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(opens in new window) The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in
1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party
state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among
the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in
2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels
and the Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first
multi-party presidential elections resulted in the election of
Ismail Omar GUELLEH; he was re-elected to a second and final term in
2005. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the mouth
of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for
goods entering and leaving the east African highlands. The present
leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a
significant military presence in the country, but is also developing
stronger ties with the US. Djibouti hosts the only US military base
in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on
terrorism. Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between
Eritrea and Somalia
11 30 N, 43 00 E
total: 23,000 sq km total: 516 km 314 km territorial sea: 12 nm desert; torrid, dry
coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt,
diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum arable land: 0.04% 10 sq km (2003)
earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the
Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land;
desertification; endangered species
strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to
Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly
wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa
486,530 (July 2006 est.)
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 105,760/female 105,068) total: 18.2 years 2.02% (2006 est.)
39.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
19.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female total: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births total population: 43.17 years 5.31 children born/woman (2006 est.)
2.9% (2003 est.)
9,100 (2003 est.)
690 (2003 est.)
degree of risk: high noun: Djiboutian(s) Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
definition: age 15 and over can read and write conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti republic Djibouti 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil,
Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura 27 June 1977 (from France)
Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992
based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic
law 18 years of age; universal adult
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats;
members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) Supreme Court or Cour Supreme
The economy is based on service activities connected with the
country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in
northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital
city; the remainder are mostly nomadic herders. Scanty rainfall
limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must
be imported. Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for
the region and an international transshipment and refueling center.
Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry. The nation
is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help
support its balance of payments and to finance development projects.
An unemployment rate of at least 50% continues to be a major
problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of
the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value
of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of
payments. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the
last seven years because of recession, civil war, and a high
population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Faced
with a multitude of economic difficulties, the government has fallen
in arrears on long-term external debt and has been struggling to
meet the stipulations of foreign aid donors. $619 million (2002 est.)
3.5% (2002 est.)
$1,300 (2002 est.)
agriculture: 3.5% 282,000 (2000)
50% (2004 est.)
50% (2001 est.)
2% (2002 est.)
revenues: $135 million fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides
construction, agricultural processing, salt
3% (1996 est.)
240 million kWh (2003)
223.2 million kWh (2003)
12,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
$250 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)
Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004)
$987 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products
Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%, France
5.6%, US 4.8% (2004) $366 million (2002 est.)
$36 million (2001)
Djiboutian franc (DJF)
calendar year
11,100 (2004) 34,500 (2004) general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of
Djibouti are adequate, as are the microwave radio relay connections
to outlying areas of the country AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)
1 (2002) .dj 506 (2005) 9,000 (2005) 13 (2005) total: 3 total: 10 total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti
railway) total: 2,890 km total: 1 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT Djibouti
Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force)
Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with
"Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to
various factions in Somalia; thousands of Somali refugees await
repatriation in UNHCR camps in Djibouti
refugees (country |
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