According to ezinereligion, in 2007, the population of Eritrea was estimated to be over 5 million people, composed mainly of Tigrinya, Tigre and Kunama ethnic groups. The official language was Tigrinya but several other languages were also spoken. The economy was largely based on exports of agricultural products such as sorghum and livestock, as well as minerals such as gold and copper. In terms of foreign relations, Eritrea had close ties with its neighbors Ethiopia and Sudan and maintained diplomatic relations with several other countries such as the United States, China and Russia. Politically, Eritrea was a presidential republic led by President Isaias Afwerki since 1993 until his term ended in 2021. Following his term his vice president, Isaias Afwerki became President in 2021 and is still in power today.
Yearbook 2007
Eritrea. In April, the government decided to ban female genital mutilation. The penalty for breaking the ban will be fines and imprisonment. According to CountryAAH, Asmara is the capital city of Eritrea. More than 90 percent of women in Eritrea are estimated to have had parts of the genitals cut away. In recent years, however, more and more parents have voluntarily chosen to spare their daughters.
In a UN report in July, Eritrea was accused of delivering weapons to the Islamic militia in Somalia, including Air Defense. The government of Eritrea rejected the charges. The country’s relations with the outside world are generally strained, not least because of reports of human rights violations. Education Minister Osman Saleh was appointed Foreign Minister in April with the task of strengthening Eritrea’s international reputation.
- According to abbreviationfinder: ER is the 2-letter acronym for the country of Eritrea.
However, the Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak was kept in prison without trial throughout the year. He was arrested in 2001 along with dozens of other journalists whose newspapers published regime-critical texts.
The study of Eritrea and its people has had new, important contributions in the last decade.
From a geological point of view, the oil exploration carried out in the Dahlac Islands is particularly noteworthy; the geological map of East Africa, due to Giuseppe Stefanini; and the synthesis work on the geology of East Africa (including, of course, Eritrea), a decisive contribution by G. Dainelli to the current knowledge of these territories. Research in the Dahlacs led to the discovery of a rich set of prehistoric (Neolithic) instruments, later studied by AC Blanc. Epigraphic studies by C. Conti Rossini and U. Monneret de Villard (inscription by Nom, in the Scimezana); linguistic studies, particularly on Tigrinya (a grammar and an important collection of texts by Conti Rossini; a collection of proverbs by the Duke of Ancona, etc.); historical and historical-ecclesiastical studies (on the connection of Adiclis with the Egyptian episcopal hierarchy in the 4th century AD and on the trip to India of bishop Mosè of Adulis, due to Ugo Monneret de Villard); studies on customary law (by Seraè, the Duke of Ancona, etc.) have led to considerable progress in the various fields of historical and moral sciences.
With regard to the study of the climate, we must remember the establishment of a good number of meteorological stations by the Italian government offices which have systematically collected the data, partly also processed with those already known previously in order to give a picture more exact, albeit not substantially different from that already known previously, of the climatic situation of the country.
Eritrea had a great development in the five years before the Second World War, because the construction of the complex road network in Ethiopia made it possible to have regular traffic with those regions.
Asmera
Asmera, Asmara, capital of Eritrea; 712,000 residents (2012). Asmera is the country’s largest city and an important transport hub with, among other things, international airport. Trade and production of textiles, leather goods and food dominate the economy. The city has a university (founded in 1967).
The central parts of the city exhibit several prominent public buildings, including the Roman Catholic Cathedral (1922) and the Great Mosque (1937). The Italian influence during the occupation years is reflected in many of the city’s art deco-style buildings. Asmera was listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2017 for its distinctive modernist architecture.
Asmera was occupied by Italy in 1889–1941 and at the turn of the last century became the principal place in the Italian colony of Eritrea. The city was occupied by the Allied troops in 1941 and was under British administration until 1952.