Eritrea
0Loading crowd target
0Loading crowd target
7correct to beat the crowd
50 free Eritrea trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Eritrea trivia quiz covers the Red Sea nation from the Land of Punt and the Kingdom of Aksum through Italian colonisation, the British takeover at Keren, federation with and annexation by Ethiopia, the thirty-year war of independence, the 1993 referendum, the Badme war and the 2018 peace. It visits Asmara's Futurist petrol station and Art Deco cinemas, the hottest port on Earth at Massawa, the Dahlak islands and the Danakil, and the coffee ceremony, injera and the cyclists who now win Tour de France stages. The early questions suit anyone who has heard of Asmara; the later ones test people who know what the 30 leaves on the flag mean and where the currency got its name. Every question is multiple choice with a short explanation after you answer. Every answer has been checked against a primary source, and each question links to the page that confirms it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Eritrea lies in which region of the continent?
The Horn of Africa
Its capital, Asmara, sits at 2,325 metres, the second-highest capital in Africa.
Q 02The name Eritrea derives from the ancient Greek name for which body of water?
The Red Sea
Erythra Thalassa comes from erythros, meaning red.
Q 03In which year did Eritrea gain de jure independence following a referendum?
1993
De facto independence had come in 1991 with the fall of the Derg; the referendum returned 99.83% in favour.
Q 04Who has been president of Eritrea since independence in 1993?
Isaias Afwerki
National elections have never been held, and the country is a one-party state under his PFDJ.
Q 05Which European power formed the colony of Eritrea in 1889, setting its present borders?
Italy
Italian troops had spread inland from Massawa from 1885; rule lasted until the British took over in 1941-42.
Q 06Asmara was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 for its well-preserved architecture in what style?
Italian modernist
Its cinemas, petrol stations and offices from the 1930s earned it the nickname Little Rome.
Q 07The Fiat Tagliero Building in Asmara, completed in 1938, was designed to look like what?
An aeroplane
The Futurist petrol station by Giuseppe Pettazzi has 15-metre cantilevered concrete wings.
Q 08Eritrea's war of independence, fought by guerrillas from 1961, lasted roughly how long?
30 years
It ended in 1991 with the fall of the Derg regime; the 30 leaves on the national flag's wreath commemorate those years.
Q 09The 30 leaves in the olive wreath on Eritrea's flag represent what?
Thirty years of the independence struggle
The red stands for blood shed, green for agriculture and blue for the sea.
Q 10The 1993 independence referendum returned what share of votes in favour?
99.83%
Turnout exceeded 98%, and independence was declared on 27 April 1993.
Q 11Eritrea's currency, introduced in 1997, is named after what?
A town
Nakfa was the site of the first major victory of the war of independence; the currency replaced the Ethiopian birr at par.
Q 12The 1998-2000 war between Eritrea and Ethiopia is also known by the name of which disputed border town?
Badme
About 70,000 people died; a boundary commission ruled in 2005 that the town belonged to Eritrea.
Q 13Which Ethiopian prime minister won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize chiefly for making peace with Eritrea?
Abiy Ahmed
As a young man he had served as a military radio operator in the Badme war.
Q 21Reporters Without Borders has ranked Eritrea where in its Press Freedom Index since 2024?
Last of 180 countries
That puts it below both North Korea and China.
Q 22Under Eritrea's 1995 proclamation, who under the age of 50 must enlist in national service?
Everyone
There is no right to conscientious objection, and release can depend on a commander's whim.
Q 23Zersenay Tadese became Eritrea's first Olympic medallist with a bronze in which event at Athens 2004?
10,000 metres
He went on to hold the men's half-marathon world record from 2010 to 2018.
Q 14How long was Eritrea's 1952 federation with Ethiopia meant to last before Ethiopia annexed it?
Ten years
Eritrea kept its own parliament and flag until Ethiopia annulled them.
Q 15Which is the most widely spoken language in Eritrea?
Tigrinya
It shares working-language status with Arabic and English; nine ethnic groups each have their own tongue.
Q 16How many recognised ethnic groups does Eritrea have?
Nine
The Tigrinya make up about half the population and the Tigre about 30%.
Q 17Eritrea's highest point, Emba Soira, rises to about what height?
3,018 m
The highlands can drop to 10 °C on winter nights while the coast bakes.
Q 18The port of Massawa, averaging near 30 °C, is described as one of the world's hottest what?
Marine coastal areas
It has been ruled by the Dahlak Sultanate, the Ottomans, Egypt and Italy in turn.
Q 19Which religion did the Kingdom of Aksum adopt around the mid-fourth century?
Christianity
The Persian prophet Mani counted Aksum among the four great powers of the world.
Q 20The ancient Aksumite port of Adulis lay on which gulf, about 40 km south of Massawa?
Zula
The Periplus describes it as an emporium for ivory, hides and slaves from the interior.
Q 24At the 2024 Tour de France, Biniam Girmay became the first African to do what?
Win a jersey classification
He took the green points jersey along with three stage wins, the first by a black African rider.
Q 25Which sport, introduced under Italian rule, rivals football as Eritrea's most popular?
Cycling
The Tour of Eritrea was first held in 1946.
Q 26In the Eritrean coffee ceremony, the third and final round of brewing is called bereka, meaning what?
To be blessed
The first round is awel and the second kalaay.
Q 27Injera, the staple flatbread of Eritrea and Ethiopia, is traditionally made from which grain?
Teff
The sour, spongy pancake is made from fermented batter.
Q 28Sowa, a traditional Eritrean drink, is a bitter brew made from what?
Fermented barley
Mies is the fermented honey wine.
Q 29The 1941 battle in which the British expelled the Italians from Eritrea was fought at which town?
Keren
The British Military Administration then ran the territory until the UN decided its fate.
Q 30The Eritrean Liberation Front was founded by exiles in which city?
Cairo
It was led by Idris Muhammad Adam; the EPLF later broke away and won the war.