Judicial branch: Judiciary the Supreme Court; 10 provincial courts; 29 district courts
Political parties and leaders: People's Front for Democracy and
Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [ISAIAS
Afworki, PETROS Solomon]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ;
Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean
Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWUD];
Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed
NASSER]
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat
(nonsignatory user), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Semere RUSSOM chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador-designate William CLARK embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P.O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Flag description: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
@Eritrea:Economy
Economy-overview: With independence from Ethiopia on 27 April 1993, Eritrea faced the bitter economic problems of a small, desperately poor African country. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with over 70% of the population involved in farming and herding. The small industrial sector consists mainly of light industries with outmoded technologies. Domestic output (GDP) is substantially augmented by worker remittances from abroad. Government revenues come from custom duties and taxes on income and sales. Road construction is a top domestic priority. Eritrea has inherited the entire coastline of Ethiopia and has long-term prospects for revenues from the development of offshore oil fields, offshore fishing, and tourism. Eritrea's economic future depends on its ability to master fundamental social and economic problems, e.g., overcoming illiteracy, promoting job creation, expanding technical training, attracting foreign investment, and streamlining the bureaucracy.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$2.2 billion (1996 est.)