Repressive, authoritarian state led by Isaias Afwerki since its birth in 1993. After a 30-year war with its former parent, Ethiopia, tense relations gave way to camaraderie in 2018 when Ethiopia launched a surprise diplomatic initiative that formally ended a state of war between them.
Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the continent, in spite of its considerable resources, especially silver, and its strategic position at the Horn of Africa. Incompetent domestic management uprooted a promising agrarian economy, leaving Eritreans mired in periods of severe drought, abject deprivation and starvation.
President Afwerki took total control of all levers of government after independence from Ethiopia; the executive, the legislative (self-styling himself the Chairman of the Parliament) and the judiciary. Elections are prohibited. Media is 100% government controlled. A governing system modeled on the North Korean ("Juche") is observed.
The main languages are Tigrinya, Tigre, Arabic and English. Its major religions are Islam and Christianity.
