Eritrea (2002) | New Caledonia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (regions, singular - region); Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
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: 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 21 (2001) | 25 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. |
Birth rate | 42.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $206.4 million
expenditures: $615.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Noumea |
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; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 2,254 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 | 4 October 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: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | - |
Death rate | 11.82 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
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 territory 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 territory 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 | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) (1999) | $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) |
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. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 195.3 million kWh (2000) | 1.471 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 210 million kWh (2000) | 1.581 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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% | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) |
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 of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005)
head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions |
Exports | $34.8 million f.o.b. (2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) | Japan 22%, France 16.5%, Taiwan 12.3%, South Korea 12%, Spain 6.3%, Australia 6.1%, China 4.8%, South Africa 4.5% (2004) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17%
industry: 29% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $740 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 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 | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 6 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 3,850 km
paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
total: 5,432 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $470.5 million c.i.f. (2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) | France 40.3%, Singapore 10.9%, Australia 9.1%, New Zealand 4.9% (2004) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 73.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2001 est.) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
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, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | High court, regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | NA | 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed) (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
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: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001) |
Languages | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
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 | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
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 Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 56.57 years
male: 54.09 years female: 59.13 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.04 years
male: 71.07 years female: 77.16 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $138.3 million (FY01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 19.8% (FY01) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
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 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
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] | NA |
Population | 4,465,651 (July 2002 est.) | 216,494 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.8% (2002 est.) | 1.28% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | Noumea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 345,000 (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.) |
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Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 30,000 (2001) | 52,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA; note - mobile cellular service was introduced in May 2001 | 80,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 6 (plus 25 low-power 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 | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.31 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | none | - |