Eritrea (2004) | Romania (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K'eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma'akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri | 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea |
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: 16.9% (male 1,932,204; female 1,838,240)
15-64 years: 69% (male 7,634,481; female 7,739,232) 65 years and over: 14% (male 1,290,343; female 1,837,339) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 65 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2002) |
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: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
Area | total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Bucharest must address rampant corruption, while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms, before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. |
Birth rate | 39.03 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $235.7 million
expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Asmara (formerly Asmera) | Bucharest |
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 | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km | 225 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 | 8 December 1991 |
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: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | nakfa (ERN) | leu (ROL) |
Death rate | 13.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $311 million (2000 est.) | $13.7 billion (2002 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 | has not resolved claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Bulgaria based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920; Hungary has yet to amend status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who protest the law |
Economic aid - recipient | $77 million (1999) | - |
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. | Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF Standby Agreement, signed in 2001, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. Nonetheless, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape hinder foreign investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 205.1 million kWh (2001) | 46.1 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 1.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh NA kWh (2001) | 400 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 220.5 million kWh (2001) | 50.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 62.5%
hydro: 27.6% nuclear: 9.9% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
Ethnic groups | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002) |
Exchange rates | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - NA (2003), 13.9582 (2002), 11.3095 (2001), 9.5 (2000), 7.6 (1999) | lei per US dollar - 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.58 (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: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 November 2000, with runoff between the top two candidates held 10 December 2000 (next to be held NA November/December 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000) | textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels |
Exports - partners | Malaysia 65.1%, Italy 10.4%, France 4.4% (2003) | Italy 24.4%, Germany 15.5%, France 7.7%, UK 5.4%, US 5%, Turkey 4.4% (2002) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $169.3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.4%
industry: 25.3% services: 62.4% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 35% services: 50% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 39 00 E | 46 00 N, 25 00 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 | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 4,010 km
paved: 874 km unpaved: 3,136 km (1999 est.) |
total: 198,603 km
paved: 98,308 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 100,295 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000) | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 39.7%, Italy 19.1%, Turkey 6.8%, Russia 5.4%, France 4.7% (2003) | Italy 20.2%, Germany 18.1%, France 6.6%, Russia 5.6%, Austria 4.9%, Hungary 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 6% (2002) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
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.) |
total: 18.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.3% (2003) | 22.5% (2002 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 | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 38 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (1998 est.) | 28,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) |
Labor force | NA (1999) | 9.9 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% | agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
total: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.95%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.02% (2001) |
arable land: 40.57%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 57.03% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German |
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 | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic |
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 Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (140 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (345 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDSR (now PSD) 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PSD 65, PRM 36, PNL 13, UDMR 12, PD 9, independents 5; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR (now PSD) 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PSD 171, PRM 69, PD 29, PNL 27, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.7 years
male: 51.32 years female: 54.12 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.62 years
male: 66.88 years female: 74.59 years (2003 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: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation 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.) |
total: 61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 494,670 GRT/650,863 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 39, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Italy 5 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $77.9 million (2003) | $985 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.8% (2003) | 2.47% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,912,284 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | NA (2004) | males age 15-49: 4,974,240 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 157,840 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | frequent droughts; locust swarms | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
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.) |
-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2003) |
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 or PD [Traian BASESCU]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Theodor STOLOJAN]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR |
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] | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | 4,447,307 (July 2004 est.) | 22,271,839 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1993/94) | 44.5% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 2.57% (2004 est.) | -0.21% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Railways | total: 306 km
narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge note: railway is being rebuilt; 117 km open (2003) |
total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gage: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (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: country code - 291; note - international connections exist |
general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving
domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,100 (2003) | 3.777 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 645,500 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2000) | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) |
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 | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
Total fertility rate | 5.67 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 8.3% (2002) |
Waterways | - | 1,724 km (1984) |