Top 10 Interesting Facts about Eritrea

Tap to Read ➤ A sovereign nation in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea is the ninety-ninth largest country in the world. It is bordered by Red Sea to the east, Djibouti to the southeast, Ethiopia to the south, and Sudan to the west. Here are some fun facts! Sucheta Pradhan

The name Eritrea has been derived from ancient Greek name for the Red Sea. The ancient Greeks referred to the Red Sea as the Erythraean Sea.

Asmara, the Eritrean capital, has huge Italian influences in its town planning and architecture, owing to the Italian occupation of Eritrea during World War II. As a result, it is sometimes called ‘New Rome’ or ‘Italy’s African City’.

Since its independence in 1993 from Ethiopian Rebel Forces, no presidential or national election has ever been held in Eritrea despite it claiming to be a multi-party democracy. Multiple elections have been scheduled and cancelled in the country till date.

More than 30% Eritrean freedom fighters were women. This is by far, highest percentage of woman freedom fighters in any liberation movement across the world.

Eritrea is a multilingual state having more than 10 main languages, including English and Italian. However, there is no designated official language in the country.

One of the oldest port cities of Africa is in Eritrea. The ruins of Adulis, the Aksumite port city, are in the present-day city of Zula.

In Eritrea, one of the world’s oldest hominid skulls was discovered by Ernesto Abbate and an international group of palaeontologists.

Eritrea has the second-highest number of archaeological discoveries in Africa, after Egypt.

In Eritrean waters, there are more than 14,000 different species of fish, out of which, nearly 17% are unique to the region.

The largely uninhabited Dahlak archipelago in Eritrea is known the world over for its pearl production.