Eritrea is a tropical country which stretches from 12 to 18 degrees north latitude and 36 to 43 degrees east longitude. It is located in North East Africa - sometimes called the Horn of Africa - west of the Red Sea. Eritrea, with an area of 124,320 square kilometres, has about 1000 kilometres of coastline and over 350 islands in the Red Sea. Its neighbours are Sudan in the west and north-west, Ethiopia in the south and Djibouti in the east. Yemen and Saudi Arabia, across the Red Sea in the east, are also its neighbours.

The population of Eritrea is about 4 million. There are nine nationalities, Afar, Baza, Bilen, Hidareb, Kunama, Rashaida, Saho, Tigre, and Tigrigna, each with its own language. According to their racial origin the people are divided into three main groups; Nilotic, Hemetic and Semitic.