Compare Eritrea (2006) - Jamaica (2006)

Compare Eritrea (2006) z Jamaica (2006)

	Eritrea (2006)	Jamaica (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Age structure	0-14 years: 44% (male 1,059,458/female 1,046,955) 15-64 years: 52.5% (male 1,244,153/female 1,268,189) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 82,112/female 86,127) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181) 15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Airports	17 (2006)	35 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2006)	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006)
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 (2006)	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Area	total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Pennsylvania	slightly smaller than Connecticut
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 in 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.	The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England siezed the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of which became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs created by the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Birth rate	34.33 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $248.8 million expenditures: $409.4 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Asmara (Asmera) geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 53 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline	2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)	1,022 km
Constitution	a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented	6 August 1962
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: Jamaica
Death rate	9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$311 million (2000 est.)	$7.162 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Scott H. DELISI embassy: 179 Alaa Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584	chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: Mutual Life Building, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador GHIRMAI Ghebremariam 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 Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Disputes - international	Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision, but despite international intervention, mutual animosities, accusations, and armed posturing have prevented demarcation; Ethiopia refuses to withdraw to the delimited boundary until claimed technical errors made by the EEBC that ignored "human geography" are addressed, including the award of Badme, the focus of the 1998-2000 war; Eritrea insists that the EEBC decision be implemented immediately without modifications; in 2005 Eritrea began severely restricting the operations of the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) monitoring the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000; Sudan sustains over 110,000 Eritrean refugees and accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups	none
Economic aid - recipient	$77 million (1999)	$18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004)
Economy - overview	Since independence from Ethiopia in 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 2002-05. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, as well as the willingness to open its economy to private enterprise so that the diaspora's money and expertise can foster economic growth.	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a growing stock of internal debt - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s. The ratio of debt to GDP is 135%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.
Electricity - consumption	251.9 million kWh (2003)	2.974 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production	270.9 million kWh (2003)	3.717 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare	heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%	black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Exchange rates	nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 14.5 (2005), 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003), 13.958 (2002), 11.31 (2001)	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001)
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 for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); 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), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	Italy 39.3%, US 14.9%, Belarus 7.3%, Germany 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005)	US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005)
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	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10.2% industry: 25.4% services: 64.3% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 4.9% industry: 33.7% services: 61.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2% (2005 est.)	1.8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	15 00 N, 39 00 E	18 15 N, 77 30 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	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods (2000)	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners	Germany 22.2%, Italy 20.3%, France 15.9%, US 12.8%, Ireland 8.2% (2005)	US 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%, Japan 4.6% (2005)
Independence	24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)	6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	-2% (2000 est.)
Industries	food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, salt, cement, commercial ship repair	tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	total: 46.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 52.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15% (2005 est.)	15.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, 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	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	210 sq km (2003)	250 sq km (2002)
Judicial branch	High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force	NA	1.2 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20%	agriculture: 19.3% industry: 16.6% services: 64.1% (2004)
Land boundaries	total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 4.78% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.19% (2005)	arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)
Languages	Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages	English, patois 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	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 59.03 years male: 57.44 years female: 60.66 years (2006 est.)	total population: 73.24 years male: 71.54 years female: 75.03 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,506 GRT/23,649 DWT by type: cargo 3, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2006)	total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (2006)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$220.1 million (2005 est.)	$31.17 million (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	17.7% (2005 est.)	0.4% (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 24 May (1993)	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Nationality	noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards	frequent droughts; locust swarms	hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish	bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); 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]	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population	4,786,994 (July 2006 est.)	2,758,124 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	50% (2004 est.)	19.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	2.47% (2006 est.)	0.8% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2005)	total: 272 km standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Religions	Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant	Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate domestic: 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use	37,700 (2005)	342,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	40,400 (2005)	2.7 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	7 (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	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate	5.08 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	11.5% (2005 est.)

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