• Eritrea is a country in northern East Africa with its eastern border on the shores of the Red Sea. Eritrea shares borders with Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Until 1991, Eritrea was controlled by and part of Ethiopia, but a decades-long civil war finally culminated in national independence for Eritrea.

• Fast Facts:

  1. Capital: Asmara
  2. Government: Transitional Government
  3. Population: 4,906,585 (July 2007 est.)
  4. Currency: Nakfa (ERN)
  5. Languages Spoken: Tigrinya, Arabic, English, Italian

• Brief Background

  Eritrea had been populated by pre-humans as long as one million years ago, based on fossil excavations in the country. For millennia, the Red Sea coast of has been dotted with trading outposts meant to serve passing shipping. Eritrea's population is roughly split down the middle between those following Coptic Orthodox Christianity and adherents to Islam (predominantly Sunni Islam). In recent years, Eritrea has engaged in wars and disagreements with its neighbors. Between 1998 and 2000, a border dispute turned war between Ethiopia and Eritrea resulted in the deaths of 19,000 Eritreans and over 100,000 Ethiopians. In 2007, Reporters without Borders gave Eritrea the dubious distinction of being the worst nation in the world in relation to freedom of the press, supplanting North Korea on the list for the first time.

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