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Reference
Eritrea Facts and Figures from Encarta
Basic Facts
Official name State of Eritrea
Capital Asmara
Area 121,144 sq km
46,774 sq mi
Eritrea
People
Population 4,362,254 (2003 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 1.28 percent (2003 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 6,953,862 (2025 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 10,535,312 (2050 estimate)
Population density 36 persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
93 persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 19 percent (2001 estimate)
Share rural 81 percent (2001 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Asmara 514,000 (1999 estimate)
Massawa 40,000 (1992 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Tigrinya 50 percent
Tigre, Kunama 40 percent
Afar 4 percent
Saho 3 percent
Bilen, Hedareb, Nara, Rashaida 3 percent
Languages
Tigrinya, Tigre, Arabic, Afar, Bilen, Hedareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho, English
Religious affiliations
Orthodox Christian 46 percent
Muslim 45 percent
Roman Catholic 3 percent
Nonreligious 4 percent
Other 2 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 53.2 years (2003 estimate)
Female 54.9 years (2003 estimate)
Male 51.5 years (2003 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 76 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
Population per physician 33,364 people (1996)
Population per hospital bed Not available
Literacy rate
Total 55.7 percent (2000 estimate)
Female 44.5 percent (2000 estimate)
Male 67.3 percent (2000 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 4.3 percent (1998-1999)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 7 years (2000)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 48 students per teacher (1999-2000)
Government
Form of government Transitional government
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 23 May 1997
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 172,200 (2001)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 10.9 percent (2001)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $688 million (2001)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $160 (2001)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 18.7 percent (2001)
Industry 22.3 percent (2001)
Services 59 percent (2001)
Employment
Number of workers 2,112,425 (2001)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 81 percent (1990)
Industry 5 percent (1990)
Services 15 percent (1990)
Unemployment rate Not available
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue Not available
Total expenditure Not available
Monetary unit 1 nakfa, consisting of 100 cents
Major trade partners for exports
Sudan, Ethiopia, Japan, Italy, United States
Major trade partners for imports
Italy, United Arab Emirates, Germany, United States, South Korea
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 100 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 439 (2000 estimate)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 8 (2001)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 24 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.03 (2001)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people Not available
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 1.6 (1997)
Paved road as a share of total roads 22 percent (1999)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.