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Key Demographic Features of Eritrea*

Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references: Africa

People

Population: 3,427,883 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 755,417; female 743,135)
15-64 years: 53% (male 910,976; female 913,531)
65 years and over: 3% (male 54,310; female 50,514) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.79% (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 118.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.31 years
male: 48.57 years
female: 52.1 years (1996 est.)
Ethnic divisions: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%
Religions: Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Languages: Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Italian, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, minor tribal languages

Government

Country Abbreviation: ER
Type of government: transitional government
note:
Independence:
National holiday: National Day (independence from Ethiopia), 24 May (1993)
Constitution: transitional "constitution" decreed 19 May 1993; the promulgation of a draft constitution is expected in 1996
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: NA; note - the transitional constitution of 19 May 1993 did not provide rules for suffrage, but it seems likely that the final version of the constitution, to be promulgated some time in 1996, will follow the example set in the referendum of 1993 in which suffrage was universal for persons 18 years of age or older
People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon (the only party recognized by the government)
Other political or pressure groups:
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador AMDEMICHAEL Berhane Khasai
chancery: Suite 400, 910 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone: [1] (202) 429-1991
FAX: [1] (202) 429-9004
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. HOUDEK
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt St., Asmara
mailing address: P.O. Box 211, Asmara
telephone: [291] (1) 120004
FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Flag: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle

Economy

Economic overview:
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 10% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $570 (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%

Communications

Telephones: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (government controlled)
Televisions: NA

*Source: World Factbook 1996, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

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