Austria (2006) | Eritrea (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) | 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: 15.4% (male 645,337/female 614,602)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,782,712/female 2,749,620) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 567,752/female 832,857) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 44% (male 1,059,458/female 1,046,955)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 1,244,153/female 1,268,189) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 82,112/female 86,127) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 55 (2006) | 17 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 15 (2006) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2006) |
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 (2006) |
Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly larger than Pennsylvania |
Background | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. | 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 in 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 | 8.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 34.33 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $148.6 billion
expenditures: $154.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $248.8 million
expenditures: $409.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Vienna
geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: Asmara (Asmera)
geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 53 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km) |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | 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: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
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 | 9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $510.6 billion (30 June 2005 est.) | $311 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI
embassy: 179 Alaa 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 Eva NOWOTNY
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador GHIRMAI Ghebremariam
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 | Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic | 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 have prevented demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimed 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; in 2005 Eritrea began severely restricting the operations of the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitoring the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000; Sudan sustains over 110,000 Eritrean refugees and accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $681 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $77 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The current government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government, creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location, pursuing a balanced budget, and implementing effective pension reforms. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe have held the economy to growth rates of 0.4% in 2002, 1.4% in 2003, 2.4% in 2004, and 1.8% in 2005. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population. | Since independence from Ethiopia in 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 2002-05. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, as well as the willingness to open its economy to private enterprise so that the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 64.78 billion kWh (2004) | 251.9 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 13.53 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 16.63 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 63.69 billion kWh (2004) | 270.9 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
Environment - current issues | some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census) | Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 14.5 (2005), 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002), 11.31 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
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 for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); 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 | 30,140 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) |
Exports - partners | Germany 31.2%, Italy 8.7%, US 5.8%, Switzerland 5.2%, France 4.2% (2005) | Italy 39.3%, US 14.9%, Belarus 7.3%, Germany 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | 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: 1.8%
industry: 30.4% services: 67.8% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 25.4% services: 64.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 15 00 N, 39 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
Imports | 152,600 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) |
Imports - partners | Germany 45.9%, Italy 6.6%, Switzerland 4.5% (2005) | Germany 22.2%, Italy 20.3%, France 15.9%, US 12.8%, Ireland 8.2% (2005) |
Independence | 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 46.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 15% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, 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 | 40 sq km (2003) | 210 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts |
Labor force | 3.49 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 80%
industry and services: 20% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005) |
arable land: 4.78%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.19% (2005) |
Languages | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least 3 representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
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: 79.07 years
male: 76.17 years female: 82.11 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 59.03 years
male: 57.44 years female: 60.66 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,072 GRT/44,437 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 14 (Liberia 13, Malta 1) (2006) |
total: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,506 GRT/23,649 DWT
by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2006) |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) | $220.1 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2004) | 17.7% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | 1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | 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 | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); 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 | 8,192,880 (July 2006 est.) | 4,786,994 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 5.9% (2004) | 50% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.09% (2006 est.) | 2.47% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Railways | total: 6,011 km
standard gauge: 5,568 km 1.435-m gauge (3,427 km electrified) narrow gauge: 21 km 1.000-m gauge; 422 km 0.760-m gauge (109 km electrified) (2005) |
total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 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 (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 45 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2005) |
general assessment: inadequate
domestic: 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 | 3.705 million (2005) | 37,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.16 million (2005) | 40,400 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | 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 | 1.36 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.08 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 358 km (2003) | - |