Eritrea
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eritrea is a country in east Africa. Its official name is The State of Eritrea.
[edit] Geography
Eritrea has borders with the countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. It also has a coast on the Red Sea. The land area of Eritrea is 121,320 km2, and it is one of the smallest countries in Africa.
The capital of Eritrea is Asmara.
[edit] Culture
The population of Eritrea is about 4.5 million. About 0.5 million of these live in Asmara. People from Eritrea are called Eritreans. Most of them speak Tigrinya or Arabic as their first language, but some speak English or other languages.
The currency of Eritrea is called the Nakfa. Eritrea is a very poor country. Almost half of Eritrea's economy comes from Eritreans living abroad sending money home to their families. Most of the rest comes from farming.
[edit] History
Eritrea became an independent country on 24 May 1993. It is one of the newest countries in the world.
The place that is now called Eritrea was ruled by many different countries in history. Between 1885 and 1941 it was a colony of Italy. Between 1941 and 1952, the United Nations put it under the protection of Great Britain. After 1952, Eritrea became a part of Ethiopia. This was the cause for a long civil war between the Eritreans and the government of Ethiopia.
Eventually Eritrea became an independent country in 1993 after a vote by its people.
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