Eritrea, republic (47,320 sq mi/122,559 sq km; 1991 population 3,325,000; 2004 estimated population 4,447,307), NE Africa, on the Red Sea. (cap.) Asmara; 15°00'N 40°00'E. Other important cities include the chief ports of Aseb and Massawa.
Geography
The S part of the country is made up of a largely desert coastal strip c.30 mi/48 km wide, consisting of a narrow coastal plain behind which a range of mountains rises to nearly 7,000 ft/2,130 m; in N Eritrea there is a narrower, level coastal zone adjoining a rugged inland plateau (3,000 ft/914 m–8,000 ft/2,438 m high) where Asmara is located, and in which most of the sedentary population reside.
Population
Much of the country supports only a sparse population of pastoral nomads. The country’s population is evenly divided between Christians and Muslims, the latter living mainly in the lowlands, many as herders. The Christians, mainly farmers, live in the highlands. Tigrinya, related to Amharic, is the dominant language of the highlanders and the central government. Arabic is the lingua franca of trade in the coastal and western provinces, although not wide-spread among the native tribes there.
Economy
The central plateau, however, has many fertile valleys where settled agriculture (citrus fruits, sesame, gum arabic, cereals, cotton, hides, salt) is pursued. There once were pearl fisheries in the Dahlak Archipelago, located in the Red Sea. The country has little industry beyond food processing, textiles, and building materials.
History to 1972
Eritrea formed part of the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum until the 7th century. Thereafter Ethiopian emperors maintained an intermittent presence in the area until the mid-16th century, when the Ottoman Empire gained control of much of the coastal region. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Ethiopia struggled against Egypt and Italy for control of Eritrea. In the 1880s, Italy occupied the coastal areas around Aseb and Massawa, and by 1890 had extended its territory enough to proclaim the colony of Eritrea (named after the Roman term for the Red Sea, Mare erythraeum). The colony was later the main base for Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia (1935–36). In World War II, Eritrea was captured by the British (1941). Ethiopia had long demanded control of Eritrea on the ground of ethnic affinity, but Britain occupied Eritrea after the war and, beginning in 1949, administered it as a UN trust territory. In 1950, the UN decided that Eritrea was to be made independent as a federated part of Ethiopia, and in late 1952 this decision became effective. In late 1962, the Eritrean assembly voted to end the federal status and to unify Eritrea with Ethiopia. After 1962, Eritreans who opposed union carried on sporadic guerrilla warfare against Ethiopia and founded the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF).
History - 1972 to Present
In 1972, a rival insurgent group, the Eritrean Popular Liberation Forces (EPLF), was formed and battled the ELF for supremacy. After Emperor Haile Selassie’s overthrow in a military coup in 1974, Eritrea’s two insurgent groups united to fight against the Ethiopian government’s forces. Fighting increased and by 1976 the Eritreans had virtually driven Ethiopian government forces out of the province. The Ethiopian government, with troops and massive amounts of aid from the USSR and Cuba, retaliated and was almost able to defeat the Eritreans in 1978. The insurgents returned to sporadic guerrilla warfare and fighting continued through the 1980s; the Eritrean liberation forces gained victory in 1991. It is estimated that 100,000-150,000 Eritreans died in the fighting between 1962 and 1991. In April, 1993, the UN monitored a referendum where 99.8% of voters supported independence. Eritrea became an independent secular republic on May 24, 1993 and was admitted to the UN. In 1994, the government began drafting a new democratic constitution. In 1998, a two-and-a-half-year border war erupted with Ethiopa, but was ended under UN auspices in 2000. Currently, Eritrea has a UN peacekeeping mission that monitors a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethipia. The international commission's findings on how to resolve the dispute came out in 2002, but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. Western nations and the International Monetary Fund have sent money for agriculture, healthcare, and communications improvements. Some half million war refugees await repatriation in Sudanese camps.
Government
Since 1993 President Isaias Aforki has been chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly.
