Eretriyah Doolata Afar. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south , Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately , km 2 45, sq mi , [ 9 ] [ 10 ] and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Human remains found in Eritrea have been dated to 1 million years old and anthropological research indicates that the area may contain significant records related to the evolution of humans. The Kingdom of Aksum , covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia , was established during the first or second century AD. Eritrea's central highlands, known as Mereb Melash " Beyond the Mereb " , were the northern frontier region of the Ethiopian kingdoms and were ruled by a governor titled the Bahr Negus "King of the Sea".
In the 16th century, the Ottomans conquered the Eritrean coastline, then in May much of the coastal lowlands came under the rule of the Khedivate of Egypt , until it was transferred to Italy in February Beginning in β, Italian troops systematically spread out from Massawa toward the highlands, eventually resulting in the formation of the colony of Italian Eritrea in , establishing the present-day boundaries of the country. Italian rule continued until when Eritrea was placed under British Military Administration during World War II; following a UN General Assembly decision in , Eritrea would govern itself with a local Eritrean parliament, but for foreign affairs and defense, it would enter into a federal status with Ethiopia for ten years.
However, in , the government of Ethiopia annulled the Eritrean parliament and formally annexed Eritrea. The Eritrean secessionist movement organised the Eritrean Liberation Front in and fought the Eritrean War of Independence until Eritrea gained de facto independence in Eritrea gained de jure independence in after an independence referendum.
Contemporary Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with nine recognised ethnic groups, each of which has a distinct language. The most widely spoken languages are Tigrinya and Arabic. In addition, there are several Nilo-Saharan -speaking Nilotic ethnic groups. Most people in the country adhere to Christianity or Islam , with a small minority adhering to traditional faiths. Eritrea is one of the least developed countries.
