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Eritrea

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Presentation

The Republic of Eritrea (Eritrea in English, Ertra in Tigrina) is a country in north-eastern Africa. It borders the geopolitical region of the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Djibouti to the south, Ethiopia to the west and Sudan to the north. Its surface area is 121,144 km², equivalent to North Korea (but five times smaller than France).  Its capital and largest city is Asmara, which, with 431,000 inhabitants (in 1995), far outstrips the other cities, Assab (39,569), Keren (32,100), Massaoua (19,400) and Menderfa (14,800).
Eritrea is divided into six provinces (awraja): Anseba, Debub, Debub-Keih-Bahri, Gash-Barka, Maekel and Semien-Keih-Bahri (see detailed map).

The name of Eritrea comes from the Greek eruthros meaning "red" because of its proximity to the Red Sea. Conquered many times during the twentieth century, first by the Italians, then by the British and finally by the Ethiopians, Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after a war of liberation that lasted thirty-five years.

 

 

 

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