Geography of Eritrea - Data

Data

Location: Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan, also bordering on Ethiopia.

Geographic coordinates: 15°00′N 39°00′E / 15°N 39°E / 15; 39)

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 124 320 km²
land: 121 320 km²
water: 4000 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
total: 1 630 km
border countries: Djibouti 113 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km

Note that the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is disputed.

Coastline: 2 234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1 151 km, islands in Red Sea 1 083 km

Maritime claims: NA

Terrain: dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains

Ecoregions: Most of Eritrea's coast is part of the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands semi-desert ecoregion. The southern part of the Red Sea coast, along with the Red Sea coast of Djibouti, has been described as the Eritrean coastal desert, a harsh sand and gravel coastal strip covered in dune grasses and shrubs that is important as a channel for the mass migration of birds of prey.

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: near Lake Kulul within the Afar Depression −75 m
highest point: Soira 3 018 m

Natural resources: gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly petroleum and natural gas, fish

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 49%
forests and woodland: 6%
other: 32% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 280 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent droughts and locust storms

Environment - current issues: deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare; ash contamination from recent eruption of the Nabro Volcano.

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993.