government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process. Among other things, the Government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W The few organisations that have met all of the registration requirements have still not received official recognition.

Other faith groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses,^[66] Bahá'í Faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerous Protestant denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely. Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated " Adventist " Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance They have effectively been banned, and measures have been taken against their adherents. Many have been incarcerated for months or even years. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicial process. In its 2006 religious freedom report, the U. S. State Department for the third year in a row named Eritrea a "Country of Particular Concern", designating it one of the worst violators of religious freedom in the world.

There is one last native Jew in Eritrea, formerly from a community of hundreds in Asmara, whose ancestors had crossed from Aden in the late 19th century. ^[67][68]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Eritrea

See also: Cuisine of Eritrea, Literature of Eritrea, and Music of Eritrea

The Eritrean region has traditionally been a nexus for trade throughout the world. The culture of Eritrea is influenced by its Climate in the Sahel region of Africa and historic links with Ethiopia, Sudan, The main traditional food in Eritrean cuisine are tsebhi s (stews served with Injera /taita (flatbread made from Teff, The literature of Eritrea in the Tigrinya language dates as far as is currently known from the late 19th century Eritrea is a northern East African country Perhaps the most famous Eritrean musicians in history are Eng Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. Because of this, the influence of diverse cultures can be seen throughout Eritrea. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Today, the most obvious influences in the capital, Asmara, are that of Italy. Throughout Asmara, there are small cafes serving beverages common to Italy. In Asmara, there is a clear merging of the Italian colonial influence with the traditional Tigrinya lifestyle. In the villages of Eritrea, these changes never took hold.

In the cities, before the Occupation and during the early years, the import of Bollywood films was commonplace, while Italian and American films were available in the cinemas as well. Bollywood (बॉलीवूड بالی وڈ is the informal term popularly used for the Mumbai -based Hindi-language Film industry in India In the 1980s and since Independence, however, American films have certainly become the most common. Vying for market share are films by local producers, who have slowly come into their own. The global broadcast of Eri-TV has brought cultural images to the large Eritrean population in the Diaspora who frequents the country every summer. Successful domestic films are produced by government and independent studios with revenue from ticket sales typically covering the production costs.

Traditional Eritrean dress is quite varied with the Kunama traditionally dressing in brightly colored clothes while the Tigrinya and Tigre traditionally dress in bright white costumes, resembling traditional Oriental and Indian clothing. The Rashaida women are ornately bejeweled and scarfed.

Popular sports in Eritrea are football and bicycle racing. In recent years Eritrean athletes have seen increasing success in the international arena.

Almost unique on the African continent, the Tour of Eritrea is a bicycle race from the hot desert beaches of Massawa, up the winding mountain highway with its precipitous valleys and cliffs to the capital Asmara. The Tour of Eritrea (also Italian: Giro d'Eritrea Tigrinya: ዙር ኤርትራ) is a multiday bicycle race held throughout Eritrea From there, it continues downwards onto the western plains of the Gash-Barka Zone, only to return back to Asmara from the south. This is, by far, the most popular sport in Eritrea, though, as of late long-distance running has garnered its own supporters. The momentum for long-distance running in Eritrea can be seen in the successes of Zersenay Tadesse and Mebrahtom (Meb) Keflezighi, both Olympians. Zersenay Tadese (born February 9, 1982 in Adi Bana) is an Eritrean long distance track, and road running athlete Mebrahtom ("Meb" Keflezighi ( Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ mebrāhtōm kifl'igzī, Tigrinya "their lamp part of the

See also

• List of Eritrea-related topics

References

Further reading

External links

Government

• Official website of the Ministry of Information of Eritrea
• Official website of the Ministry of Education of Eritrea

Other

• Tigrinya online learning with numbers, alphabet and history[Eritrea and north Ethiopia(Tigray-Province)]
• Ferrovia eritrea Eritrean Railway
• Eritrea About Eritrea
• CIA World Factbook - Eritrea
• Extract from Justin Hill's Ciao Asmara in The Globalist Magazine
• History of Eritrea: First recordings - Munzinger - exploitation by colonialism and fight against colonialism (Italy, England, Ethiopia, Soviet Union, USA, Israel) - independence (chronology)

Justin Hill is an English Novelist. Born in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island in 1971 he grew up in Yorkshire The Globalist is a daily Online magazine that "focuses on the economics, politics and culture " of Globalization

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