Land use:
arable land: 4.78%
permanent crops: 0.03%
other: 95.19% (2005)
Irrigated land:
210 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
6.3 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.3 cu km/yr (3%/0%/97%)
per capita: 68 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
frequent droughts; locust swarms
volcanism: Dubbi (elev. 1,625 m, 5,331 ft), which last erupted in 1861, is the country's only historically active volcano
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
People ::Eritrea
Population:
5,792,984 (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 108
Age structure:
0–14 years: 42.8% (male 1,212,848/female 1,202,240)
15–64 years: 53.7% (male 1,483,169/female 1,547,078)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 92,009/female 109,824) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.5 years
male: 18.2 years
female: 18.9 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.522% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 30
Birth rate:
33.48 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 39
Death rate:
8.25 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 96
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population country comparison to the world: 73
Urbanization:
urban population: 21% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 5.4% annual rate of change (2005–10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 42.33 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 65 male: 47.87 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 36.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.15 years country comparison to the world: 180 male: 60.06 years
female: 64.3 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.6 children born/woman (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 35
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.3% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 47
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
38,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 66
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,600 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 56
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean
Ethnic groups:
nine recognized ethnic groups: Tigrinya 55%, Tigre 30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, other (Afar, Beni Amir, Nera) 5% (2010 est.)
Religions:
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages:
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre,
Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6%
male: 69.9%
female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 6 years
male: 7 years
female: 5 years (2004)
Education expenditures:
2% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 168
Government ::Eritrea
Country name:
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea
local long form: Hagere Ertra
local short form: Ertra
former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Government type:
transitional government
note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23–25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001 but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
Capital:
name: Asmara (Asmera)
geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 56 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (South), Debubawi