Eritrea 1

Eritrea

State of Eritrea• ሃገረ ኤርትራ  Hagere Ertra• Dawlat Iritriyá  دولة إرتريا

Flag Emblem

Anthem: Ertra, Ertra, ErtraEritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea

Capitaland largest city

Asmara15°20′N 38°55′E [1]

Official languages • Tigrinya,[][]Arabic,[][] English[]

Ethnic groups (2012[2]) • 55% Tigrinya• 30% Tigre• 4% Saho• 2% Kunama• 2% Bilen• 2% Rashaida• 5% othersa

Demonym Eritrean

Government Provisional presidential republic

 -  President Isaias Afewerki

Legislature National Assembly

Independence from Ethiopia

 -  End of Italian Eritrea November 1941 

 -  End of United Kingdom mandate 1951 

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 -  De facto Ethiopian independence 24 May 1991 

 -  De jure Ethiopian independence 24 May 1993 

Area

 -  Total 117,600 km2 (101st)45,405 sq mi 

 -  Water (%) 0.14%

Population

 -  2012 estimate 6,086,495 (107th)

 -  2008 census 5,291,370

 -  Density 51.8/km2 (154th)111.7/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate

 -  Total $4.396 billion[]

 -  Per capita $776[]

GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate

 -  Total $3.092 billion[]

 -  Per capita $546[]

HDI (2011)  0.349low · 177th

Currency Nakfa (ERN)

Time zone EAT (UTC+3)

 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)

Drives on the right

Calling code +291

ISO 3166 code ER

Internet TLD .er

Eritrea (/ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[3] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā ; Arabic: إرتريا Iritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea,[4] isa country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā ), meaning "red[land]". With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in thesoutheast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea, directly acrossfrom Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), andincludes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups. It has a population of around six millioninhabitants. Most residents speak Afro-Asiatic languages, either of the Semitic or Cushitic branches. Among thesecommunities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre constituting around 30% ofinhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities. Most people in theterritory adhere to Christianity or Islam.[]

The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, rose somewhere around the first or second centuries[5][6] and adopted Christianity shortly after its formation.[7] In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri Kingdom, with a smaller region being part of the Hamasien Republic. The creation of modern day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent Kingdoms and various vassal states of the

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Ethiopian empire and the Ottoman Empire, eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritreabecame part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Subsequent annexation by Ethiopialed to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence in 1991.Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations and IGAD, and is an observer in the Arab League.

HistoryTogether with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the mostlikely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whosefirst mention dates to the 25th century BC.[8] The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relationswith Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Sahure and Hatshepsut.

Map of the Kingdom of D'mt in Eritrea andnorthern Ethiopia, circa 400 BC.

D'mt was a kingdom located in southern Eritrea and northern Ethiopiathat existed during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. With its capital atYeha, the realm developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet,and made iron tools and weapons. After the fall of Dʿmt in the 5thcentury BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successorkingdoms, until the rise of one of these polities, the AksumiteKingdom during the first century, which was able to reunite the area.[9]

The history of Eritrea is tied to its strategic position on the Red Sealittoral, with a coastline that extends more than 1,000 km. Manyscientists believe that it is from this area that anatomically modernhumans first expanded out of Africa.[] From across the seas camevarious invaders and colonizers, such as the South Arabians hailingfrom 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 asEthiopia 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 inAfrica and tried to establish coaling stations for their ships, Italy invaded Ethiopia and occupied Eritrea. On 1January 1890, Eritrea officially became a colony of Italy. In 1936, it became a province of Italian East Africa (AfricaOrientale 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 thecountry. The British continued to administer the territory under a UN Mandate until 1951, when Eritrea wasfederated with Ethiopia per UN Resolution 390A(V) under the prompting of the United States adopted in December1950.[]

Pre-Axumite monolithic columns in Qohaito.

The strategic importance of Eritrea, due to its Red Sea coastline andmineral resources, along with their shared history, was the main causefor the federation with Ethiopia, which in turn led to Eritrea'sannexation as Ethiopia's 14th province in 1962. This was theculmination of a gradual process of takeover by the Ethiopianauthorities, a process which included a 1959 edict establishing thecompulsory teaching of Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia, in allEritrean schools. The lack of regard for the Eritrean population led to

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the formation of an independence movement in the early 1960s (1961), which erupted into a 30-year war againstsuccessive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. Following a UN-supervised referendum in Eritrea (dubbedUNOVER) in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence, Eritrea declared its independenceand gained international recognition in 1993.[]

The de facto predominant languages are Tigrinya and Arabic, both of which belong to the Semitic branch of theAfro-Asiatic family. English is used in the government's international communication and is the language ofinstruction in all formal education beyond the fifth grade.[12]

Eritrea is a single-party state. Though its constitution, adopted in 1997, stipulates that the state is a presidentialrepublic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy, it has yet to be implemented. In 1998 a border dispute withEthiopia led to the two-year Eritrean–Ethiopian War. The war resulted in the death of as many as 100,000 Ethiopianand Eritrean soldiers, although specific casualty estimates are varied.[13]

Government and politicsThe People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is the ruling party in Eritrea.[] Other political groups are notallowed to organize, although the unimplemented Constitution of 1997 provides for the existence of multi-partypolitics. The National Assembly has 150 seats, of which 75 are occupied by the PFDJ. National elections have beenperiodically scheduled and cancelled; none has ever been held in the country.[] The president, Isaias Afewerki, hasbeen in office since independence in 1993.Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in September 2001 thegovernment closed down all of the nation's privately owned print media, and outspoken critics of the governmenthave been arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers, including Human RightsWatch and Amnesty International. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of ParticularConcern (CPC) for its record of religious persecution.[14]

National elections

Building of regional administration in Asmara.

Eritrean National elections were set for 2001 but was then decided thatbecause 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation, elections wouldbe postponed until the resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia.However, local elections have continued in Eritrea. The most recentround of local government elections were held in 2010 and 2011. Onfurther elections, the President's Chief of Staff, Yemane Gebremeskelsaid,[15]

“The electoral commission is handling these elections this time round so that may be the new element in this process. The national assemblyhas also mandated the electoral commission to set the date for national elections, so whenever the electoral commission sets the date there willbe national elections. It's not dependent on regional elections. ”

As yet, no national elections have been held since independence.[]

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Regions and districts

Regions of Eritrea.

Map of Eritrea.

Eritrea is divided into six regions (zobas)and subdivided into districts (sub-zobas).The geographical extent of the regions isbased on their respective hydrologicalproperties. This is a dual intent on the partof the Eritrean government: to provide eachadministration with sufficient control overits agricultural capacity, and to eliminatehistorical intra-regional conflicts.The regions, followed by the sub-region,are:

No. Region (ዞባ) Sub-region (ንኡስ ዞባ)

1 Maekel(ዞባ ማእከል)

Berikh በሪኽ, Ghala-Nefhi ጋላ ነፍሒ, Semienawi Mibraq Asmara ሰሜናዊ ምብራቕ አስመራ, Serejeka ሰረጀቓ, Debubawi MibraqAsmara ደቡባዊ ምብራቕ አስመራ, Semienawi Mi'erab Asmara ሰሜናዊ ምዕራብ አስመራ, Debubawi Mi'erab Asmara ደቡባዊምዕራብ አስመራ

2 Anseba(ዞባ ዓንሰባ)

Adi Tekelezanዓዲ ተከሌዛን, Asmat አስማጥ, Elabered ዒላበርዕድ, Geleb ገለብ, Hagaz ሓጋዝ, Halhal ሓልሓል, Habero ሃበሮ, Kerenከረን, Kerkebet ከርከበት, Sel'a ሰልዓ.

3 Gash-Barka(ዞባ ጋሽ ባርካ)

Agordat አቑርደት, Barentu ባረንቱ, Dghe ድገ Forto ፎርቶ, Gogne ጎኘ, Gluj ጎልጅ, Haykota ሃይኮታ, La'elay Gash ላዕላይ ጋሽ,Logo-Anseba ሎጎ ዓንሰባ, Mensura መንሱራ, Mogolo ሞጎሎ, Molki ሞልቂ, Om Hajer ኦምሓጀር, Shambuko ሻምብቆ, Tesseneyተሰነይ.

4 Debub(ዞባ ደቡብ)

Adi Keyh ዓዲቐይሕ, Adi Quala ዓዲዃላ, Areza ዓረዛ, Debarwa ድባርዋ, Dekemhare ደቀምሓረ, Mai-Ayni(knafna) ማይዓይኒ,Mai-Mne ማይምነ, Mendefera መንደፈራ, Segeneiti ሰገነይቲ, Senafe ሰንዓፈ, Tsorona ጾሮና.

5 Northern RedSea

(ዞባ ሰሜናዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ)

Afabet አፍዓበት, Dahlak ደሴታት ዳህላክ, Ghela'elo ገላዕሎ, Foro ፎሮ, Ghindaጊንዳዕ, Karora ቃሮራ, Massawa ምጽዋዕ(ባጽዕ),Nakfa ናቕፋ, She'eb ሽዕብ.

6 Southern RedSea

(ዞባ ደቡባዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ)

Are'eta አራዕታ, Ma'ekel Dankalia ማእከል ደንካልያ, Debub Dankalia ደቡብ ደንካልያ, Assab ዓሰብ

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MilitaryThe Eritrean Defence Forces are the official armed forces of the State of Eritrea.

Human rightsThe human rights record of Eritrea is considered poor.[citation needed] Since Eritrea's conflict with Ethiopia in1998–2001, Eritrea's human rights record has worsened.[citation needed] Several human rights violations are committedby the government or on behalf of the government. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association are limited.Those that practise "unregistered" religions, try to flee the nation, or escape military duty are arrested and put intoprison.[citation needed] Well known prisoners are usually held in underground cells and less known prisoners areusually put together in cargo containers[citation needed] or in very overcrowded prisons. Domestic and internationalhuman rights organizations are not allowed to function in Eritrea.The registered, census-based religions are the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (a miaphysite Oriental Orthodoxdenomination), the Roman Catholic Church, Eritrean Lutheran Church, and Sunnite Islam. All other religions arepersecuted, including other denominations of Islam, such as Shi'ism, and other denominations of Christianity, suchas any of the myriad Protestant denominations. All denominations of Christianity enjoyed freedom of worship until2002 when the government outlawed worship and assembly outside the 'registered' denominations. All groups whoworship secretly in a house or any other unregistered place of assembly are arrested and imprisoned without chargeor trial. Religious prisoners are often tortured in Eritrea.[16] Freedom of worship is one of the top reasons thousandsof Eritreans flee the country. There are thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia and the Sudan seeking asylum inEurope or another region of the West.[17] Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have beenrepeatedly postponed.[18]

Media freedomIn its 2010 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders classified the media environment in Eritrea at 178 outof 178, the lowest possible rating and below that of totalitarian North Korea at 177.[19] According to the BBC,"Eritrea is the only African country to have no privately owned news media",[20] and Reporters Without Borders saidof the public media, "[they] do nothing but relay the regime's belligerent and ultra-nationalist discourse. ... Not asingle [foreign correspondent] now lives in Asmara."[21] The state-owned news agency censors news about externalevents.[] Independent media have been banned since 2001.[]

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Foreign relations

Eritrea's embassy in Washington,D.C.

Eritrea is a full member of the African Union (AU), the successor of theOrganization of African Unity (OAU). However, it had withdrawn itsrepresentative to the AU in protest at the AU's alleged lack of leadership infacilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating theborder between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The Eritrean government has since January2011 appointed an envoy, Tesfa-Alem Tekle, to the AU.[22]

Relations with the United States

Eritrea's relationship with the United States has a short yet complex history. TheUnited States Army operated Kagnew Station in Eritrea (which at the time wasunder British, then Ethiopian rule) from 1943 to 1977 as part of an agreementwith Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie I. When the United Nations was debatingthe future of the territory of Eritrea in the beginning of the 1950s (while it wasunder British trusteeship as a result of the end of World War II and Italiancolonialism), the United States was instrumental in promoting Eritrea's linkagewith Imperial Ethiopia, opposing the idea of an independent Eritrea. This wassuccinctly put by then US ambassador to the UN (later to become US Secretary of State) John Foster Dulles: "Fromthe point of view of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless the strategicinterest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and the considerations of security and world peace make itnecessary that the country has to be linked with our ally Ethiopia." [citation needed]

In spite of all this, independent Eritrea enjoyed cordial relations with the United States which extended considerableamounts of development aid to Eritrea. In the late 1990s, prior to the renewed conflict with Ethiopia, the UnitedStates cooperated extensively with Eritrea in an effort to contain and isolate the Islamist regime of Sudan.[citation

needed] The US under the Bill Clinton administration was one of the main mediating parties during the border warbetween Eritrea and Ethiopia 1998–2001, although the Eritrean government continuously expressed its reservationsagainst what it saw as a pro-Ethiopia bias from the US and thus began the gradual deterioration of relations with theUS.[citation needed]

During the beginning of the George W. Bush administration and the US War on Terrorism of the early 2000s, the USstill considered Eritrea a friendly state and US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld paid Eritrea's president a visitin Eritrea. Relations ultimately worsened in October 2008 when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazercalled the nation a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and stated that the U.S. government might add Eritrea to its list ofrogue states, along with Iran and Sudan.[23] The stated reason for this was the presence of Sheikh Hassan DahirAweys, an exiled Somali Islamist leader, whom the U.S. suspects of having links to Al Qaeda, at a Somaliopposition conference in Asmara.[24]

During the week of 2 August 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that Eritrea was supplyingweapons to the Somali militant group al-Shabab.[25] Although Eritrea denied this accusation in a public statement thefollowing day,[26] the United Nations, with the backing of the African Union, imposed sanctions and an armsembargo on Eritrea under Resolution 1907 for its alleged role in Somalia and refusal to withdraw troops from theborder with Djibouti.

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Relations with the European UnionEritrea's relationship with the Italian Republic and the European Union are still both reasonably strong and do notseem to be as strained as is the country's relationship with the United States. On 27 January 2009, the DutchAmbassador, Yoka Brandt, Director General of International Development Cooperation, paid an official visit to thecountry for bilateral talks with President Isaias' government, which were held in Massawa.

Relations with IsraelEritrea and Israel have ambassadors in each other's capitals. Israel maintains an embassy in Asmara and Eritrea has apresence in Ramat Gan. Avi Granot, head of the Africa division in the Israeli foreign ministry, has described Eritreaas a strategic ally, the one friendly port on the Red Sea.[27] There are approximately 60,000 African refugees inIsrael, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea.[28]

Relations with neighbouring countriesEritrea's relations with its neighbours have been strained due to a series of wars and disputes. These include a breakof diplomatic relations with Sudan when Eritrea accused Sudan of hosting a network of terrorists in 1994, a war withYemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996, and a border conflict with Ethiopia from 1998–2001. An internationalborder 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 peacebetween the separate factions of the Sudanese civil war: "It is known that Eritrea played a role in bringing about thepeace agreement [between the Southern Sudanese and Government]."[29] In addition, the Sudanese government andEastern Front rebels requested Eritrea to mediate peace talks in 2006.[30]

The dispute with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 resulted in a brief war. As part of an agreement to ceasehostilities the two nations agreed to refer the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in 1998.[31]

Yemen was granted full ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral islands to thesouthwest of the larger islands.[32] 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.[33]

Relations with Ethiopia

A train tunnel on the Eritrean Plateau.

The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issuecurrently facing Eritrea. Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia turned fromthat of cautious mutual tolerance, following the 30-year war forEritrean independence, to a deadly rivalry that led to the outbreak ofhostilities from May 1998 to June 2000 which claimed approximately70,000 casualties from both sides.[34] The border conflict cost hundredsof millions of dollars.[35]

Disagreements following the war have resulted in stalemate punctuatedby periods of elevated tension and renewed threats of war.[][36][] Thestalemate led the President of Eritrea to urge the UN to take action onEthiopia with the Eleven Letters penned by the President to the United Nations Security Council. The situation hasbeen further escalated by the continued efforts of the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders in supporting opposition in oneanother's countries.[citation needed] In 2011, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of planting bombs at an African Union summit inAddis Ababa, which was later supported by a UN report. Eritrea has denied the claims.[] U.S. diplomats, in a cableleaked by WikiLeaks, stated that according to an embassy source, as well as clandestine reporting, the bombing mayhave in fact been the work of the Ethiopian government's security forces.[]

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Amid fears of an emerging Islamic and nationalist Somalia, Ethiopia invaded Somalia with U.S. assistance, puttingin place the initially weak and locally unpopular UN/AU-backed Transitional Federal Government which, withoutEthiopian support, had been unable to exercise any control beyond its base in Baidoa and along the Ethio-Somaliborder. The Transitional Federal Government as of 2011 took full control of the capital and made significant gainson the territory of the now-defunct Islamic Courts Union.[37] The United States Central Intelligence Agency alsoconducted a covert program of funding and assisting a coalition of Somali warlords to replace the Islamic CourtsUnion government in southern Somalia.[38]

For its part, Eritrea once hosted 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 theUnion 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.[39]

Geography

Eritrean highlands.

Eritrea is located in Northeast Africa and is bordered on the northeastand east by the Red Sea, on the south by Ethiopia, and on thenorthwest by Sudan. It lies between latitudes 12° and 18°N, andlongitudes 36° and 44°E.

The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift. Ithas fertile lands to the west, descending to desert in the east. Eritrea, atthe southern end of the Red Sea, is the home of the fork in the rift. TheDahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandyand arid coastline. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightlydrier and cooler.[citation needed]

The strategically important Bab-el-Mandeb strait connects the coasts of Eritrea and Yemen. The Afar Triangle orDanakil Depression of Eritrea is the probable location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are pullingaway 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 thecenter 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 asthe towns of Massawa to the east, the northern town of Keren, and the central town Mendefera.Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used the country as asource of war elephants in the third century BC.[citation needed] Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reportedsightings of elephant herds, and they are thought to have fallen victim to the war of independence. In December 2001a herd of about 30, including 10 juveniles, was observed in the vicinity of the Gash River. The elephants seemed tohave formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons—The baboons use the water holes dug by the elephants,while the elephants use the tree-top baboons as an early warning system. It is estimated that there are around 100elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants.[40] The endangered Painted Hunting Dog(Lycaon pictus) was previously found in Eritrea, but is now deemed extirpated from the entire country.[41]

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

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Economy

Another view of Asmara.

The Economy of Eritrea has experienced considerable growth in recentyears, indicated by an improvement in Gross domestic product (GDP)in October 2012 of 7.5 percent over 2011.[42]

The Real GDP (2009 est.): $4.4 billion, and the annual growth rate(2011 est.):14%.[43][44]

However, worker remittances from abroad are estimated to account for32 percent of gross domestic product.[12] Eritrea has an extensiveamount of resources such as copper, gold, granite, marble, and potash.The Eritrean economy has undergone extreme changes due to the War

of Independence.In 2011, Eritrea's GDP grew by 8.7 percent making it one of the fastest growing economies in theworld.[45] The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) expects it to maintain a high growth rate of 8.5 percent in 2013.

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDPdecreased 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.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 ofthese projects was the building of a coastal highway of more than 500 km connecting Massawa with Asseb as well asthe rehabilitation of the Eritrean Railway. The rail line has been restored between the port of Massawa and thecapital Asmara, although services are sporadic. Steam locomotives are sometimes used for groups of enthusiasts.In theory, the country has a national carrier, Eritrean Airlines, but services are intermittent.

Demographics

Ethno-Demography of Eritrea

Eritrean society is ethnicallyheterogeneous. An independent censushas yet to be conducted, but theTigrinya people make up about 55%and Tigre people make up about 30%of the population. These form the bulkof the country's predominantlySemitic-speaking population.

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A wedding in Eritrea.

Most of the rest of the population belong to otherAfro-Asiatic-speaking communities of the Cushitic branch, such as theSaho, Hedareb, Afar and Bilen.

There are also a number of Nilotic ethnic minorities who arerepresented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara. Each ethnicity speaksa different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speakmore than one language.

In addition, there exist Italian Eritrean (concentrated in Asmara) andEthiopian 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 19thcentury from the Arabian Coast.[46]

Languages

Rashaida children in the Eritreanlowlands.

As of 2012[47] citizens of Eritrea speak many languages. The country has noofficial language as such, as the Constitution establishes the "equality of allEritrean languages",[48] but Tigrinya and Arabic predominate in official usage.Italian and English are also widely understood.

Most of the languages spoken in Eritrea stem from the Semitic branch of theAfro-Asiatic language family.[] The Semitic languages in Eritrea are Tigre,Tigrinya, the newly recognized Dahlik, and Arabic (spoken natively by theRashaida Arabs).

Other Afro-Asiatic languages belonging to the Cushitic branch are also widelyspoken in the country.[] The latter include Afar, Beja, Blin and Saho.

In addition, Nilo-Saharan languages (Kunama and Nara) are also spoken as amother tongue by the Nilotic Kunama and Nara ethnic minority groups that livein the north and northwestern part of the country.[]

Italian and English are also spoken as working languages, and are used in secondary and university education.

HealthEritrea has achieved significant improvements in health care and is one of the few countries to be on target to meetits Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets in health, in particular child health.[49] Life expectancy at birth hasincreased from 39.1 in 1960 to 59.5 years in 2008, maternal and child mortality rates have dropped dramatically andthe health infrastructure has been expanded.[49] Due to Eritrea's relative isolation, information and resources areextremely limited and according the World Health Organisation (WHO) found in 2008 average life expectancy to beslightly less than 63 years. Immunisation and child nutrition has been tackled by working closely with schools in amulti-sectoral approach; the number of children vaccinated against measles almost doubled in seven years, from40.7% to 78.5% and the underweight prevalence among children decreased by 12% in 1995–2002 (severeunderweight prevalence by 28%).[49] The National Malaria Protection Unit of the Ministry of Health has registeredtremendous improvements in reducing malarial mortality by as much as 85% and the number of cases by 92%between 1998 and 2006.[49] The Eritrean government has banned female genital mutilation (FGM), saying thepractice was painful and put women at risk of life-threatening health problems.[50]

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.[49] Malaria and Tubercolosis both are common in Eritrea.[51] HIV

Eritrea 12

prevalence among the 15–49 group exceeds 2%.[51] The fertility rate is at about 5 births per woman.[51] Maternalmortality dropped by more than half from 1995 to 2002, although the figure is still high.[49] Similarly, between 1995and 2002, the number of births attended by skilled health personnel has doubled but still is only 28.3%.[49] A majorcause of deaths of neonates is by severe infection.[51] Per capita expenditure on health is low in Eritrea.[51]

Largest townsThis is a list of cities in Eritrea by population:

Cities in Eritrea

Rank City Population Region

1984 Census 2010 estimate

1 Asmara 475,385 649,707 Maekel

2 Keren 126,149 146,483 Anseba

3 Teseney 52,531 64,889 Gash-Barka

4 Mendefera 22,184 63,492 Debub

5 Agordat 15,948 47,482 Gash-Barka

6 Assab 31,037 39,656 Southern Red Sea

7 Massawa 15,441 36,700 Northern Red Sea

8 Adi Quala 14,465 34,589 Debub

9 Senafe 14,019 31,831 Debub

10 Dekemhare 17,290 31,000 Debub

11 Segeneiti 13,328 27,656 Debub

12 Nakfa N/A 20,222 Northern Red Sea

13 Adi Keyh 8,691 19,304 Debub

14 Barentu 2,541 15,467 Gash-Barka

15 Beilul N/A 14,055 Southern Red Sea

16 Edd N/A 12,855 Southern Red Sea

17 Ghinda 7,702 10,523 Northern Red Sea

18 Mersa Fatuma N/A 9,542 Southern Red Sea

19 Himbirti N/A 8,822 Maekel

20 Nefasit N/A 8,727 Debub

Eritrea 13

EducationThere are five levels of education in Eritrea: pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary. There arenearly 238,000 students in the primary, middle, and secondary levels of education. There are approximately 824schools[52] in Eritrea and two universities (the University of Asmara and the Institute of Science and Technology) aswell as several smaller colleges and technical schools.Education in Eritrea is officially compulsory between seven and 13 years of age. However, the educationinfrastructure is inadequate to meet current needs. Statistics vary at the elementary level, suggesting that between 65and 70% of school-aged children attend primary school; Approximately 61% 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 anaverage 63 students per classroom at the elementary level and 97 per classroom at the secondary level. Learninghours at school are often less than six 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 and location. Illiteracy estimates for Eritrearange from around 40% to as high as 70%.[53]

Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, school fees (for registration and materials), and theopportunity costs of low-income households.[54]

Religion

Enda Mariam Orthodox Church, St Joseph'sRoman Catholic Cathedral and the Al Khulafa Al

Rashiudin Mosque in the capital Asmara.

Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam. Variousapproximations have estimated that 62.5% are Christians (mostlyfollowers of Orthodox Christianity and, to a lesser extent, RomanCatholicism) and 36.5% of the population is Sunni Muslim.[] TheChristians are primarily members of the Eritrean Orthodox TewahdoChurch, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, whileconsiderable groups of Roman Catholics (including Italian Eritreans),Protestants, and other denominations also exist. Most Muslims followSunni Islam.

Since May 2002, the government of Eritrea has officially recognizedthe Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, andthe Evangelical Lutheran church. 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 informationon their membership to be allowed to worship.[]

The Eritrean government is against reformed or radical versions of its established religions. Therefore, radical formsof Islam (viz, Salafism), Jehovah's Witnesses, the Bahá'í Faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerousother non-Protestant Evangelical denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely. Three named Jehovah'sWitnesses are known to have been imprisoned since 1994.[55] Additionally, on 28 June 2009, police raided a privatehome where Jehovah's Witnesses were meeting. 23 were arrested including children as young as two years old. Someof the women and children were later released. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicialprocess. As of 29 July 2010, 52 Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned in Eritrea for conducting secret religiousgatherings, engaging in religious activity, and for refusing to serve in the national service.[56]

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.[57]

Eritrea 14

Culture

Cyclists competing in the Tour of Eritrea inAsmara.

Kitcha fit-fit is a staple of Eritreancuisine. A dish of shredded, oiled,and spiced bread, it is often servedwith a scoop of fresh yogurt and

topped with berbere (spice).

The Eritrean region has traditionally been a nexus for trade throughoutthe world. Because of this, the influence of diverse cultures can be seenthroughout Eritrea. Today the most obvious influences in the capital,Asmara, are those of Italy. Throughout Asmara, there are small cafesserving beverages common in Italy. In Asmara, there is a clear mergingof the Italian colonial influence with the traditional Tigrinya lifestyle.In the outskirts of Eritrea, these changes never took hold. In the cities,before the occupation and during the early years, the import ofBollywood films was commonplace, while Italian and American filmswere available in the cinemas as well. In the 1980s and sinceindependence, however, American films have become the mostcommon. Vying for market share are films by local producers, whohave slowly come into their own. The global broadcast of Eri-TV hasbrought cultural images to the large Eritrean population in the Diasporathat visits the country every summer. Successful domestic films areproduced by government and independent studios with revenue fromticket sales typically covering the production costs.

Traditional Eritrean dress is quite varied; most of the women inlowland ethnicities traditionally dress in brightly colored clothes, whilethe Tigrinya speaking traditionally dress in bright white dresses calledZurias. Many of the men in the lowland ethnicities wear long whiteshirts accompanied by white pants. In the larger cities, most of the menare dressed in more casual clothing. Of the Muslim ethnicities, only theArab or Rashaida tribeswomen maintain a tradition of covering theirfaces.

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

Zersenay Tadese, an Eritrean athlete, currently holds the world record in Half Marathon distance running.[58]

References[1] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Eritrea& params=15_20_N_38_55_E_type:country[2] CIA – Eritrea – Ethnic groups (https:/ / www. cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ fields/ 2075. html#er). Cia.gov. Retrieved

on 2012-06-25.[4] ISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-13 (http:/ / www. iso. org/ iso/ nl_vi-13_name_change_for_eritrea. pdf) International Organization for

Standardization[5] Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity (http:/ / www. dskmariam. org/ artsandlitreature/ litreature/ pdf/ aksum.

pdf). Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, p. 57 ISBN 0-7486-0106-6.[6] Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, 2005 ISBN 1-85065-522-7.[7] Aksumite Ethiopia (http:/ / workmall. com/ wfb2001/ ethiopia/ ethiopia_history_ethiopia_and_the_early_islamic_period. html).

Workmall.com (2007-03-24). Retrieved on 2012-03-03.[8] Simson Najovits, Egypt, trunk of the tree, Volume 2, (Algora Publishing: 2004), p.258.[9] Pankhurst, Richard K.P. Addis Tribune, " Let's Look Across the Red Sea I (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20060109162335/ http:/ / www.

addistribune. com/ Archives/ 2003/ 01/ 17-01-03/ Let. htm)", 17 January 2003 (archive.org mirror copy)[12] ". Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 July 2006.[13] Eritrea orders Westerners in UN mission out in 10 days (http:/ / www. iht. com/ articles/ 2005/ 12/ 07/ news/ eritrea. php). International

Herald Tribune. 7 December 2005[16] CSW-USA on Eritrea (http:/ / www. cswusa. org/ news/ eritrea) CSW[17] Eritrea Human Rights Overview (http:/ / hrw. org/ english/ docs/ 2006/ 01/ 18/ eritre12307. htm) Human Rights Watch

Eritrea 15

[18] Eritrea (http:/ / www. grassrootsonline. org/ what-we-do/ partnerships/ where-we-work/ eritrea) Grassroots International[27] Phoebe Greenwood, Tel Aviv (17 July 2012) The Guardian, 'Eritrean regime cashes in on arms and human trafficking, says UN report'

(http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ world/ 2012/ jul/ 17/ eritrean-regime-arms-human-trafficking) Retrieved 18 July 2012[34] " Ethiopian raid on Eritrean bases raises fears of renewed conflict (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ world/ 2012/ mar/ 16/

ethiopian-raid-eritrea-conflict)". The Guardian. 16 March 2012.[35] Will arms ban slow war? (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ world/ africa/ 750789. stm) BBC 18 May 2000[38] Mark Mazzetti (2006-12-27). "U.S. Signals Backing for Ethiopian Incursion Into Somalia" (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2006/ 12/ 27/

world/ africa/ 27africa. html?partner=permalink& exprod=permalink). New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-20.[41] C. Michael Hogan (2009) Painted Hunting Dog: Lycaon pictus, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg (http:/ / globaltwitcher. auderis. se/

artspec_information. asp?thingid=35993)[42] http:/ / www. imf. org/ external/ pubs/ ft/ weo/ 2012/ 02/ weodata/ weorept. aspx?pr. x=53& pr. y=13& sy=2010& ey=2014& scsm=1&

ssd=1& sort=country& ds=. & br=1& c=643&s=NGDP_R%2CNGDP_RPCH%2CNGDP%2CNGDPD%2CNGDP_D%2CNGDPRPC%2CNGDPPC%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CPPPSH&grp=0& a=

[43] http:/ / www. worldbank. org/ en/ country/ eritrea/ overview[45] http:/ / inewp. com/ ?p=11290[47] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Eritrea& action=edit[49] Romina Rodríguez Pose and Fiona Samuels 2010. Progress in health in Eritrea: Cost-effective inter-sectoral interventions and a long-term

perspective (http:/ / www. odi. org. uk/ resources/ details. asp?id=5179&title=progress-health-eritrea-cost-effective-inter-sectoral-interventions-long-term-perspective). London: Overseas Development Institute

[51] Health profile at Eritrea WHO Country Office (http:/ / www. afro. who. int/ index. php?option=com_content& view=article& id=1029&Itemid=2070). afro.who.int

[53] Eritrea country profile (http:/ / lcweb2. loc. gov/ frd/ cs/ profiles/ Eritrea. pdf). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (September2005). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[54] PDF copy (http:/ / www. iwim. uni-bremen. de/ publikationen/ pdf/ b079. pdf)[58] http:/ / www. iaaf. org/ news/ news/ world-records-ratified-21

Further reading• Beretekeab R. (2000); Eritrean making of a Nation 1890–1991, Uppsala University, Uppsala.• Cliffe, Lionel; Connell, Dan; Davidson, Basil (2005), Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the

Eritrean Revolution (1976–1982). Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-188-0• Cliffe, Lionel & Davidson, Basil (1988), The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace.

Spokesman Press, ISBN 0-85124-463-7• Connell, Dan (1997), Against All Odds: A Chronicle of the Eritrean Revolution With a New Afterword on the

Postwar Transition. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-046-9• Connell, Dan (2001), Rethinking Revolution: New Strategies for Democracy & Social Justice : The Experiences

of Eritrea, South Africa, Palestine & Nicaragua. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-145-7• Connell, Dan (2004), Conversations with Eritrean Political Prisoners. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-235-6• Connell, Dan (2005), Building a New Nation: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution (1983–2002). Red

Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-198-8• Firebrace, James & Holand, Stuart (1985), Never Kneel Down: Drought, Development and Liberation in Eritrea.

Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-00-8• Gebre-Medhin, Jordan (1989), Peasants and Nationalism in Eritrea. Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-38-5• Hatem Elliesie: Decentralisation of Higher Education in Eritrea, Afrika Spectrum, Vol. 43 (2008) No. 1,

p. 115–120.• Hill, Justin (2002), Ciao Asmara, A classic account of contemporary Africa. Little, Brown, ISBN

978-0-349-11526-9• Iyob, Ruth (1997), The Eritrean Struggle for Independence : Domination, Resistance, Nationalism, 1941–1993.

Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59591-6• Jacquin-Berdal, Dominique; Plaut, Martin (2004), Unfinished Business: Ethiopia and Eritrea at War. Red Sea

Press, ISBN 1-56902-217-8

Eritrea 16

• Johns, Michael (1992), "Does Democracy Have a Chance", Congressional Record, 6 May 1992 (http:/ / thomas.loc. gov/ cgi-bin/ query/ z?r102:E06MY2-393:)

• Keneally, Thomas (1990), "To Asmara" ISBN 0-446-39171-9• Kendie, Daniel (2005), The Five Dimensions Of The Eritrean Conflict 1941–2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political

Puzzle. Signature Book Printing, ISBN 1-932433-47-3• Killion, Tom (1998), Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0-8108-3437-5• Mauri, Arnaldo (2004), "Eritrea's Early Stages in Monetary and Banking Development", International Review of

Economics, Vol. LI, n. 4, (http:/ / ideas. repec. org/ p/ mil/ wpdepa/ 2003-28. html)• Mauri, Arnaldo (1998), "The First Monetary and Banking Experiences in Eritrea", African Review of Money,

Finance and Banking, n. 1–2.• Miran, Jonathan (2009), Red Sea Citizens: Cosmopolitan Society and Cultural Change in Massawa. Indiana

University Press, ISBN 978-0-253-22079-0• Müller, Tanja R.: Bare life and the developmental State: the Militarization of Higher Education in Eritrea,

Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 46 (2008), No. 1, p. 1–21.• Negash T. (1987); Italian Colonisation in Eritrea: Policies, Praxis and Impact, Uppsala Univwersity, Uppsala.• Ogbaselassie, G (2006-01-10). "Response to remarks by Mr. David Triesman, Britain's parliamentary

under-secretary of state with responsibility for Africa" (http:/ / eri24. com/ Article_10043. htm). Retrieved2006-06-07.

• Pateman, Roy (1998), Eritrea: Even the Stones Are Burning. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-057-4• Phillipson, David W. (1998), Ancient Ethiopia.•• Reid, Richard. (2011) Frontiers of violence in north-east Africa: genealogies of conflict since c.1800. Oxford:

Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199211883• Wrong, Michela (2005), I Didn't Do It For You: how the world betrayed a small African Nation. Harper Collins,

ISBN 0-06-078092-4

External linksGovernment• UK government travel advice for Eritrea: Local laws and customs (http:/ / www. fco. gov. uk/ en/

travelling-and-living-overseas/ travel-advice-by-country/ sub-saharan-africa/ eritrea?ta=lawsCustoms& pg=3)• Ministry of Information of Eritrea (http:/ / www. shabait. com/ index. php) (official government website).• EriTV News, Music, Movie and Comedy from Eritrea Television (http:/ / www. eritrea-tv. net)• Eritrea (https:/ / www. cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ geos/ er. html) entry at The World

Factbook• Eritrea (http:/ / ucblibraries. colorado. edu/ govpubs/ for/ eritrea. htm) web resources provided by GovPubs at the

University of Colorado–Boulder Libraries• Eritrea (http:/ / www. dmoz. org/ Regional/ Africa/ Eritrea/ ) at the Open Directory Project• Eritrea profile (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ news/ world-africa-13349078) from BBC News.• Wikimedia Atlas of EritreaOther• HRCE – Human Rights Concern – Eritrea (http:/ / hrc-eritrea. org/ )• Documentary on Women's liberation in Eritrea (http:/ / tv. oneworld. net/ 2008/ 10/ 09/ ifad-three-sisters-part-1/ )• Tigrinya online learning with numbers, alphabet and history (http:/ / www. tigrinja. com/ ) (Eritrea and north

Ethiopia (Tigray-Province)).• (Italian) Ferrovia eritrea Eritrean Railway (http:/ / www. ferroviaeritrea. it/ )• Atlas of Eritrea (http:/ / gis. calvin. edu/ atlas/ eritrea. html)• (Italian) About Eritrea (http:/ / www. eritreaeritrea. com/ )

Eritrea 17

• Extract from [[Justin Hill (http:/ / www. theglobalist. com/ StoryId. aspx?StoryId=4668)]'s Ciao Asmara in TheGlobalist]

• Key Development Forecasts for Eritrea (http:/ / www. ifs. du. edu/ ifs/ frm_CountryProfile. aspx?Country=ER)from International Futures.

Magazine• (Italian) Special section about Eritrea from Espresso online magazine (http:/ / speciali. espresso. repubblica. it/

interattivi/ speciale-eritrea/ )• History of Eritrea: First recordings – Munzinger – exploitation by colonialism and fight against colonialism

(Italy, England, Ethiopia, Soviet Union, USA, Israel) – independence (http:/ / www. geschichteinchronologie. ch/afrika/ kol/ Eritrea-Munzinger-fight-against-colonialism-ENGL. html)

Article Sources and Contributors 18

Article Sources and ContributorsEritrea  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=569765068  Contributors: *drew, -- April, 1exec1, 2602:306:BC92:8B80:E95A:43EB:6DEE:E64B, 5464536, A Softer Answer,A-giau, A.h. king, AP2B1R, ARC Gritt, ATyoyo, AYoungson, Aaker, Abdullah Geelah, Abraham2007, Absar, Academic Challenger, Achmelvic, Acntx, Acs4b, Adoniscik, Adrian,Adrianbrodal, Aeusoes1, AfricaEditor, Ager90th, AgnosticPreachersKid, Ahmederitrean, Ahoerstemeier, Aitias, Akanemoto, Al.locke, Alan Flynn, Alan Liefting, Alansohn, Alenalki, Alensha,AlexTheGrand, AlexanderKaras, AlexiusHoratius, Alfirin, Amakuru, Amethystus, Amire80, Ammnueal, Amoog, Anakin101, Anaxial, Andres, Andy Marchbanks, Andycjp, AnnaFrance,AnonMoos, Anonymous Dissident, Antandrus, Ap, Aquillion, Arab Hafez, Arbor to SJ, Archon 2488, Arctic Kangaroo, Arnaldo Mauri, Art LaPella, Asmarani, Asmareeno, Asmarino tug,Atitarev, Atlant, Aude, Avala, Avicennasis, Axeman89, Axum3000, Aymatth2, Azalea pomp, BTSInfo, Babbage, Bansp, Bark, Baronnet, Barryob, Barticus88, Bazonka, BejaBeja, Belovedfreak,Bemoeial, Ben lethbridge, Benbest, Bender235, Benjamin Mako Hill, Bensemi, Betterusername, Bhabte1977, Bility, BillC, Billczap, Bini1111, Biruitorul, Bisrat2cool, Bkell, Blah7777777, Blesssins, Blue bear sd, Bob the Wikipedian, Bobbis, Bobblewik, Bobo192, Bodnotbod, Bokkie, Bonadea, Boomtown Rat, Brainhell, Brainy J, Brewcrewer, Briaboru, Brian0918, Brianski, BrionVIBBER, Bruce Hall, Brunodam, Buaidh, Buistr, Béka, C0nanPayne, CARLMART, CalJW, Caltas, CambridgeBayWeather, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Cantus, Caponer, Captain panda,CarlKenner, Carlossuarez46, Casliber, Cburnett, Charles Essie, Chicken Wing, Chinasaur, Chipmunkdavis, Chochopk, Chris the speller, Chrono1084, Cielbleu, Clarinetguy097, Cluckbang,Codetiger, Codex Sinaiticus, Coemgenus, CommonsDelinker, Conte di Cavour, Conversion script, Cop 663, CopperSquare, Coralmizu, Corriebertus, Corvus cornix, Corvus13, Courcelles,Craigy144, Crasa, Credema, Cs-wolves, Cwolfsheep, Cybercobra, D. C. Brescia, D6, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DBaba, DD Ting, DE, DMacks, DVD R W, Dabomb87, Dadofsam, Dan6hell66,DaneOfScandinavy, DanielCD, Danny, Dannyc77, Dantadd, Dar-Ape, Dark Shikari, Darklilac, Darth Panda, Darwinek, David Kernow, Davidiad, Dawn Bard, Dawnseeker2000, Dbc10025,Dcsohl, Ddjgarrett, DeLarge, DeadEyeArrow, Debresser, Deepak D'Souza, Deflective, Demeter, Demicx, Denisarona, Deville, Dianaca, Dimadick, Dipset1991, Discospinster, Divex, Dm526,Docu, Dogface, Dogru144, Doktorbuk, Donarreiskoffer, DopefishJustin, Dosbears, Dowgy177, Dr. Blofeld, DrKiernan, Drbug, Drdisque, Dreadstar, Dreambeaver, Dreimiller, Driss, Drmaik,Drmies, Dudley Miles, DuilioM, Dwscomet, Dyslexik, E Pluribus Anthony, ERIKId24, EarthPerson, East Nakfa, Ed Poor, Ed g2s, Edward, Edward321, EdwardLane, Eewanco, Egmontaz,Ekathulium, El C, El Mayimbe, Electionworld, Eleron123, EliasAlucard, Ellehill, Elmondo21st, Emc2, Emesfin, Enlil Ninlil, Enzuli, Epbr123, Erbullo, Erebus555, Erehtsti, Erescholar,Erget2005, EriYunga, Erianna, Ericandude, Eriplanet, Eritrawi, Eritrawi 12, Erobg, Eruionnyron, Esanchez7587, Espenrh, Ethan Talon, EthioFreedom, Ev, Everest700, Everyking, Evlekis,EyeSerene, Eyob07, Eyobbig, Eyoell, Ezequiel Matias Acosta, Ezeu, Ezq, FAH1223, FF2010, Falcon8765, Fanofranz, Fanyavizuri, Farside268, FaustX, Faycal.09, Fayenatic london, Fconaway,FeatherPluma, Feedintm, Feedmecereal, Ferrariguy90, Firsfron, Flagmantho, Flapdragon, Flatterworld, Fluffernutter, Flyer22, Fnantesfy, Foreignbeauty, Fraggle81, Fram, Francs2000, FrankDuurvoort, Free Bear, Frietjes, FrisoHoltkamp, Fritz Saalfeld, Fry1989, Fsotrain09, Fubar Obfusco, Fuhghettaboutit, FunPika, Funnyhat, G3pro, Gailtb, Gaius Cornelius, Garion96, Garlics82,Gary King, Gasparedu1990, Ged UK, Geoff.powers, GeoffreyVS, Gggh, Ghepeu, Ghewgill, Gidonb, Gilgamesh, Gilliam, Giraffedata, GirasoleDE, Glacialfox, Gnla, Gogo Dodo, GoingBatty,Golbez, Good Olfactory, Goodbye, Goustien, Gr8opinionater, Graham87, GreatManTheory, GreedyCapitalist, Green Giant, Greenman, Grendelkhan, GrimFang4, Ground Zero, Grubber,Gryffindor, Gryffon, Gscshoyru, Guernica, Gugganij, Gurch, Gyrofrog, Gzornenplatz, HDCase, HIDECCHI001, Hald, Hanacy, HannesP, HatlessAtlas, Hawkania, Hawkestone, Hazhk,Headshot789, HeikoEvermann, Hem2de, Henry Flower, HermioneBandita, Herostratus, Hmains, Hope(N Forever), Hu, Hvn0413, I I K I I, I think 2 + 2 = 22., ILVI, Iacobus, IainP,Iamagloworm, Icey, Idaltu, Ief, Ilkeston1990, Illegitimate Barrister, ImGz, Immunize, Imroy, Inamshah, Insalubru, Instruktorek, Interlaker, Interviewgirl, Iridescent, Irrawaddy, Istanbuljohnm,Iuhkjhk87y678, J'ai osé, J.A.McCoy, J.delanoy, JFHJr, JHMM13, Jab843, Jaber.m.i, Jacen Aratan, Jacob Lundberg, Jahanas, Jahangard, JamesA, JamesR, Jamisonhalliwell, Japandeep,JarlaxleArtemis, Jasonshark, JavierMC, Jaydec, Jdlyall, Jerodallen, Jeronimo, Jerrinjerirrn, Jetstreamer, Jhendin, Jiang, Jimtaip, Jimwelch, Jj137, Jmajeremy, JoSePh, John Price, John254,John5Russell3Finley, JohnChrysostom, JohnWittle, Johnisbored, Johny2011, Jojit fb, Jon451, Jonkerz, Jor70, Jorunn, Jose77, Joseph Solis in Australia, JosephV, Josiah Rowe, Jossi, Jpbowen,Jrobin08, Js2081, Jsayre64, Jschnur, Jstohler, Judgesurreal777, Judit Bustarviejo, JustinLong, KENAN2020, Kaariye, Kahuzi, Kai Ojima, Kanatonian, Kantouchthis, Kathovo, Kefka, Kellogg257,Keppa, Kgf0, Kgrrr123, Khazar2, Khoikhoi, Kickdiamonds, Kid calabria, Kikos, Kimse, King jakob c 2, Kingboyk, Kintetsubuffalo, Kleomarlo, Kling Cesar, Kman665, Knutux, Koavf, Koraki,Kotniski, Koyaanis Qatsi, Krun, Krylonblue83, KudukGirl, Kurykh, Kwamikagami, Kyle Barbour, Lambiam, Laois, Le Grat, LeContexte, Leandrod, Leewonbum, Lenineleal, LeonSKevin,Lerdthenerd, Leuko, Lfh, Liam987, Liftarn, Lightmouse, Ligulem, Lilac Soul, Lion879, Little Professor, LittleOldMe, Llywrch, Lmnb, Lola 1987, Lola8810, Lord Opeth, LordSuryaofShropshire,Lucy-marie, LukeSurl, Lumbercutter, Luna Santin, Luwam225, Lwamdd, Lwithp646, Lxvibooks, Lzhhilly, MBisanz, MECU, MER-C, 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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Flag of Eritrea.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Eritrea.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Alkari, Bukk, Counny, Fry1989, Homo lupus,Klemen Kocjancic, Mattes, Moipaulochon, Neq00, Nightstallion, Ninane, Persiana, Ratatosk, Rodejong, SiBr4, ThomasPusch, Vzb83, WikipediaMaster, Zscout370, 3 anonymous editsFile:Emblem of Eritrea (or argent azur).svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Emblem_of_Eritrea_(or_argent_azur).svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike  Contributors: SanchoPanzaXXIFile:Eritrea (Africa orthographic projection).svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eritrea_(Africa_orthographic_projection).svg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Africa_(orthographic_projection).svg: Martin23230 LocationEritrea.svg: User:Rei-artur derivative work: Sémhur (talk)File:Steady2.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Steady2.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Tomchen1989File:Africa in 400 BC.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Africa_in_400_BC.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike  Contributors: Kubek15File:Cohaito.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cohaito.jpeg  License: Creative Commons world66  Contributors: Amic, Pedro FelipeFile:Eritrea - Government building, Asmara.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eritrea_-_Government_building,_Asmara.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors: CharlesFred/Original uploader was Blofeld of SPECTRE at en.wikipediaFile:Regions of Eritrea.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Regions_of_Eritrea.svg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:ThfcFile:Un-eritrea.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Un-eritrea.png  License: UN map  Contributors: JeroenFile:Embassy of Eritrea-US.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Embassy_of_Eritrea-US.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: APKis proud to be a Tar Heel. In your face, Michigan State!. Original uploader was AgnosticPreachersKid at en.wikipedia

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 19

File:Eritrea Train Mountain Tunnel.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eritrea_Train_Mountain_Tunnel.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: SBereketFile:Eritrean Highlands.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eritrean_Highlands.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: TemesgenFile:Asmara-Panorama.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Asmara-Panorama.jpg  License: Creative Commons world66  Contributors: Amic, Banfield, Mac9, 4anonymous editsFile:Ethno-Demography of Eritrea.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ethno-Demography_of_Eritrea.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Tron9698File:Eritrea Eritrean wedding.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Eritrea_Eritrean_wedding.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors:Ardfern, DemirBajraktarevic, FlickreviewR, OttawaAC, 1 anonymous editsFile:Rashaida family.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rashaida_family.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Béka, FunkMonk,2 anonymous editsFile:Churchesndmosque eritrea.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Churchesndmosque_eritrea.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: Original uploader was Merhawie at en.wikipediaFile:Tour of Eritrea.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tour_of_Eritrea.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: photo by Hans vander SplinterFile:kitcha fit fit.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kitcha_fit_fit.png  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Juiced lemon, Lépton,Rama, 4 anonymous editsFile:Gnome-globe.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gnome-globe.svg  License: GNU Lesser General Public License  Contributors: David Vignoni

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