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Eritrea: the North Korea of Afric

Eritrea: the North Korea of Afric

With an average income per person of only 300 dollars, Eritrea is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Its population depends on remittances from the large diaspora (of which the Eritrean government takes 2%) to meet its basic needs. The exchange rate on the black market makes it possible to get twice the amount of nafka, the local currency, than the official government issued rate would suggest.
According to 2013 estimates, life expectancy is 61 years for men, 65.4 for women. Eritrea ranks 181 out of 187 in the UN-issued human development index which measures health, education, and living standards (2012).

Total government spending on health in 2011: 17 dollars per person...
The head of state since independence in 1993, President Issayas Afeworki, has centralized power into a government dictatorship. The process of democratization, started in 1997 with the adoption of a new constitution, has been entirely abandoned. The suppression of liberties and basic human rights of this regime is astounding: only a single political party exists, the justice system is directly under the executive branch, the number of political prisoners is increasing regularly, freedom of the press is nonexistent, arbitrary arrests are rampant, and habeas corpus is unheard of. The image of the president is rarely seen but his presence is constantly felt.

Just like in North Korea, Eritrea boasts a self-sufficient political-economic system but fails to meet the most basic dietary needs of its population. This is best symbolized by Asmara’s metal market, where all this is metallic is recycled. There is no room for waste.

In 2010, Eritrea received a total of 121 million euros in official development assistance. In November 2011, Eritrea decided to put an end to this foreign aid. The government force

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Eritrea: the North Korea of Afric
Eritrea: the North Korea of Afric<br /> <br /> With an average income per person of only 300 dollars, Eritrea is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Its population depends on remittances from the large diaspora (of which the Eritrean government takes 2%) to meet its basic needs. The exchange rate on the black market makes it possible to get twice the amount of nafka, the local currency, than the official government issued rate would suggest.<br /> According to 2013 estimates, life expectancy is 61 years for men, 65.4 for women. Eritrea ranks 181 out of 187 in the UN-issued human development index which measures health, education, and living standards (2012).<br /> <br /> Total government spending on health in 2011: 17 dollars per person...<br /> The head of state since independence in 1993, President Issayas Afeworki, has centralized power into a government dictatorship. The process of democratization, started in 1997 with the adoption of a new constitution, has been entirely abandoned. The suppression of liberties and basic human rights of this regime is astounding: only a single political party exists, the justice system is directly under the executive branch, the number of political prisoners is increasing regularly, freedom of the press is nonexistent, arbitrary arrests are rampant, and habeas corpus is unheard of. The image of the president is rarely seen but his presence is constantly felt.<br /> <br /> Just like in North Korea, Eritrea boasts a self-sufficient political-economic system but fails to meet the most basic dietary needs of its population. This is best symbolized by Asmara’s metal market, where all this is metallic is recycled. There is no room for waste. <br /> <br /> In 2010, Eritrea received a total of 121 million euros in official development assistance. In November 2011, Eritrea decided to put an end to this foreign aid. The government force