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Djibouti
Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
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Background:
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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.
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Location:
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Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea,
between Eritrea and Somalia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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11 30 N, 43 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km,
Somalia 58 km |
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Coastline:
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314 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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Climate:
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desert; torrid, dry |
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Terrain:
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coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
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Natural resources:
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geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble,
salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum |
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.96% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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10 sq km (2003) |
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Natural hazards:
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earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from
the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
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Environment - current issues:
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inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land;
desertification; endangered species |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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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
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Population:
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486,530 (July 2006 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 43.3% (male 105,760/female 105,068)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 135,119/female 124,367)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 8,183/female 8,033) (2006
est.) |
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Median age:
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total: 18.2 years
male: 18.7 years
female: 17.7 years (2006 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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2.02% (2006 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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39.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Death rate:
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19.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 110.07 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 94.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 43.17 years
male: 41.86 years
female: 44.52 years (2006 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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5.31 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
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Major infectious diseases:
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degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal
diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria (2005) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
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Religions:
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Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
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Languages:
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French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9%
male: 78%
female: 58.4% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti
former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French
Somaliland |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Djibouti |
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Administrative divisions:
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5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil,
Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
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Independence:
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27 June 1977 (from France) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
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Constitution:
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multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September
1992 |
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Legal system:
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based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and
Islamic law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal adult |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8
May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed Dileita
DILEITA (since 4 March 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the
president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a
six-year term; election last held 8 April 2005 (next to be
held by April 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected
president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 100% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65
seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held
January 2008)
election results: percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD
36.9%; seats - RPP 65, FRUD 0; note - RPP (the ruling party)
dominated the election |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh];
Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH];
Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM];
Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique or FRUD
[Ali Mohamed DAOUD]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP
(governing party) [Ismail Omar GUELLEH]; Peoples Social
Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]; Republican
Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed Dini AHMED]; Union for
Democracy and Justice or UDJ |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP,
FRUD, PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD
(opposition coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) [Ahmed
Dini AHMED] |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW
(signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO |
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Flag description:
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two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green
with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
bearing a red five-pointed star in the center
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$619 million (2002 est.) |
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GDP (official exchange rate):
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NA |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.5% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$1,300 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8%
services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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282,000 (2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
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Unemployment rate:
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50% (2004 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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50% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million; including capital
expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides |
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Industries:
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construction, agricultural processing, salt |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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3% (1996 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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240 million kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - consumption:
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223.2 million kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2003) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2003) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2003) |
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Oil - consumption:
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12,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA bbl/day |
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Oil - imports:
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NA bbl/day |
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Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2003 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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0 cu m (2003 est.) |
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Exports:
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$250 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
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Exports - partners:
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Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004) |
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Imports:
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$987 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum
products |
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Imports - partners:
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Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%,
France 5.6%, US 4.8% (2004) |
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Debt - external:
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$366 million (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$36 million (2001) |
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Currency (code):
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Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
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Exchange rates:
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Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2005), 177.72
(2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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11,100 (2004) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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34,500 (2004) |
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Telephone system:
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general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of
Djibouti are adequate, as are the microwave radio relay
connections to outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network
international: country code - 253; submarine cable to
Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseille, Colombo, and Singapore;
satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1
Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone
network |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (2002) |
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Internet country code:
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.dj |
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Internet hosts:
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506 (2005) |
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Internet users:
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9,000 (2005)
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Airports:
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13 (2005) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2005) |
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Railways:
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total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis
Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and
Ethiopia (2004) |
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Roadways:
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total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km
unpaved: 2,526 km (1999) |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 1 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
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Ports and terminals:
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Djibouti
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Military branches:
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Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
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Military service age and obligation:
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18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001) |
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Manpower available for military service:
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males age 18-49: 95,328
females age 18-49: 87,795 (2005 est.) |
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males age 18-49: 46,020
females age 18-49: 42,181 (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$29.05 million (2005 est.) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.3% (2005 est.)
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