Eritrea (2002) | Martinique (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (regions, singular - region); Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 958,564; female 955,625)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,192,454; female 1,213,313) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 73,017; female 72,678) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 23% (male 49,261; female 47,843)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 140,616; female 141,460) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 19,274; female 23,823) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC |
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. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that will monitor the border region until an international commission determines and demarcates the boundary between the two countries. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 42.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.37 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $206.4 million
expenditures: $615.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) (1996) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Fort-de-France |
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 | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 350 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 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 11.82 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $180 million (1994) (1994) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Donald J. McCONNELL
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Eritrea and Ethiopia have expressed general approval of the April 2002 arbitration commission ruling re-delimiting the boundary, the focus of their 1998-2000 war; United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will monitor activities within the 25-km wide temporary security zone in Eritrea until demarcation and de-mining are complete; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) (1999) | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France |
Economy - overview | Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% 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. Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to convert the diaspora's money and expertise into economic growth. | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration. |
Electricity - consumption | 195.3 million kWh (2000) | 1.046 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 210 million kWh (2000) | 1.125 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Afworki ISAIAS (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 Afworki ISAIAS (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Michel CADOT (since 21 June 2000)
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $34.8 million f.o.b. (2000) | $250 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples |
Exports - partners | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) |
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 light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17%
industry: 29% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $740 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
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 island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Highways | total: 3,850 km
paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
total: 2,105 km (2000)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | $470.5 million c.i.f. (2000) | $2 billion c.i.f. (1997) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 73.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 7.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2001 est.) | 3.9% (1990) (1990) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | FZ, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High court, regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | NA | 170,000 (1997) (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) (1997) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.87%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 96.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 9.43%
permanent crops: 11.32% other: 79.25% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law | French legal system |
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 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 indefinately |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 15 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR-UDF 14, MIM 13, PPM 7, left parties 4, PMS 3 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PMS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 56.57 years
male: 54.09 years female: 59.13 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.56 years
male: 79.19 years female: 77.92 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,100 GRT/23,399 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $138.3 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 19.8% (FY01) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | 7.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2002 est.) |
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [Afworki ISAIAS]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly had not yet debated or voted on it as of December 2001 | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Pierre SUEDILLE]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; note - may no longer be in existence; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
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]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
Population | 4,465,651 (July 2002 est.) | 422,277 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.8% (2002 est.) | 0.89% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | Fort-de-France, La Trinite |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 345,000 (1997) | 82,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 317 km
narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge 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 (2001 est.) |
0 km (2002) |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% |
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 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: NA; note - international connections exist |
general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 30,000 (2001) | 170,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA; note - mobile cellular service was introduced in May 2001 | 15,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
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 with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 5.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.2% (1998) (1998) |
Waterways | none | none |