Eritrea

Eritrea is located in East Africa, in the region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa. With a territory of approximately 45,000 square miles, Eritrea is bordered to the east by an extensive coastline along the Red Sea, with Djibouti to the southeast, Ethiopia to the south, and Sudan to the west. The terrain is diverse, ranging from the arid coastal plains of the east to the fertile highlands in the west. [Page 553]The country’s population is approximately 5 million, consisting of nine recognized ethnic groups, of which the largest are the Tigrayans (roughly 55%) and the Tigre (about 30%). Eritrea has no official language. Rather, each group has its own native language; however, many of the minorities speak more than one language. Most ...