Compare Arctic Ocean (2001) - Eritrea (2005)

Compare Arctic Ocean (2001) z Eritrea (2005)

	Arctic Ocean (2001)	Eritrea (2005)

Administrative divisions	-	6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,023,898/female 1,019,389) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,170,823/female 1,194,741) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 74,312/female 78,436) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Airports	-	17 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 13 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies	total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US	slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Background	The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean.	Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections.
Birth rate	-	38.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $235.2 million expenditures: $373.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	-	Asmara
Climate	polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow	hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert
Coastline	45,389 km	2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km
Constitution	-	a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
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
Death rate	-	13.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	-	$311 million (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Diplomatic representation in the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)
Disputes - international	some maritime disputes (see littoral states)	Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations and armed posturing prevail, preventing demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; since 2000, the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitors the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999
Economic aid - recipient	-	$77 million (1999)
Economy - overview	Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals.	Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002-04. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.
Electricity - consumption	-	229.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	246.6 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m	lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Environment - current issues	endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack	deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements	-	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	-	ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Exchange rates	-	nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002), 11.31 (2001), 9.625 (2000)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%
Exports	-	NA
Exports - commodities	-	livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports - partners	-	Malaysia 26.6%, Italy 17.1%, Japan 8%, Germany 6.6%, China 5%, UK 4.9%, US 4.7%, France 4.4%, Poland 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	-	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
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 12.4% industry: 25.9% services: 61.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $900 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	2.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	90 00 N, 0 00 E	15 00 N, 39 00 E
Geography - note	major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months	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
Highways	-	total: 4,010 km paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Imports	-	NA
Imports - commodities	-	machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)
Imports - partners	-	Ireland 26.6%, US 18.6%, Italy 16.6%, Turkey 6.4% (2004)
Independence	-	24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
Industrial production growth rate	-	NA
Industries	-	food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 74.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	10% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Irrigated land	-	220 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts
Labor force	-	NA
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 80%, industry and services 20%
Land boundaries	-	total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Land use	-	arable land: 4.95% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001)
Languages	-	Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Legal system	-	primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law
Legislative branch	-	unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, that had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 58.47 years male: 56.96 years female: 60.02 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: NA total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Location	body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle	Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references	Arctic Region	Africa
Maritime claims	-	territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2005)
Military branches	-	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$151 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	13.4% (2004)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Nationality	-	noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Natural hazards	ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May	frequent droughts; locust swarms
Natural resources	sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Net migration rate	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]
Population	-	4,561,599 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	50% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	-	2.51% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US)	Assab, Massawa
Radio broadcast stations	-	AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Railways	-	total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2004)
Religions	-	Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	-	general assessment: inadequate domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
Telephones - main lines in use	-	38,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	NA
Television broadcast stations	-	1 (2000)
Terrain	central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)	dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Total fertility rate	-	5.61 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA (2003 est.)

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