Best Countries

At a glance

Capital: Asmara

Official language: Afar

Currency: Nakfa

Continent: East Africa

The country called the Red Sea

Eritrea is wrongly not known in the West. The country is young, but its cultural history goes back a long way.

Location

According to Countryaah, Eritrea is located in eastern Africa. It is one of the countries that have a share in the Horn of Africa. Its neighboring states are Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan. It also borders the Red Sea.

Reachability

Italy was a long colonial ruler in Eritrea. Therefore, you can get on well with Italian in the country. In addition to Rome, there are also flight connections from Frankfurt and Amsterdam.

background

Eritrea has a long history, much like Ethiopia – with which it shares much of that history. In the capital, Asmara, you can research the country’s history at the National Gallery and book a guide to the historical sites. The country’s architecture is a mixture of old Christian, Islamic and late Italian-colonial art decor styles.

Culture Eritrea

There is also a long history of Coptic Christianity in Eritrea that harbors many cultural treasures. Eritrea is worth a trip for anyone who does not shy away from the hassle of bus and off-road travel. The country is relatively unknown, which means there is a lot to discover!

Important facts

Capital: Asmara

Official language: Afar

Currency

Currency (sub-unit)

Nakfa (100 cents)

ISO 4217 code

ERN / 232

Geography

Continent: Africa

Region: east

Geo coordinates: N 15 ° 10 ‘45.8 “E 39 ° 46’ 56.4”

Highest mountain: Soira (3,018 m)

Total area: 121,320 km²

Mainland: 121,320 km²

National border: 1,626 km

Coastline: 2,234 km

Politics

Dependency: Ethiopia until 1993

UN member since: 1993

Other political affiliation: African Union

Economy

Export goods: Coffee, skins, vegetables

BSP: $ 1,060,000,000

GDP: $ 1,154,700,000

GDP purchasing power parity: $ 5,023,000,000

Economic growth: 2.5%

GDP share of agriculture: 10%

GDP share of industry: 25.6%

GDP share of services: 64.4%

Inflation rate: 18%

State budget revenue: $ 261,000,000

State budget expenditure: $ 442,000,000

Export: $ 42.6 million

Import: $ 694,000,000

Gold and currency reserves: $ 30,870,000

Electricity consumption: 320 million KWh

Oil consumption: 5,200 million m³

Cultivation area: 4.78%

Bovine: 1,814,000 pieces

Sheep: 2,153,000 pieces

Fishing: 8,900 t

Demographic data

Residents: 4,787,000

Residents in cities: 917,500

Average age: 17.8 years

0-14 years: 44%

15-64 years: 52.5%

> 65 years: 3.5%

Population growth: 2.47%

Birth rate: 38.62 / 1,000 residents

Death rate: 9.6 / 1,000 residents

Ratio men / women: 0.99

Fertility: 5.08 children / woman

Infant mortality: 46.3 ‰

Life expectancy men: 57.44 years

Life expectancy women: 60.66 years

Country codes and abbreviations

ISO 3166 Alpha 2: HE

ISO 3166 Alpha 3: ERI

ISO 3166 numeric: 232

Top Level Domain: he

IOC country code: ERI

UN / LOCODE: HE

Source: Abbreviationfinder

Communication

Telephone connections: 55,000

Cell Phones: 106,000

Radios: 2,120,000

TV: 423,000

Computer: 29,000

Internet users: 21,000

Transportation

Railway lines: 306 km

Paved roads: 1,066 km

Cars: 10,000

Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 6th

Health

Number of doctors: 240

Daily food intake: 1,730 kcal / resident

HIV- infected people: 70,000

Education

Illiteracy: 35%

History

Foundation: 1993

Last sovereign since: 1993

Religion

Main religious group: Muslims

Military

Armed forces (troop strength): 144,000

Defense Spending: $ 267,000,000

GETTING THERE

Arriving by plane

Eritrea’s national airline is called Eritrean Airlines (B8) (Internet: www.ertra.com/eal). It was blacklisted in December 2012.

Yemen Airways (IY) (Internet: www.yemenia.de) offers weekly flights from Frankfurt / M. to Eritrea. The national airlines offer flights from Europe to Asmara in cooperation with other airlines. In addition, Eritrea is served by Egyptair (MS), among others.

Departure fee

US $ 20.

Arrival by ship

Regular shipping with local shipping companies between Europe and Massawa or Assab.

ON THE GO

Traveling by plane

Domestic flights operate between Asmara and Assab. All Eritrean airlines were blacklisted in December 2012.

On the way by car / bus

Repair and modernization work is in progress. Still, there are generally sufficient all-weather roads into most business centers and vacation areas; the other, unpaved roads should only be used with four-wheel drive vehicles. An expansion of the road network is planned. Only the cities of Keren, Massawa, Mendefera, Decemhare and Nefasit located within a 100 km radius of Asmara can be reached on main roads without a permit.

Buses run between the large towns. Larger cities are approached twice, smaller cities once a day.

Taxisare available in the capital and at the airport in Asmara. Fares are higher at night and should be agreed before departure. It is common to share a taxi with other travelers. For a surcharge, you can also drive alone in a taxi.

Rental car: Available from the Eritrean Tour Service (ETS) in Asmara (see addresses). You should drive particularly carefully or, if possible, rent a car with a chauffeur.

Documentation: international driver’s license.

On the go by train

The 300 km long rail network from Massawa to Agordat via Asmara and Keren, which was largely destroyed during the war of independence, was rebuilt. There are special trips with the steam locomotive, but no regular train service.