Capital city:
The capital of Eritrea is Asmara. Asseb in the southeast is the port town of the country.
Demographics:
Ethnically the society is heterogenous. Tigrinya and Tigre people form about the 80 % of the population. They are supposed to be migrated from Saba, situated in Southern Arabia sometime around 900 to 500 BC. Recently more Arabic speaking people known as Rashaida have migrated to this country in the 19th Century, comprising 1% of the total population.
The nation of Saho, Bilen Hedareb and Afar form the remaining part of the population. Some of them like the Kunama are even believed to be the oldest inhabitants of the East Africa. Although each of the nationality speak their own tongue but many are able speak more than one language.
Culture:
Since this region has been an important link for trade all over the world, so the glimpse of varied culture is seen here. Asmara the capital city is mostly influenced with Italian culture and it is seen in the food and drinks served at the cafes. One can easily notice the blend of the Italian influence and the traditional Tigrinya style. Bollywood movies are imported in the cities along with Italian and American films in cinema halls.
The dressing too shows a colourful mix of cultures. The women from Arabian cities adorn themselves and cover with scarves.
Football and cycle racing are two popular sports here. Now Athletics too is gaining popularity.
Education:
Eritrea offers education in five different levels namely pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary and post-secondary. Eritrea promotes the private sector schooling which can access to all age groups and gender. Basis education is given to each in its own mother tongue. It ensures to make the students self- reliant and prepares them to fight against poverty and diseases. Eritrea has two universities along with many institutions for basic education and technical studies.
Economy:
About 80% of the population is engaged into husbandry and herding. So the economy of Eritrea is largely based on agriculture. Natural disaster sometimes brings trouble in its agricultural area and thus economy too gets disturbed. During May 2000, it suffered great loss in its economy due to $600millions in property damage. Food production too dropped by 62% as planting was prevented.
Its economic future needs reform. It mainly depends on its ability to resolve its basic issues related with illiteracy and other technical skills.
According to a survey done in May 2008, the country is the costliest to get fuel.
Government and politics:
The country has a transitional government with Isaias Afewerki as its President. It is said that whosoever writes or speaks against him is put into prison and even four detained writers have died till now.
Currency and language used:
The currency used in Eritrea is nakfa. Tigrinya is widely spoken by the people along with Arabic and English which are also used as the working official languages.
Population:
The density of population in Eritrea is 37 / km square. As per the census in 2002, the population was 4,298,270 and as per an estimate done in July 2005 it grew to 4,401,009.
