State of Eritrea
Eastern Africa
Ancient · Independent · Austere
Eritrea (officially State of Eritrea) is a country located in Eastern Africa. Its capital city is Asmara, with other major cities including Keren and Massawa. With a population of approximately 3.5M, the main languages spoken are Tigrinya, Arabic, English. The country covers an area of 117,600 km². The official currency is the Eritrean nakfa (Nfk). Traffic drives on the right side.
Asmara is renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved 1930s Italian Modernist architecture and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 — it is considered one of the finest examples of Futurist architecture anywhere.
Asmara serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Eritrea, positioned in Eastern Africa. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Keren, Massawa — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Asmara is one of the world's most intact collections of 1930s Modernist and Art Deco architecture — built by Mussolini as a model colonial city and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017, its Italian espresso bars, Art Deco cinema facades, and wide palm-lined boulevards creating a surreal streetscape that makes Eritrea's capital feel like a frozen slice of 1930s Milan.
With a population of approximately 3.5M, Eritrea is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Tigrinya, Arabic, English, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Eritrea is reached via the dialling code +291. Eritreans achieved independence in 1991 after a 30-year liberation struggle against Ethiopia — the longest African independence war — only to find themselves under a government that has maintained indefinite military service and permitted no elections since 2001, generating one of Africa's largest refugee outflows, with Eritreans comprising a significant percentage of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.
Eritrea spans 117,600 km², in the Eastern Africa subregion of Africa. Geographically centred around 15.0°N, 39.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Africa convention.
The official currency is the Eritrean nakfa (Nfk), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Eritrea's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+03:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Cycling / Football holds a special place in the heart of Eritrea's national identity. Cycling is Eritrea's unexpected competitive sport, with Daniel Teklehaimanot becoming in 2015 the first Eritrean and first African to wear the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey in the Tour de France — a revelation built on the mountain terrain that creates natural altitude training and the long-standing Italian colonial cycling culture that left both bicycles and a passion for the sport.
The highest point in Eritrea is Emba Soira, rising to 3,018 metres above sea level. The Dahlak Archipelago, 209 islands in the Red Sea off Eritrea's coast, contains some of the Red Sea's least disturbed coral reefs — relatively inaccessible due to the country's strict tourist visa policies — providing a rare glimpse of what the entire Red Sea's reef ecosystems resembled before the spread of dive tourism and warming ocean temperatures.