Eritrea (2001) | Libya (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
note: in May 1995 the National Assembly adopted a resolution stating that the administrative structure of Eritrea, which had been established by former colonial powers, would consist of only six provinces when the new constitution, then being drafted, became effective in 1997; the new provinces, the names of which had not been recommended by the US Board on Geographic Names for recognition by the US Government, pending acceptable definition of the boundaries, were: Anseba, Debub, Debubawi Keyih Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maakel, and Semanawi Keyih Bahri; more recently, it has been reported that these provinces have been redesignated regions and renamed Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, and Central |
25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.85% (male 922,691; female 918,916) 15-64 years: 53.87% (male 1,147,927; female 1,167,705) 65 years and over: 3.28% (male 71,232; female 69,798) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35% (male 958,243; female 917,940)
15-64 years: 61% (male 1,694,986; female 1,581,400) 65 years and over: 4% (male 105,500; female 110,516) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 20 (2000 est.) | 136 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
18 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total:
121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | 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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$283.9 million expenditures: $351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $9.3 billion
expenditures: $9.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Tripoli |
Climate | 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 | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
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 |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador William D. CLARKE embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | as a result of the 12 December 2000 peace agreement ending a two-year war with Ethiopia, the UN will administer a 25-km wide temporary security zone within Eritrea until a joint boundary commission delimits and demarcates a final boundary | Chadian rebels from Aozou region reside in Libya; Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in Niger as well as part of southeastern Algeria in currently dormant disputes |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | $7 million |
Economy - overview | With independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road construction is a top domestic priority. In the long term, Eritrea may benefit from the development of offshore oil, offshore fishing, and tourism. Eritrea's economic future depends on its ability to master fundamental social and economic problems, e.g., by reducing illiteracy, promoting job creation, expanding technical training, attracting foreign investment, and streamlining the bureaucracy. Eritrea's agriculture over the last two years was severely weakened by war and drought, and many farmlands must wait to be demined. Another major difficulty is the ports, which prior to the war were Ethiopia's preferred outlets but since have seen trade dry up. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. The suspension of UN sanctions in 1999 also boosted growth. Libya's January 2002 51% devaluation of the official exchange rate of the dinar is another fiscal plus, although it will also bring higher inflation. |
Electricity - consumption | 153.5 million kWh (1999) | 18.042 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 165 million kWh (1999) | 19.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.6501 (December 2001), 0.6501 (2001), 0.5403 (2000), 0.5403 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997); market rate for Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.55 (January 2002)
note: Libya devalued its official rate for foreign trade on 1 January 2002 to 21.30 dinars per US dollar; the previous official rate was 0.63 dinar per US dollar (Dec 2001 ) |
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 elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next tentatively scheduled for December 2001) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $13.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) | Italy 42%, Germany 19%, Spain 13%, Turkey 6%, France 4%, Switzerland 3%, Tunisia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $40 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 27% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2000 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
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 | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
total: 24,484 km
paved: 6,798 km unpaved: 17,686 km note: data for the length of unpaved roads include the assumption that because they were listed as secondary roads, they are unpaved; some may be paved and some part of the primary roads may not be paved (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $8.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) | Italy 25%, Germany 10%, UK 8%, France 7%, Tunisia 7%, South Korea 4% (2000) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 27.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 13.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1993 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 which 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 country-wide elections to a National Assembly are held; only 75 members will be elected to the National Assembly - the other 75 will be members of the Central Committee of the PFDJ; parliamentary elections are now scheduled for NA December 2001 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.18 years male: 53.73 years female: 58.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.86 years
male: 73.71 years female: 78.11 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total:
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 209,000 GRT/278,277 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $160 million (2000 est.) | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 29.4% (2000 est.) | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,503,647 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 890,783 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,694 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun:
Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 7.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: according to the UNHCR, about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan have registered for voluntary repatriation, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Sudan in January 2000 |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km |
Political parties and leaders | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki, PETROS Solomon]; note - the National Assembly has appointed a committee to draft a law on political parties | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD] | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) | 5,368,585
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.84% (2001 est.) | 2.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | 345,000 (1997) | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge (1999) note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way |
note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard-gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (2001) |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Sunni Muslim 97% |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system international: NA |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,578 (2000) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | 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 | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |