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Compare Eritrea (2001) - Southern Ocean (2001)

Compare Eritrea (2001) z Southern Ocean (2001)

 Eritrea (2001)Southern Ocean (2001)
 EritreaSouthern Ocean
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
-
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.)
-
Agriculture - products sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish -
Airports 20 (2000 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total:
2

over 3,047 m:
1

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1 (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.)
-
Area total:
121,320 sq km

land:
121,320 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total:
20.327 million sq km

note:
includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly larger than Pennsylvania slightly more than twice the size of the US
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. A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).
Birth rate 42.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) -
Budget revenues:
$283.9 million

expenditures:
$351.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
-
Capital Asmara (formerly Asmera) -
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 sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km 17,968 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 -
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
-
Currency nakfa (ERN) -
Death rate 12.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) -
Debt - external $281 million (2000 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
-
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
-
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 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in the Antarctica entry); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the maritime claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient $77 million (1999) -
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. Fisheries in 1998-99 (1 July to 30 June) landed 119,898 metric tons, of which 85% was krill and 14% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 1998-99 season landed five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery. In the 1999-2000 antarctic summer 13,193 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 10,013 the previous year. Nearly 16,000 tourists are expected during the 2000-01 season.
Electricity - consumption 153.5 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) -
Electricity - imports 0 kWh NA kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production 165 million kWh (1999) -
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

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:
-7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench

highest point:
sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish

note:
the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)

note:
many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3% -
Exchange rates nakfa per US dollar = 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) -
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%
-
Exports $26 million (f.o.b., 1999) -
Exports - commodities livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures -
Exports - partners Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) -
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 purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
16%

industry:
27%

services:
57% (2000 est.)
-
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate -1% (2000 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 39 00 E 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica, and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
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 the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways total:
3,850 km

paved:
810 km

unpaved:
3,040 km (2000)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
-
Imports $560 million (c.i.f., 1999) -
Imports - commodities machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods -
Imports - partners Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) -
Independence 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) -
Industrial production growth rate NA% -
Industries food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles -
Infant mortality rate 75.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) -
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 14% (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 -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 4 (2000) -
Irrigated land 280 sq km (1993 est.) -
Judicial branch Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts -
Labor force NA -
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% -
Land boundaries total:
1,630 km

border countries:
Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
-
Land use arable land:
12%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
49%

forests and woodland:
6%

other:
32% (1998 est.)
-
Languages Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages -
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 -
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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population:
56.18 years

male:
53.73 years

female:
58.71 years (2001 est.)
-
Literacy definition:
NA

total population:
25%

male:
NA%

female:
NA%
-
Location Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Africa Antarctic Region
Maritime claims territorial sea:
12 NM
-
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 -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $160 million (2000 est.) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 29.4% (2000 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 24 May (1993) -
Nationality noun:
Eritrean(s)

adjective:
Eritrean
-
Natural hazards frequent droughts; locust swarms huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs, squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
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
-
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 -
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] -
Population 4,298,269 (July 2001 est.) -
Population below poverty line NA% -
Population growth rate 3.84% (2001 est.) -
Ports and harbors Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica

note:
few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2000) -
Radios 345,000 (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
-
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:
1.02 male(s)/female

total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
-
Suffrage 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
-
Telephones - main lines in use 23,578 (2000) -
Telephones - mobile cellular NA -
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) -
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 the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep - its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 5.87 children born/woman (2001 est.) -
Unemployment rate NA% -
Waterways none -
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