General Information
Area :	1,630sq km
Border Countries :	Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan
Natural resources :	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Capital :	Asmara (formerly Asmera)
Administrative Divisions :	8 provinces (singular - awraja); Akale Guzay, Barka, Denkel, Hamasen, Sahil, Semhar, Senhit, Seraye
Legal System :	operates on the basis of transitional laws that incorporate pre-independence statutes of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, revised Ethiopian laws, customary laws, and post independence enacted laws
International Organization participation :	ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
GDP :	purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (2000 est.)
GDP per capita :	purchasing power parity - $710 (2000 est.)

	Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000.

The above information is from www.cia.gov