Eritrea – country information

Country name	Eritrea
Official name	Eritrea
Capital	Asmara
Continent	Africa
Area	117,600 km2
Population	6,333,000 (2013)
Foundation of a state	5/24/1993
The highest mountains	Jabal Hamojet 2778 m
State system	transitional government with unicameral legislature (National Assembly)
The biggest cities	Asmara (capital) 410,000, Assab 55,000
Ethnicity/National Composition	Tigrins 50%, Tigres 33%, Afars 4%, Bejas 3.5%, Agewos 3%, Sahs 2.7%, Kunams 2.5%
Religious affiliation	about 50% Christian and almost 50% Muslim
Currency	birr
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$710 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	59.03 years (2006)

Eritrea – Neighboring States

State	Capital	Area	Population
Djibouti	Djibouti	23,200 km2	873,000
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	1,104,300 km2	86,613,986
Sudan	Khartoum	2,505,810 km2	37,964,000

According to Abbreviationfinder, Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara.

Country data

Location: East Africa

Time zone: CET + 2 (during summer time: CET + 1)

Total area: 117,600 km²

Land area: 101,000 km²

Water area: 16,600 km²

Length of the state border: 1,840 km

Bordering countries:
Ethiopia: 1,033 km
Djibouti: 125 km
Sudan: 682 km

Coastline: 2,234 km

Capital: Asmara (Asmära)

Provinces: 6
Anseba, Debub, Debubawi K’eyih Bahri, Gash Barka, Ma’akel, Semenawi Keyih Bahri

Telephone code: 00 291 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Soira 3,018 m

Population

Population: approx. 6.4 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 2.3% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 54

Life expectancy: 61 (male), 66 (female)

Official language: Arabic and Tigrin

Religions:

• Christians
• Muslims
• Protestants

Climate

The country extends over three climatic zones:

Central highlands:
While the temperatures in May rise to up to 30 ° C, the temperatures between December and February sometimes drop to freezing point.

At night, even in summer, the temperature drops very quickly.

In the rainy season, which lasts from mid-June to early September, it is often very foggy.

Coastal region:
In summer (July / August) the daytime temperature is between 27-37 ° C and in the winter months (November – February) between 20-30 ° C.

The rainy season lasts from December to February, with only little rainfall on the south coast.

Western plains:
The hottest month is May (up to 50 ° C) and the coldest month is December (up to 11 ° C).

The temperature fluctuations between day and night are sometimes very extreme. The rainy seasons are identical to those of the highlands.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Nakfa (ERN)

Division: 1 nakfa = 100 cents

ATMs: not available

International credit cards: American Express and Visa are accepted by the major airlines.

Regulations: The national currency can be imported and exported up to an amount of 100 Nakfa. Foreign currencies are not subject to any restrictions, but must be declared when the value exceeds US $ 10,000.

However, only US dollars or euros are recommended.

The exchange of currencies is only permitted at official institutions (banks / Himbol exchange offices) at the rate set by the bank.

Important: Hotel accommodation must travelers often BAR and FOREX get paid!

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

However, you should have all important articles declared upon entry so that there are no problems with an export.

The export of souvenirs and souvenirs is duty-free up to a total value of 500 Nakfa. An export license must be obtained only for antiques.

Travel advice

We warn against traveling to the border areas to Ethiopia and Djibouti!

Furthermore, warnings are given against any entry by land or sea, and the approach to the islands of the Dahlak Archipelago.

Large parts of the country are still mined (including many tourist attractions). This creates a high risk for people who are unfamiliar with the location.

Before you travel to Eritrea, you should contact the German embassy!

Since June 2006 the freedom of movement of all foreigners in the country has been restricted!

For every trip outside the capital Asmara, you must obtain a travel permit from the responsible Ministry of Tourism.

Behavioral advice

Due to the high crime rate, we recommend that you never carry a lot of money with you.

Do not leave any valuable objects visible in the vehicle (risk of break-in) and always lock your vehicle when leaving, even if it is only for 2 minutes.

Military installations and all public buildings (including bridges and crossroads) may not be photographed.

Expressing opinions critical of the government can lead to immediate arrest!

Economy

The economy of the agricultural country is in an extremely bad state after decades of civil war.

When the border war broke out with neighboring Ethiopia in 1998, the productivity of the economy fell dramatically.

Although around three quarters of all residents work in agriculture, the income from them is insufficient. Due to constant droughts and mismanagement, there are repeated famines.

Industries: food production, furniture production, textiles

Natural resources: natural gas, fish, gold, copper, nichel, salt, sulfur, silver, zinc

Land use:

• Usable land: 12%
• Grain cultivation: 1%
• Pasture area: 49%
• Forests: 6%
• other: 32%

Plants

Near the coast there are extensive semi-deserts and thorn bush savannas, which are native to acacias, aloes and myrrh. Mangroves grow on the coast.

Danakil is the largest desert in the country. In the partly moon-like landscape, temperatures of over 50 ° C prevail during the day

Animals

The deforestation of the forest areas has decimated the number and diversity of the animals living in Eritrea.

Native animal species are antelopes, monkeys and baboons.