Hagere Ertra (Arabic)

Dawlat Iritriyá (Tigrigna)

Political Status: Former Italian colony; became part of UN-sponsored Ethiopian–Eritrean Federation in September 1952; annexed as a province of Ethiopia in November 1962; declared independent on May 24, 1993, following secessionist referendum of April 23–25; new constitution approved by the Constitutional Assembly on May 23, 1997, but largely unimplemented as of 2020.

Area: 46,774 sq. mi. (121,144 sq. km).

Population: 6,269,000 (2020E—World Bank); 6,024,854 (2020E—U.S. Census). (A national census has not been conducted since 1984 when the population was reported to be 2,748,304.)

Major Urban Centers (2015E—UN): ASMARA (804,000).

Principal Languages: Tigrinya, Arabic, and English.

Monetary Unit: Nakfa (government rate of exchange as of September 30, 2020: 15.00 nakfa = $1US).

State President and Chair of the Executive Council of the People’s Front for Democracy ...