"Eritrea" is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa. This name relates to that of the Red Sea, then called the Erythræan Sea, from the Greek for "red", ἐρυθρός, erythros. The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara, and named it with its current name. After World War II Eritrea was annexed to Ethiopia. In 1991 the Eritrean People's Liberation Front defeated the Ethiopian "derg" government. Tigray is a region of Ethiopia whose religions, food, language and culture are the same as that of the greater part of Eritrea. A lot of people have families on both sides of the border between Eritrea and Tigray. Eritrea officially celebrated its 1st anniversary of independence on May 24, 1991.
The Economy of Eritrea has experienced considerable growth in recent years, indicated by an improvement in Gross domestic product (GDP) in October 2012 of 7.5 percent over 2011. However, worker remittances from abroad are estimated to account for 32 percent of gross domestic product. Eritrea has an extensive amount of resources such as copper, gold, granite, marble, and potash. The Eritrean economy has undergone extreme changes due to the War of Independence.
Telecommunications in Eritrea are under the authority of the Government of Eritrea.
Asmara or Asmera is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude. The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture. Asmara was first settled in 800 BC with a population ranging from 100 to 1000. The city was then founded in the 12th century CE after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict.
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Northeast Africa. It extends hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The area is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in ancient and medieval times as the land of the Barbara and Habesha, the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
ISO 3166-2:ER is the entry for Eritrea in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
The Ethiopian calendar or Eritrean calendar is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical year for Christians in Eritrea and Ethiopia belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism. It is a solar calendar which in turn derives from the Egyptian calendar, but like the Julian calendar, it adds a leap day every four years without exception, and begins the year on August 29 or August 30 in the Julian calendar. A gap of 7–8 years between the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars results from an alternative calculation in determining the date of the Annunciation.
The Vympel R-27 missile is a medium-to-long-range air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union. It remains in service with the Russian Air Force and air forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Mareb River, is a river flowing out of central Eritrea. Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia, between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at 14°53.6′N37°54.8′E to the confluence of the Balasa with the Mareb at 14°38′N39°1.3′E.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, one of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa, took place between Ethiopia and Eritrea from May 1998 to June 2000, with the final peace only agreed to in 2018, twenty years after the initial confrontation. Eritrea and Ethiopia, two of the world's poorest countries, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the war and suffered tens of thousands of casualties as a direct consequence of the conflict. Only minor border changes resulted.
Omo National Park is one of the national parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on the west bank of the Omo River, the park covers approximately 4,068 square kilometers, about 870 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa; across the Omo is the Mago National Park. Although an airstrip was recently built near the park headquarters on the Mui River, this park is not easily reachable; the Lonely Planet guide Ethiopia and Eritrea describes Omo National Park as "Ethiopia's most remote park."
The Hanish Islands conflict was a dispute between Yemen and Eritrea over the island of Greater Hanish in the Red Sea, one of the largest in the then disputed Zukur-Hanish archipelago. Fighting took place over three days from 15 December to 17 December 1995. In 1998 the Permanent Court of Arbitration determined that most of the archipelago belonged to Yemen.
The Gulfstream G100, formerly known as the IAI Astra SPX, is an Israel Aerospace Industries-manufactured twin-engine business jet, that was produced for Gulfstream Aerospace. Deliveries began in 1986. The United States Air Force employs the craft as the C-38 Courier. A later derivative known as the G150 was launched in 2002. Gulfstream announced the final sale of the G150 in September 2016 and the last delivery by mid-2017.
The Wokiro River is a seasonal watercourse in Eritrea. It ends north of Massawa, at the Red Sea. Prior to its terminus, the Wokiro merges with the Wadi Laba River.
The Eritrean Highlands are a mountainous region in central Eritrea. Bordered to the south by the Mareb River, it is a northern continuation of the Ethiopian Highlands. The region has seen tremendous deforestation since the colonial period, which began in the late 19th century. The Highlands are at particular risk of deforestation and associated soil erosion. Furthermore, the region, lying south of the Sahel are at particular risk of desertification and frequent drought. The Highlands experience, as most tropical regions, two seasons; the rainy season (kremti) is from June-September while the dry season is from September to June. The average temperature for Asmara, which is 2,340 m (7,677 ft) above sea level is approximately 16°C, but other places range from about 10°C to 25°C.
The Eritrean Air Force (ERAF) is the official aerial warfare service branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces and is one of the three official uniformed military branches of the State of Eritrea.
The Eritrean Civil Wars were two conflicts that were fought between competing organizations for the liberation of Eritrea.
Football in Eritrea is related to the sport most popular in this African country. After being under Ethiopian control, Eritrea gained its independence in 1991 and in 1998 the country became a member of FIFA.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict was a violent standoff and a proxy conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, as part of the more general violence in the Horn of Africa. It consisted of a series of incidents along the then-disputed border; including the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and the subsequent Second Afar Insurgency. The border conflict was a continuation of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000. It included multiple clashes with numerous casualties, including the Battle of Tsorona in 2016. Ethiopia stated in 2018 that it would cede Badme to Eritrea. This led to the Eritrea–Ethiopia summit on 9 July 2018, where an agreement was signed which demarcated the border and agreed a resumption of diplomatic relations.
