The regions of Eritrea are the primary geographical divisions through which

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

is administered. Six in total, they include the Central, Anseba, Gash-Barka, Southern, Northern Red Sea and Southern Red Sea regions. At the time of independence in 1993

was arranged into ten

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

. 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 is the largest and sparsely populated region and is called the "bread-basket". The

People's Front for Democracy and Justice The People's Front for Democracy and Justice (, PFDJ) is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the Marxist–Leninist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ regards itsel ...

or PFDJ (originally Eritrean People's Liberation Front) rules the country and its regions as a single-party

totalitarian government Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

. 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

was arranged into ten

and they were

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

(the capital of Eritrea), Akele Guzay, Barka,

Denkalia The provinces of Eritrea existed since pre-Axumite times and became administrative provinces from Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Many of the provinces had their own lo ...

, Gash-Setit, Hamasien,

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, Semhar, Senhit 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 Gash-Barka Region poly 184 203 179 211 147 206 135 239 153 254 221 248 225 226 189 200 Debub Region 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 poly 279 220 271 259 419 388 442 361 319 241 Southern Red Sea Region Each region has a locally elected regional assembly while the local administrator is appointed by the

President of Eritrea Since the establishment of the office of president in 1993, the head of state of Eritrea has been Isaias Afwerki. The president is also the head of government of Eritrea, as well as commander-in-chief of the Eritrean Defence Forces. As of 2021 ...

. 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 repr ...

governed by the

or PFDJ (originally

Eritrean Liberation Front The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF; ; ; ), colloquially known as Jebha, was the main Eritrean War of Independence, independence movement in Eritrea Province, Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and the ear ...

), 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, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. 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 painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is disti ...

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

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

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 baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

s, 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 veget ...

, warthog,

black-backed jackal The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas'') is a medium-sized Caninae, canine native to East Africa, eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly . One region includes the southernmost tip of the continent, includin ...

, Ruppells sandfox, dikdik, African golden wolf,

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

, Abyssinian hare, wild ass and

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

es are found in this region.

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

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 Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

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

Subregions

The regions, with their subregions:

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 areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...