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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
The French Territory of the
Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994
ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels. |
| Location: |
Eastern Africa, bordering the
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
11 30 N, 43 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 22,000 sq
km
land: 21,980 sq km
water: 20 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than
Massachusetts |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 508 km
border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia
58 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
desert; torrid, dry |
| Terrain: |
coastal plain and plateau
separated by central mountains |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
| Natural
resources: |
geothermal areas |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 91% (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
earthquakes; droughts;
occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains
and flash floods |
| Environment
- current issues: |
inadequate supplies of potable
water; desertification |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic location near
world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus
of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland |
| Population: |
460,700 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859)
15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841)
65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.6% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
40.66 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
14.66 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
101.51 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
51.21 years
male: 49.37 years
female: 53.1 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
5.72 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
11.75% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
37,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
3,100 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French,
Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
| Religions: |
Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
| Languages: |
French (official), Arabic
(official), Somali, Afar |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 46.2%
male: 60.3%
female: 32.7% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti
former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French
Somaliland |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Administrative
divisions: |
5 districts (cercles,
singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
| Independence: |
27 June 1977 (from France) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 27 June
(1977) |
| Constitution: |
multiparty constitution
approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
| Legal
system: |
based on French civil law
system, traditional practices, and Islamic law |
| Suffrage: |
NA years of age; universal
adult |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999);
head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed
Dilleita (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 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime
minister appointed by the president
election results: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president;
percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral Chamber of
Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular
vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA
2002)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65;
note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Democratic National Party or
PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi
HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail
Omar GELLEH] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Front for the Restoration of
Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and
Democracy or MUD |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL,
AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye Oudine
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC
20005
telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270
FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald YAMAMOTO
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre,
Djibouti
mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti
telephone: [253] 35 39 95
FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
| Flag
description: |
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 |
| Economy
- overview: |
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 being 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. It 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 40% to 50% continues to be a major
problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie
of the franc to the US dollar. 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.
The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should
decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$574 million (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$1,300 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 22%
services: 75% (1998 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 75%, industry
11%, services 14% (1991 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
50% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $133
million
expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1999 est.) |
| Industries: |
limited to a few small-scale
enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
3% (1996 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
180 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
167.4 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
fruits, vegetables; goats,
sheep, camels |
| Exports: |
$260 million (f.o.b., 1999
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
reexports, hides and skins,
coffee (in transit) |
| Exports
- partners: |
Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%,
Ethiopia 5%, (1998) |
| Imports: |
$440 million (f.o.b., 1999
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foods, beverages, transport
equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
| Imports
- partners: |
France 13%, Ethiopia 12%,
Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) |
| Debt
- external: |
$356 million (1999 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$106.3 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Djiboutian francs per US
dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
8,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
203 (1997) |
| Telephone
system: |
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: submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily,
Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1
Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave
radio relay telephone network |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0
(1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (plus 5 low-power
repeaters) (1998) |
| Televisions: |
28,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.dj |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 100 km
(Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge
note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the
century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003 |
| Highways: |
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km
unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Djibouti |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 1 ship
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Djibouti National Army
(includes Navy and Air Force) |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
108,038 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
63,589 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$23 million (FY97) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
4.5% (FY97) |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
