Eritrea is a country in Eastern Africa. It borders the Red Sea to the north, Ethiopia to the south, Djibouti to the east, and Sudan to the west. The country has never done an official census, but it is estimated that 6.5 million people live in Eritrea. The capital of Eritrea is Asmara.
Ever since its independence from Ethiopia in 1991, Eritrea has been under the rule of its current dictator, Isaiah Afwerki, who has been the country’s only president since independence. The country is one of the most authoritarian countries on Earth and has been nicknamed as the North Korea of Africa. All male and female citizens of Eritrea at the age of 18 are required to serve in the military for an indefinite amount of time. This has resulted in many Eritreans fleeing the country to over areas, mostly in Europe.
Eritrea was originally colonized by Italy in 1880. Remnants of Italian colonial rule are still felt in Eritrea as some elderly people in the city of Asmara can still fluently speak Italian. After Italy was defeated in World War 2, the territory of Eritrea was given to Ethiopia. In 1962, a decades-long war of independence that lasted until 1991, when the country declared independence from Ethiopia, which also resulted in Ethiopia loosing access to the sea. Today, Eritrea recognizes nine different languages, with Arabic and English being used in conducting business with foreign countries.