Eritrea (2004) | Northern Mariana Islands (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.8% (male 998,404; female 993,349)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 1,140,892; female 1,166,481) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 72,776; female 75,405) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
23.55% (male 8,929; female 8,639) 15-64 years: 74.72% (male 26,242; female 29,509) 65 years and over: 1.73% (male 639; female 654) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 6 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
477 sq km land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | 2.5 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 a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002 but final demarcation is on hold due to Ethiopian objections. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.6 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $235.7 million
expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$221 million expenditures: $213 million, including capital expenditures of $17.7 million (1996) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Saipan |
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 marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 1,482 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 | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 |
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:
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $311 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI
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 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
- |
Disputes - international | Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but demarcation has been delayed, despite intense international intervention, by Ethiopian insistence that the decision ignored "human geography," made technical errors in the delimitation, and incorrectly awarded Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war, and other areas to Eritrea and Eritrea's insistence on not deviating from the commission's decision; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) continues to monitor a 25km-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) | extensive funding from US |
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 -12.1% 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 benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 12,000 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 205.1 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 220.5 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
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 on Agrihan 965 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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% | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
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:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Pedro P. TENORIO (since NA January 1998) and Lieutenant Governor Jesus R. SABLAN (since NA January 1998) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held in NA November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Pedro P. TENORIO elected governor in a three-way race; percent of vote - Pedro P. TENORIO (Republican Party) 47% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) | garments |
Exports - partners | Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003) | US |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 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 | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 4,010 km
paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.) |
total:
362 km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (2003) | US, Japan |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 75.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 83.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
5.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2003) | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | NA (1999) | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.95%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 19% forests and woodland: 0% other: 60% |
Languages | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
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 | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
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 |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 6, Democratic Party 2, Reform Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 10, Democratic Party 8 note: the Commonwealth does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Juan N. BABAUTA) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.7 years
male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
75.74 years male: 72.65 years female: 79.02 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,069 GRT/19,549 DWT
by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $77.9 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | NA (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 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 (2004 est.) |
18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
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 | 4,447,307 (July 2004 est.) | 74,612 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993/94) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.57% (2004 est.) | 3.62% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,100 (2003) | 21,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1,200 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (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 | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.76 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |