Eritrea (2001) | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of (2001) | |
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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 |
123 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Aracinovo, Bac, Belcista, Berovo, Bistrica, Bitola, Blatec, Bogdanci, Bogomila, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Cair (Skopje), Capari, Caska, Cegrane, Centar (Skopje), Centar Zupa, Cesinovo, Cucer-Sandevo, Debar, Delcevo, Delogozdi, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dobrusevo, Dolna Banjica, Dolneni, Dorce Petrov (Skopje), Drugovo, Dzepciste, Gazi Baba (Skopje), Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Izvor, Jegunovce, Kamenjane, Karbinci, Karpos (Skopje), Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kisela Voda (Skopje), Klecevce, Kocani, Konce, Kondovo, Konopiste, Kosel, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kuklis, Kukurecani, Kumanovo, Labunista, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Lukovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovi Anovi, Meseista, Miravci, Mogila, Murtino, Negotino, Negotino-Poloska, Novaci, Novo Selo, Oblesevo, Ohrid, Orasac, Orizari, Oslomej, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnia, Podares, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Rostusa, Samokov, Saraj, Sipkovica, Sopiste, Sopotnika, Srbinovo, Star Dojran, Staravina, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Suto Orizari (Skopje), Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Topolcani, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Velesta, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vitoliste, Vranestica, Vrapciste, Vratnica, Vrutok, Zajas, Zelenikovo, Zileno, Zitose, Zletovo, Zrnovci
note: the seven municipalities followed by Skopje in parentheses collectively constitute "greater Skopje" |
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:
22.92% (male 243,715; female 225,349) 15-64 years: 66.94% (male 688,484; female 681,225) 65 years and over: 10.14% (male 92,043; female 115,393) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, millet, cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus, vegetables; beef, pork, poultry, mutton |
Airports | 20 (2000 est.) | 16 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
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:
6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
25,333 sq km land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Vermont |
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. | International recognition of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (FYROM) independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, despite continued disagreement over FYROM's use of "Macedonia." FYROM's large Albanian minority and the de facto independence of neighboring Kosovo continue to be sources of ethnic tension. |
Birth rate | 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$283.9 million expenditures: $351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues:
$1.06 billion expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $107 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Skopje |
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 | warm, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented | adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
note: Democratic Party for Albanians (DPA), which is now a member party of the government, is calling for a rewrite of the constitution to declare ethnic Albanians a constituent national group and allow for greater regional autonomy |
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:
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia conventional short form: none local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija abbreviation: FYROM |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | Macedonian denar (MKD) |
Death rate | 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $1.4 billion (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael M. EINIK embassy: Bul. Ilinden bb, 91000 Skopje mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] (91) 116-180 FAX: [389] (91) 117-103 |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ljubica Z. ACEVSKA chancery: 3050 K Street, NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337 3063 FAX: [1] (202) 337-3093 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | dispute with Greece over its name; February 2001 agreement with Yugoslavia settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | $100 million from the EU (2000) |
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. | At independence in November 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on its largest market Yugoslavia, and a Greek economic embargo hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP has subsequently increased each year, rising by 5% in 2000. Successful privatization in 2000 boosted the country's reserves to over $700 million. Also, the leadership demonstrated a continuing commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration. Inflation jumped to 11% in 2000, largely due to higher oil prices. |
Electricity - consumption | 153.5 million kWh (1999) | 5.992 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) | 75 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 165 million kWh (1999) | 6.395 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
82.25% hydro: 17.75% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
lowest point:
Vardar River 50 m highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | air pollution from metallurgical plants |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands 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% | Macedonian 66.6%, Albanian 22.7%, Turkish 4%, Roma 2.2%, Serb 2.1%, other 2.4% (1994) |
Exchange rates | nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 64.757 (January 2001), 65.904 (2000), 56.902 (1999), 54.462 (1998), 50.004 (1997), 39.981 (1996) |
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:
President Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Ljubco GEORGIEVSKI (since 30 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO-DPMNE, LDP, and DPA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister elected by parliament; election last held NA November 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2% |
Exports | $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures | food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) | Germany 22%, Yugoslavia 22%, US 12%, Greece 7%, Italy 6% (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 | a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 27% services: 57% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
12% industry: 25% services: 63% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2000 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 41 50 N, 22 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 | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe |
Highways | total:
3,850 km paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
total:
8,684 km paved: 5,540 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,144 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | increasing transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe |
Imports | $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; food products |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) | Germany 13%, Ukraine 13%, Russia 10%, Yugoslavia 8%, Greece 8% (2000) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | 17 September 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2000) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel, textiles, wood products, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 12.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14% (2000 est.) | 11% (2000 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 | ACCT (associate), BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1993 est.) | 830 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts | Constitutional Court; Judicial Court of the Republic; judges for both courts are elected by the Judicial Council |
Labor force | NA | 1 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
1,630 km border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
total:
748 km border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km, Yugoslavia 221 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 49% forests and woodland: 6% other: 32% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
24% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 39% other: 10% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3% |
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 civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
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 Assembly or Sobranje (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that parties gain from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 18 October and 1 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 43, SDSM 27, PDP 14, DA 13, DPA 11, VMRO-VMRO 6, LDP 4, SP 1, Roma Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.18 years male: 53.73 years female: 58.71 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
74.02 years male: 71.79 years female: 76.43 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army (includes Air and Air Defense Forces), Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $160 million (2000 est.) | $76.3 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 29.4% (2000 est.) | 2.17% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
548,183 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
442,053 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
17,905 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Uprising Day, 2 August (1903) |
Nationality | noun:
Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean |
noun:
Macedonian(s) adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber, arable land |
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 |
-1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 10 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 | Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president]; Democratic Party for Albanians or DPA [Arben XHAFERI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Ljubcho GEORGIEVSKI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO [Boris STOJMANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto GUSTERVO]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP [Imeri IMERI, president]; Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM (former Communist Party) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president]; Union of Romanies of Macedonia or SRM [leader NA] |
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] | NA |
Population | 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) | 2,046,209 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.84% (2001 est.) | 0.43% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 345,000 (1997) | 410,000 (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 |
total:
699 km standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) note: a 56-km extension of the Kumanovo-Beljakovci line to the Bulgarian border at Gyveshevo is under construction (2001) |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Macedonian Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3% |
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:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 23,578 (2000) | 408,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 12,362 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
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 | mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River |
Total fertility rate | 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 32% (2000) |
Waterways | none | note:
lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders |