Eritrea (2003) | Niue (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (regions, singular - region); Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.7% (male 977,447; female 972,068)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,121,077; female 1,147,109) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 71,620; female 72,933) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 18 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 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) |
- |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | 1.5 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 is monitoring the border region. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 39.44 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $206.4 million
expenditures: $615.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Alofi |
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 |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 64 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 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 13.23 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $311 million (2000 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 independent boundary commission delimitation decision, but demarcation, scheduled to begin in 2003, has been hampered by technical delays and Ethiopian concerns that the decision ignored "human geography" and awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, to Eritrea, demarcation of the boundary has been postponed indefinately; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitors a 25 km wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea until the demarcation; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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 fell to zero in 1999 and to -1% 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. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military kept cereal production well below normal, holding down growth in 2002. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to open its economy to private enterprise so the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 205.1 million kWh (2001) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 220.5 million kWh (2001) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998) |
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; 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Italy 36.9%, Germany 16.7%, France 10.3%, US 5.4%, Netherlands 5.2% (2002) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17%
industry: 29% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 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 | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 4,010 km
paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Italy 27.1%, US 15.7%, Germany 7.2%, Ukraine 5.8%, Turkey 5.5%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2002) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 76.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 83.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2001) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | or High Court, regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
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 | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own 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, that 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 indefinitely |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.18 years
male: 51.48 years female: 54.92 years (2003 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
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) 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 New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $95.75 million (FY02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 12% (FY02) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | typhoons |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -13.38 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 (2003 est.) |
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS Afworki]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ [leader NA] (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement) [leader NA]); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement) [leader NA]; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] | NA |
Population | 4,362,254 (July 2003 est.) | 2,145 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993/94) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.28% (2003 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt (2002) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
NA (2003 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 30,000 (2001) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA; note - mobile cellular service was introduced in May 2001 | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (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 | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 5.74 children born/woman (2003 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |