Local name: Ertra Capital: Asmara (Asmera) Government: transitional government Currency: nakfa (ERN) Official language: Afar, Arabic Other languages spoken: Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Brief History. Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. After a 30-year struggle for independence ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces. Independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000.
