Region:
Eastern Africa
Capital:
Asmara
Population:
523 051 (July
2004 est.)
Surface
area:
117 600 square
km
Currency:
nakfa
GDP
per capita:
$700 (2002 est.)
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.
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.
But 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.
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.
United
Nations Membership
date:
28 May 1993
New
York Mission:
Permanent Mission
of Eritrea to
the United Nations,
800 2nd Avenue,
18th Floor, New
York, N.Y. 10017
Telephone: 212-687-3390,
Fax: 212-687-3138
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