stern hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during
June-September except on coastal desert

Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending
highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the
northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling
plains
lowest point: Kobar Sink -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,013 m

Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, probably oil
(petroleum geologists are prospecting for it), fish

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 2% (coffee)
meadows and pastures: 40%
forest and woodland: 5%
other: 50%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: famine; deforestation; desertification; soil
erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
natural hazards: frequent droughts
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species; signed, but
not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification

Geographic note: strategic geopolitical position along world's
busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of
Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia
on 27 April 1993

People
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Population: 3,427,883 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 755,417; female 743,135)
15-64 years: 53% (male 910,976; female 913,531)
65 years and over: 3% (male 54,310; female 50,514) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.79% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 43.32 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 15.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
note: it is estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 Eritrean
refugees were still living in Sudan at the end of 1995; their
repatriation is being facilitated by the UNHCR

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 118.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.31 years
male: 48.57 years
female: 52.1 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean

Ethnic divisions: ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar
4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%

Religions: Musli