| State of Eritrea
ሃገረ ኤርትራ
Hagere Ertra
دولة إرتريا
Dawlat Iritrīya
|
|
|
Anthem: Ertra, Ertra, Ertra
Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea
|
|
|
Capital
(and largest city) |
Asmara
15°20′N 38°55′E / 15.333°N 38.917°E / 15.333; 38.917 |
| Official language(s) |
Tigrinya[1]
Arabic[1]
English[1][2] |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Demonym |
Eritrean |
| Government |
Single-party Presidential republic |
| - |
President |
Isaias Afewerki |
| Legislature |
National Assembly |
| Independence |
| - |
From Italy |
November 1941 |
| - |
From United Kingdom under UN Mandate |
1951 |
| - |
from Ethiopia de facto |
24 May 1991 |
| - |
From Ethiopia de jure |
24 May 1993 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
117,600 km2 (100th)
45,405 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
0.14% |
| Population |
| - |
2011 estimate |
5,824,000 (109th) |
| - |
2008 census |
5,291,370 |
| - |
Density |
43.1/km2 (165th)
111.7/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2011 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$4.037 billion[4] |
| - |
Per capita |
$735[4] |
| GDP (nominal) |
2011 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$2.609 billion[4] |
| - |
Per capita |
$475[4] |
| HDI (2007) |
 0.472 (low) (165th) |
| Currency |
Nakfa (ERN) |
| Time zone |
EAT (UTC+3) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
not observed (UTC+3) |
| Drives on the |
right |
| ISO 3166 code |
ER |
| Internet TLD |
.er |
| Calling code |
291 |
| 1 |
not official languages, working languages only[5] |
Eritrea (
/ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[6] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC.[7] The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
Map of the Kingdom
D'mt in Eritrea and northern
Ethiopia ca. 400 BC.
D'mt was a kingdom located in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia that existed during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. With its capital at Yeha, the kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet, and made iron tools and weapons. After the fall of Dʿmt in the 5th century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these polities, the Aksumite Kingdom during the first century, which was able to reunite the area.[8]
The history of Eritrea is tied to its strategic position on the Red Sea littoral, with a coastline that extends more than 1,000 km. Many scientists believe that it is from this area that anatomically modern humans first expanded out of Africa.[9] From across the seas came various invaders and colonizers, such as the South Arabians hailing from the present-day Yemen area, as well as the Ottoman Turks, the Portuguese from Goa (India), the Egyptians, the British and, in the 19th century, the Italians. Over the centuries, invaders also came from the neighboring countries in Africa, like Egypt and Sudan to the west and north, as well as Ethiopia to the south. However, present-day Eritrea was largely affected by the Italian colonisers of the 19th century.
In the period following the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, when European powers scrambled for territory in Africa and tried to establish coaling stations for their ships, Italy invaded Ethiopia and occupied Eritrea. On January 1, 1890, Eritrea officially became a colony of Italy. In 1936, it became a province of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), along with Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. By 1941, Eritrea had about 760,000 inhabitants, including 70,000 Italians.[10] Through the 1941 Battle of Keren, the British expelled the Italians[11] and took over the administration of the country. The British continued to administer the territory under a UN Mandate until 1951, when Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia per UN Resolution 390A(V) under the prompting of the United States adopted in December 1950.[12]
Pre-Axumite monolithic columns in
Qohaito.
The strategic importance of Eritrea, due to its Red Sea coastline and mineral resources, along with their shared history, was the main cause for the federation with Ethiopia, which in turn led to Eritrea's annexation as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1952. This was the culmination of a gradual process of takeover by the Ethiopian authorities, a process which included a 1959 edict establishing the compulsory teaching of Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia, in all Eritrean schools. The lack of regard for the Eritrean population led to the formation of an independence movement in the early 1960s (1961), which erupted into a 30-year war against successive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. Following a UN-supervised referendum in Eritrea (dubbed UNOVER) in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993.[13]
The de facto predominant languages are Tigrinya and Arabic, both of which belong to the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. English is used in the government's international communication and is the language of instruction in all formal education beyond the fifth grade.[14]
Eritrea is a single-party state. Though its constitution, adopted in 1997, stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy, it has yet to be implemented. In 1998 a border dispute with Ethiopia led to the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. The war resulted in the death of as many as 100,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers, although specific casualty estimates are varied.[15]
Eritrea is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).[16] Other political groups are not allowed to organize, although the unimplemented Constitution of 1997 provides for the existence of multi-party politics. The National Assembly has 150 seats, of which 75 are occupied by the PFDJ. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country.[17] The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993. 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. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its record of religious persecution.[18]
The human rights record of Eritrea is considered poor. Since Eritrea's conflict with Ethiopia in 1998-2001, Eritrea's human rights record has worsened. Several human rights violations are committed by the government or on behalf of the government. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association are limited. Those that practice "unregistered" religions, try to flee the nation, or escape military duty are arrested and put into prison. Well known prisoners are usually held in underground cells and less known prisoners are usually put together in cargo containers or in very overcrowded prisons. Domestic and international human rights organizations are not allowed to function in Eritrea.
The registered religions are the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (a monophysite Oriental Orthodox denomination), the Roman Catholic Church, and Sunnite Islam. All other religions are persecuted, including other denominations of Islam, such as Shi'ism, and other denominations of Christianity, such as any of the myriad Protestant denominations. Pentecostal Christians were allowed freedom of worship until 2002; after that time, the practice was prohibited by the government. After Pentecostalism was outlawed, all groups who worship secretly in a house or other unregistered place of assembly are imprisoned in poor conditions and possibly beaten, often along with other religious prisoners. As a result, thousands of Eritreans leave the country in order to worship freely. There are thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and the Sudan seeking asylum in Europe or another region of the West.[19] Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed.[20]
In its 2010 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders classified the media environment in Eritrea at 178 out of 178, the lowest possible rating, and below that of totalitarian North Korea at 177.[21] According to the BBC, "Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately owned news media",[22] and Reporters Without Borders said of the public media, "[they] do nothing but relay the regime's belligerent and ultra-nationalist discourse. ... Not a single [foreign correspondent] now lives in Asmara."[23] The state-owned news agency censors news about external events.[24] Independent media has been banned since 2001.[24]
Building of regional administration in
Asmara.
Eritrean National elections were set for 2001 but was then decided that because 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation, 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 2010 and 2011. On further elections, the President's Chief of Staff, Yemane Gebremeskel said,[25]
| “ |
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. |
” |
As yet, no national elections have been held since independence.[17]
Eritrea is divided into six regions (zobas) and subdivided into districts (sub-zobas). 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 to 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, Asmara |
| 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 (Adi Neamen Awreja), Mensura, Mogolo, Molki, Guluj, Shambuko, Tesseney, La'elay Gash |
| 4 |
Anseba
(ዞባ ዓንሰባ) |
Adi Tekelezan, Asmat, Elabered, Geleb, Hagaz, Halhal, Habero, Keren, 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 |
The Eritrean Defence Forces are the official armed forces of the State of Eritrea.
Eritrea is a full member of the African Union (AU), the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However, it had withdrawn its representative to the AU in protest at the AU's alleged lack of leadership in facilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Eritrean government has since January 2011 appointed an envoy, Tesfa-Alem Tekle, to the AU.[26]
Eritrea's relationship with the United States has a short yet complex history. The United States Army operated Kagnew Station in Eritrea (which at the time was under British, then Ethiopian rule) from 1943 to 1977 as part of an agreement with Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie I. When the United Nations was debating the future of the territory of Eritrea in the beginning of the 1950's (while it was under British trusteeship as a result of the end of World War II and Italian colonialism), the United States was instrumental in promoting Eritrea's linkage with Imperial Ethiopia, opposing the idea of an independent Eritrea, irrespective of the wishes of the Eritrean people. This was succinctly put by then US ambassador to the UN (later to become US Secretary of State) John Foster Dulles: "From the point of view of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and the considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country has to be linked with our ally Ethiopia." When Ethiopia deposed its Emperor and became a communist state 1974-1991, the United States did not support the Eritrean rebels' struggle for independence from communist Ethiopia, but remained commited to Eritrea's linkage with Ethiopia, albeit under a different, more pro-western Ethiopian administration.
In spite of all this, independent Eritrea enjoyed cordial relations with the United States which extended considerable amounts of development aid to Eritrea. In the late 90's, prior to the renewed conflict with Ethiopia, the United States cooperated extensively with Eritrea in an effort to contain and isolate the islamist regime of Sudan. The US under the Bill Clinton administration was one of the main mediating parties during the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia 1998-2001, although the Eritrean government continuously expressed it's reservations against what it saw as a clear pro-Ethiopia bias from the US and thus began the gradual deterioration of relations with the US.
During the beginning of the George W. Bush administration and the US "War on Terrorism" of the early 2000's, the US still considered Eritrea a friendly state and US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld paid Eritrea's president a visit in Eritrea. Relations ultimately worsened in October 2008 when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer called the nation a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and stated that the U.S. government might add Eritrea to its list of rogue states, along with Iran and Sudan.[27] The stated reason for this was the presence of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an exiled Somali Islamist leader, whom the U.S. suspects of having links to Al Qaeda, at a Somali opposition conference in Asmara.[28]
During the week of August 2, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that Eritrea was supplying weapons to the Somali militant group al-Shabab.[29] Although Eritrea denied this accusation in a public statement the following day,[30] the United Nations, with the backing of the African Union, imposed sanctions and an arms embargo on Eritrea under Resolution 1907 for its alleged role in Somalia and refusal to withdraw troops from the border with Djibouti.
Eritrea's relationship with the Italian Republic and the European Union are still both reasonably strong and do not seem to be as strained as is the country's relationship with the United States. On 27 January 2009, the Dutch Ambassador, Yoka Brandt, Director General of International Development Cooperation, paid an official visit to the country for bilateral talks with President Isaias' government, which were held in Massawa.
Eritrea's relations with its neighbours have been strained due to a series of wars and disputes. These include a break of diplomatic relations with Sudan in 1994, when Eritrea accused Sudan of hosting network of terrorists in 1994, a war with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 (the conflict was settled through the verdict of the International Court of Arbitration in 1998), and a border conflict with Ethiopia from 1998-2001. An international border commission, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission had delimited and virtually demarcated the border, but Ethiopia has refused to implement it.
Eritrea's relations with the Sudan have normalised. Meanwhile, Eritrea has been recognised 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]."[31] In addition, the Sudanese government and Eastern Front rebels requested Eritrea to mediate peace talks in 2006.[32]
A dispute with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 resulted in a brief war. 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 in 1998.[33] Yemen was granted full ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral islands to the southwest of the larger islands.[34] 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.[35]
A train tunnel on the Eritrean Plateau
The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issue currently facing Eritrea. Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia turned from that of cautious mutual tolerance, following the 30-year war for Eritrean independence, to a deadly rivalry that led to the outbreak of hostilities from May 1998 to June 2000 which claimed approximately 70,000 casualties from both sides.
Disagreements following the war have resulted in stalemate punctuated by periods of elevated tension and renewed threats of war.[36][37][38] The stalemate led the President of Eritrea to urge the UN to take action on Ethiopia with the Eleven Letters penned by the President to the United Nations Security Council. The situation is further escalated by the continued efforts of the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders in supporting opposition in one another's countries.[citation needed] In 2011, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of planting bombs at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, which was later supported by a UN report. Eritrea has denied the claims.[39] U.S. diplomats in a cable leaked by Wikileaks stated that according to an embassy source, as well as clandestine reporting, the bombing may have in fact been the work of Ethiopian government's security forces.[40]
Amid fears of an emerging Islamic and nationalist Somalia, Ethiopia invaded Somalia with U.S. assistance, putting in place the at first weak and locally unpopular UN/AU-backed Transitional Federal Government which, without Ethiopian support, had been unable to exercise any control beyond its base in Baidoa and along the Ethio-Somali border. The Transitional Federal Government as of 2011 taken full control of the capital and made significant gains on the territory of the now defunct Islamic Courts Union.[41] The United States Central Intelligence Agency also conducted a covert program of funding and assisting a coalition of Somali warlords to replace the Islamic Courts Union government in southern Somalia.[42]
On its part, Eritrea used to host members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts and the Somali Free Parliament, including the current President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, who was also the leader of the Union of Islamic Courts ousted by Ethiopia in 2007. The Eritrean government has been accused of sponsoring, arming and hosting numerous militant leaderships and separatist rebels in the Horn of Africa.[43]
Eritrea is located in Northeast Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the northwest by Sudan. It lies between latitudes 12° and 18°N, and longitudes 36° and 44°E.
The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift. It has fertile lands to the west, descending to desert in the east. Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea, is the home of the fork in the rift. The Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandy and arid coastline. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightly drier and cooler.[citation needed]
The strategically important Bab-el-Mandeb strait connects the coasts of Eritrea and Yemen. 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 highest point of the country, Emba Soira, is located in the center of Eritrea, at 3,018 meters (9,902 ft) 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.
Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used the country as a source of war elephants in the third century BC[citation needed]. Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reported sightings of elephant herds, and they are 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 elephants seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons. It is estimated that there are around 100 elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants.[44] The endangered Painted Hunting Dog (Lycaon pictus) was previously found in Eritrea, but is now deemed extirpated from the entire country.[45]
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 mi) coastline, along with another 1,946 km (1,209 mi) of coast around its more than 350 islands, will come under governmental protection.
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. Drought has often created trouble in the farming areas.[46]
The Real GDP (2009 est.): $1.87 billion, and the annual growth rate (2009 est.): 3.6%.[47]
The Eritrean-Ethiopian War severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. In May 2000, the war resulted in some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The war also prevented the planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%.[48][49]
Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure by asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges as a part of the Warsay Yika'alo Program. 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. The rail line now runs between the Port of Massawa and the capital Asmara.
A map indicating the ethnic composition of Eritrea
Eritrean society is ethnically heterogeneous. An independent census has yet to be conducted, but the Tigrinya people make up about 60% and Tigre people make up about 30% of the population. These form the bulk of the country's predominantly Semitic-speaking population.
Most of the rest of the population belong to other Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities of the Cushitic branch, such as the Saho, Hedareb, Afar and Bilen.
There are also a number of Nilotic ethnic minorities who are represented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara. Each ethnicity speaks a different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speak more than one language.
In addition, there exist Italian Eritrean (concentrated in Asmara) and Ethiopian Tigrayan communities. Neither is generally given citizenship unless through marriage or, more rarely, by having it conferred upon them by the State.
The most recent addition to the nationalities of Eritrea is the Rashaida. The Rashaida came to Eritrea in the 19th century from the Arabian Coast.[50]
Largest cities or towns of Eritrea
Geonames |
|
Rank |
City name |
Region |
Pop.
|
Asmara
Keren
|
1 |
Asmara |
Maekel |
563,930 |
| 2 |
Keren |
Anseba |
74,800 |
| 3 |
Massawa |
Northern Red Sea |
23,100 |
| 4 |
Assab |
Southern Red Sea |
21,300 |
| 5 |
Mendefera |
Debub |
17,781 |
| 6 |
Barentu |
Gash-Barka |
15,891 |
| 7 |
Adi Keyh |
Debub |
13,061 |
| 8 |
Edd |
Southern Red Sea |
11,259 |
| 9 |
Dekemhare |
Debub |
10,959 |
| 10 |
Ak'ordat |
Gash-Barka |
8,857 |
Rashaida children in the Eritrean lowlands.
Many languages are spoken in Eritrea today. There is no official language as such, as the Constitution establishes the "equality of all Eritrean languages"[51] but Tigrinya and Arabic are the two predominant languages for official purposes. English and Italian are also widely understood.
Most of the languages spoken in Eritrea stem from the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family.[52] The Semitic languages in Eritrea are Tigre, Tigrinya, the newly recognized Dahlik, and Arabic (spoken natively by the Rashaida Arabs).
Other Afro-Asiatic languages belonging to the Cushitic branch are also widely spoken in the country.[52] The latter include Afar, Beja, Blin and Saho.
In addition, Nilo-Saharan languages (Kunama and Nara) are also spoken as a mother tongue by the Nilotic Kunama and Nara ethnic minority groups that live in the north and northwestern part of the country.[52]
There are five levels of education in Eritrea: pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary. There are nearly 238,000 students in the primary, middle, and secondary levels of education. There are approximately 824 schools[53] in Eritrea and two universities (the University of Asmara and the Institute of Science and Technology) as well as several smaller colleges and technical schools.
Education in Eritrea is officially compulsory between seven and 13 years of age. However, the education infrastructure is inadequate to meet current needs. Statistics vary at the elementary level, suggesting that between 39 and 57 percent of school-aged children attend primary school; only 21 percent attend secondary school. Student-teacher ratios are high: 45 to 1 at the elementary level and 54 to 1 at the secondary level. There are an average 63 students per classroom at the elementary level and 97 per classroom at the secondary level. Learning hours at school are often less than four hours per day. Skill shortages are present at all levels of the education system, and funding for and access to education vary significantly by gender (with dropout rates much higher for girls) and location. Illiteracy estimates for Eritrea range from around 40 percent to as high as 70 percent.[54]
Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, school fees (for registration and materials), and the opportunity costs of low-income households.[55]
Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. Various approximations have estimated that 50 to 62.5% are Christians (mostly followers of Orthodox Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Roman Catholicism) and 36.5 to 50% of the population is Sunni Muslim.[56] The Christians are primarily members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, while considerable groups of Roman Catholics (including Italian Eritreans), Protestants, and other denominations also exist. Most Muslims follow Sunni Islam.
Since May 2002, the government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process.[57] Among other things, the government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship.[57] The few organizations that have met all of the registration requirements have still not received official recognition.[citation needed]
The Eritrean government is against reformed or radical versions of its established religions. Therefore, radical forms of Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Bahá'í Faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerous other Protestant denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely. Three named men are known to have been imprisoned since 1994.[58] Additionally, on June 28, 2009, police raided a private home where Jehovah's Witnesses were meeting. 23 were arrested including children as young as two years old. Some of the women and children were later released, however, two children who are now three and four years of age are still imprisoned with their mothers. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicial process. As of July 29, 2010, 52 Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Eritrea for attending their religious meetings and engaging in religious activity.[59]
In its 2006 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department named Eritrea a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) for the third year in a row.[60]
Eritrea has achieved significant improvements in health care and is one of the few countries to be on target to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets in health, in particular child health.[61] Life expectancy at birth has increased from 39.1 in 1960 to 59.5 years in 2008, maternal and child mortality rates have dropped dramatically and the health infrastructure has been expanded.[61] Due to Eritrea's relative isolation, information and resources are extremely limited and according the World Health Organisation (WHO) found in 2008 average life expectancy to be slightly less than 63 years. Immunisation and child nutrition has been tackled by working closely with schools in a multi-sectoral approach; the number of children vaccinated against measles almost doubled in seven years, from 40.7% to 78.5% and the underweight prevalence among children decreased by 12% in 1995–2002 (severe underweight prevalence by 28%).[61] The National Malaria Protection Unit of the Ministry of Health has registered tremendous improvements in reducing malarial mortality by as much as 85% and the number of cases by 92% between 1998 and 2006.[61] The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), saying the practice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems.[62]
However, Eritrea still faces many challenges. Despite number of physicians increasing from only 0.2 in 1993 to 0.5 in 2004 per 1000 population, this is still very low.[61] Malaria and Tubercolosis both are common in Eritrea.[63] HIV prevalence among the 15–49 group exceeds 2%.[63] The fertility rate is at about 5 births per woman.[63] Maternal mortality dropped by more than half from 1995 to 2002, although the figure is still high.[61] Similarly, between 1995 and 2002, the number of births attended by skilled health personnel has doubled but still is only 28.3%.[61] A major cause of deaths of neonates is by severe infection.[63] Per capita expenditure on health is low in Eritrea.[63]
Kitcha fit-fit is a staple of
Eritrean cuisine. A dish of shredded, oiled, and spiced bread, it is often served with a scoop of fresh yogurt and topped with berbere (spice).
The Eritrean region has traditionally been a nexus for trade throughout the world. Because of this, the influence of diverse cultures can be seen throughout Eritrea. Today the most obvious influences in the capital, Asmara, are those of Italy. Throughout Asmara, there are small cafes serving beverages common in 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. In the 1980s and since independence, however, American films have 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 that visits 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 women of most lowland ethnicities traditionally dressing in brightly colored clothes, while the Tigrinya traditionally dress in bright white costumes. Of the Muslim ethnicities, only the Arab or Rashaida tribeswomen maintain a tradition of covering their faces.
Football and cycling are the most popular sports in Eritrea.[citation needed] In recent years, Eritrean athletes have also seen increasing success in the international arena.
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