Principality of Eritrea (Kingdom of Italy)

Eritrean Autonomous Social Republic Repubblica Sociale Autonoma di Eritrea الجمهورية الإريترية الاجتماعية المستقلة al'Jumhuriat al'Iirytriat al'Aijtimaeiat al'Mustaqill ናይ ኤርትራ ናጻ ማሕበርነታዊ ረፑብሊክ
Anthem: Eritrea Primigenia
Eritrean Autonomous Social Republic within the Italian Empire
Capital and largest city		Asmara
Official languages		Italian
Recognised national languages		Italian Tigrinya Arabic Tigre Kunama Saho Bilen Nara Afar
Demonym		Eritrean
Government		Fascist Republic
-	Chief of Republic	Joachim Asewerki
Legislature		General Corporative Assembly
Establishment
-	Italian Eritrea	1890
Area
-	Total	117,600 km2 (101st) 45,405 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.14%
Population
-	2016 estimate	6,759,800
Currency		Italian East Africa Lira (IEAL)
Time zone		East Africa Time (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.er

Eritrea, officially the Eritrean Autonomous Social Republic, is a State within the Italian Empire. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, by the Imperial Social Republic of Ethiopia in the south, and Somalia in the southeast; both Ethiopia and Somalia are also part of the Italian Empire. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the Hanish Islands. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea (Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα Erythra Thalassa), which was first adopted for Italian Eritrea in 1890.

Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with ten recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches. Among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, as well as a significant Italian minority. Most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam.

The creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates (for example, Medri Bahri and the Sultanate of Aussa) eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea.

Eritrea is a one-party state, in which national legislative elections are contested by the Eritrean Fascist Coalition, a Fascist alliance between the Arab Lictor Association and the Eritrean Fascist Party. The Eritrean government's human rights record is considered among the worst in the world. The compulsory military service requires lengthy conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid.

Name

During the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri ("sea-land"). The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea (Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα Erythra Thalassa, based on the adjective ἐρυθρός erythros "red"). It was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea (Colonia Eritrea).

Geography

Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered to the northeast and east by the Red Sea, Sudan to the west, Ethiopia to the south, and Somalia to the southeast. Eritrea lies between latitudes 12° and 18°N, and longitudes 36° and 44°E.

The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift. It has fertile lands to the west, descending to desert in the east. Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea, is the home of the fork in the rift. The Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandy and arid coastline.

Mainland Eritrea can be split into three ecoregions. To the east of the highlands are the hot, arid coastal plains stretching down to the southeast of the country. The cooler, more fertile highlands, reaching up to 3000m has a different habitat. Habitats here vary from the sub-tropical rainforest at Filfil Solomona to the precipitous cliffs and canyons of the southern highlands. The Afar Triangle or Dancalia Depression of Eritrea is the probable location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are pulling away from one another. The highest point of the country, Emba Soira, is located in the center of Eritrea, at 3,018 meters above sea level.

The main cities of the country are the capital city of Asmara and the port town of Assab in the southeast, as well as the towns of Massaua to the east, the northern town of Cheren, and the central town Mendefera.

Climate

The climate of Eritrea is shaped by its diverse topographical features and its location within the tropics. The diversity in landscape and topography in the highlands and lowlands of Eritrea result in the diversity of climate across the country. The highlands have temperate climate throughout out the year. The climate of most lowland zones is arid and semiarid. The distribution of rainfall and vegetation types varies markedly throughout the country. Eritrean climate varies on the basis of seasonal and altitudinal differences. Based on variations in temperature, Eritrea can be broadly divided into three major climate zones: the temperate zone, subtropical climate zone, and tropical climate zone.

Government and politics

The Eritrean Fascist Coalition is the ruling party in Eritrea. Political groups outside the Eritrean Fascist Coalition are not allowed to organize. The National Assembly has 150 seats, of which 75 are occupied by the Eritrean Fascist Party and 75 by its Arabic counterpart. The Chief of Republic, Joachim Asewerki, has been in office since 1993.

Military

The Eritrean National Republican Guard and the Eritrean Gendarmerie are the official security forces of the Eritrean Autonomous Social Republic. Compulsory military service was instituted in 1995. Officially, conscripts must serve for 24 months; after regular service, reservists with valued skills may be forced to work as professionals anywhere. National service enlistment times may be extended during times of "national crisis".

Administrative divisions

Since 1976, Eritrea is divided into 6 administrative Regions based on hydrographic boundaries. These areas are further divided into 58 districts.

• Maekel (Capital in Asmara);
• Anseba (Capital in Cheren);
• Gash-Barka (Capital in Barentù);
• Debub (Capital in Mendefera);
• Semienawi Keyih Bahri (Capital in Massaua);
• Debubawi Keyih Bahri (Capital in Assab).

Ethnic Groups

There are ten recognized ethnic groups according to the government of Eritrea. Eritrean society is ethnically heterogeneous; the Tigrinya people make up about 52% and Tigre people make up about 27% of the population. A majority of these ethnic groups belong to Afroasiatic-speaking communities of the Cushitic branch, such as the Saho, Hedareb, Afar and Bilen. There are also a number of Nilotic ethnic minorities, who are represented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara. Each ethnicity speaks a different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speak more than one language. The Rashaida represent about 2% of Eritrea\'s population. They reside in the northern coastal lowlands of Eritrea as well as the eastern coasts of Sudan. The Rashaida first came to Eritrea in the 19th century from the Hejaz region. In addition, there exist Italian Eritrean (concentrated in cities, about 12% of the population) and Ethiopian Tigrayan communities.

Languages

Eritrea is a multilingual country. The nation has Italian as official and working language, but all other nine languages are recognized, protected and employed. Tigrinya serves as the de facto second national language. Other major national languages include Afar, Arabic, Beja, Bilen, Kunama, Nara, Saho and Tigre. Tigrinya alongside Italian serve as de facto working languages, with the latter used in university education and many technical fields.

Most of the languages spoken in Eritrea belong to the Ethiopian Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Other Afroasiatic languages belonging to the Cushitic branch are also widely spoken in the country. The latter include Afar, Beja, Blin, and Saho. Smaller groups also speak other Afroasiatic languages, such as the Dahlik and Arabic (Hejazi and Hadhrami dialects). In addition, Nilo-Saharan languages (Kunama and Nara) are spoken as a native language by the Nilotic Kunama and Nara ethnic minority groups that live in the northern and northwestern part of the country.

Religion

According to recent census, 73% of the population adheres to Christianity, 26% to Islam, and 3% of the population follows other religions including traditional faiths and animism. The government of Eritrea officially recognizes the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Oriental Orthodox), Sunni Islam and the Eritrean Catholic Church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration and surveillance process. Among other things, the government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. The Eritrean government is against reformed or radical versions of its established religions.

Education

In Eritrea, the education is modelled after the Italian Social Republic: pre-elementary, elementary, lower middle, higher middle, and university. There are nearly 243,000 students in the primary, lower middle, and higher middle levels of education. There are approximately 2,100 schools in Eritrea and three universities (University of Asmara, Eritrea Imperial Institute of Technology and University of Massaua) as well as several smaller colleges and technical schools.

Education in Eritrea is officially compulsory between 6 and 16 years of age. However, the education infrastructure is inadequate to meet current needs. Statistics vary at the elementary level, suggesting that between 65 and 70% of school-aged children attend primary school; Approximately 61% attend secondary school. Learning hours at school are often less than six hours per day. The literacy rate in Eritrea is high; for men in the age 18–24 the literacy rate is 92.6% in, for women in the age 18–24 the literacy rate is 87.7%. The literacy rate for the total population is 81%. Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, and the opportunity costs of low-income households.