The regions of Eritrea are the primary geographical divisions through which Eritrea is administered. Six in total, they include the Central, Anseba,

Gash-Barka Gash-Barka ( ti, ጋሽ-ባርካ, it, Regione di Gasc-Barca) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It is situated in the south-west of the country, bordering the Anseba region to the north, and the Maekel (Central) and Debub (Southern) region ...

, Southern,

Northern Red Sea The Northern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Settentrionale, ) is an Regions of Eritrea, administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal ...

and

Southern Red Sea The Southern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Meridionale, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the southern half of the Red Sea, and contains the coastal city of Assab. It borders the Northern Red Sea Region, and h ...

regions. At the time of independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. These provinces were similar to the nine provinces operating during the colonial period. In 1996, these were consolidated into six regions (''zobas'').

Gash-Barka Region Gash-Barka ( ti, ጋሽ-ባርካ, it, Regione di Gasc-Barca) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It is situated in the south-west of the country, bordering the Anseba region to the north, and the Maekel (Central) and Debub (Southern) region ...

was the largest and the most densely populated region and is called the "bread-basket". The People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ (originally

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...

) rules the country and its regions as a

single-party A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

totalitarian government Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

. The regional and local elections are conducted on a periodic basis on a restricted framework. All men and women of any ethnic or religious background are eligible to vote. No parties or groups other than PFDJ are allowed to contest and the elections are presided by representatives from PFDJ.

History

At the time of independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten

and they were Asmara (the capital of Eritrea), Akele Guzay, Barka,

Denkalia The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Overview In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into e ...

, Gash-Setit,

Hamasien The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Overview In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into e ...

, Sahel,

Semhar The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Overview In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into e ...

and Seraye. These provinces were similar to the nine provinces operating during the colonial period. In 1996, these were consolidated into six regions (''zobas''). The boundaries of these new regions are based on catchment basins. Critics of this policy contend that the Government of Eritrea was erasing the historical fabric of Eritrea while proponents believe that these new Regional boundaries would ease historical land disputes. Furthermore proponents of this policy argue that basing boundaries on an important natural resource would ease the planning of its use.

Administration

File:Regions of Eritrea.svg, Regions of Eritrea poly 167 182 163 205 179 211 184 203 176 179 Maekel Region poly 167 182 176 179 118 108 118 50 59 85 53 133 Anseba Region poly 163 205 167 182 53 133 19 258 91 276 135 239 147 206

poly 184 203 179 211 147 206 135 239 153 254 221 248 225 226 189 200

Debub Region Debub Region, also known as the South Region (Tigrinya: ዞባ ደቡብ, it, Regione del Sud), is an administrative region of Eritrea. The region was formed on 15 April 1996, from the historical provinces of Serae and Akele Guzai. It lies alo ...

poly 176 179 184 203 189 200 225 226 221 248 271 259 279 220 200 159 155 21 118 50 118 108

Northern Red Sea Region The Northern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Settentrionale, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal city of Massawa. ...

poly 279 220 271 259 419 388 442 361 319 241

Southern Red Sea Region The Southern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Meridionale, ) is an administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the southern half of the Red Sea, and contains the coastal city of Assab. It borders the Northern Red Sea Region, and h ...

Each region has a locally elected regional assembly while the local administrator is appointed by the

President of Eritrea This is a list of heads of state of Eritrea. Since the establishment of the office of President in 1993, the office has been held by Isaias Afwerki. The President is the head of state and head of government of Eritrea, as well as commander-in-c ...

. During Cabinet meetings the President also meets with the Regional Administrators who report on the activities of their regions. The Regional Assemblies are charged with developing a budget for local programs and hearing the concerns of the local populations. Local programs included cultural events, infrastructure such as feeder roads, and to promote afforestation. Eritrea has a single-party

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

governed by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ (originally

Eritrean Liberation Front ar, جبهة التحرير الإريترية it, Fronte di Liberazione Eritreo , war = the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean Civil Wars , image = , caption = Flag of the ELF ...

), a totalitarian government. From the time of independence since 30 May 1991, the country has been continuing with a transitional government elected during the elections in April 1993. The scheduled elections in 2001 has been postponed indefinitely. The regional and local elections are conducted on a periodic basis on a restricted framework. All men and women of any ethnic or religious background are eligible to vote. No parties or groups other than PFDJ are allowed to contest and the elections are presided by representatives from PFDJ. Policy decisions should be centered around the party mandate and opposition and dissenters have been imprisoned.

Geography

The topography of the regions on the Western side, namely, Anseba, Central and has highland plateau, which are cooler than the regions around the coastal plains. There are two rainy seasons, the heavier one during summer and the lighter one during spring. The climate and geography of the region along with other regions of Eritrea is similar to the one of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. The average elevation in the region is around to . The hottest month is May recording temperatures up to , while the coldest month is December to February when it reaches freezing temperature. The region received around of rainfall and the soil is conducive for agriculture. There are a number of flora and fauna species in the high plateau regions in the West. Notably this was historic habitat for the endangered

painted hunting dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

(''Lycaon pictus''), a canid which is now thought to be

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from the region. Eritrea as a whole was extensively forested as recently as 1900. However, at present the total forest cover of Eritrea is less than one percent. Wildlife such as hamadryas baboons, Soemmerring's gazelle,

dorcas gazelle The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly co ...

, black-backed jackal, Ruppells sandfox, dikdik,

African golden wolf The African wolf (''Canis lupaster'') or golden wolf, formerly known as the African golden jackal, is a canine native to North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, northern East Africa, and the Horn of Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUC ...

, hyena, Abyssinian hare, wild ass and

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...

es are found in this region.

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

was also found in the coastal region, but their present condition is unknown. There have been reports of

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

occurring in this region, but there has been no evidence of their presence. It is extremely likely that both cheetah and wild dog are extinct in Eritrea.

Regions

Sub-Regions

The regions, followed by the sub-region,:

References

External links

{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of African countries Subdivisions of Eritrea Eritrea, Regions Eritrea 1 Regions, Eritrea

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...