Eritrea is located in northern East Africa. It is bordered by the Red Sea, and the countries of Djibouti, Sudan and Ethiopia. Eritrea’s landmass of 121,000 square kilometers includes approximately 300 islands.
The climate is hot and dry desert along the Red Sea coast and a cooler and wetter climate in the central highlands. The country is virtually bisected by one of the world's longest mountain ranges, the Great Rift Valley. Less than 5 percent of the land is arable. Eritrea suffers frequent droughts yet 80 percent of the population is involved in farming and herding.
The almost 5 million residents of Eritrea are multilingual and multicultural, comprised of nine ethnic groups. There are two dominant religions, Sunni Islam and Oriental Orthodox Christianity. There is no official language, but rather three working languages, Tigrinya, Arabic and English. Amharic and Italian are also widely spoken.
Eritrea’s transitional government is lead by President Isaias Afworki. They obtained their independence from Ethiopia in May of 1993, but although they have twice adopted a constitution it has never been implemented. The constitution stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy. UN peacekeepers monitor a 25 kilometer-wide security zone on the border with Ethiopia. Border disputes have lasted over 30 years. The country is divided into six regions. The capital and largest city is Asmara.
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