DJIBOUTI
Geography: Djibouti lies in northeast Africa on the Gulf of Aden at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. It borders Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia. The country, the size of Massachusetts, is mainly a stony desert, with scattered plateaus and highlands.
Government: Republic with a unicameral legislature.
History: Ablé immigrants from Arabia migrated to what is now Djibouti in about the 3rd century B.C. Their descendants are the Afars, one of the two main ethnic groups that make up Djibouti today. Somali Issas arrived thereafter. Islam came to the region in 825.
Djibouti was acquired by France between 1843 and 1886 through treaties with the Somali sultans. Small, arid, and sparsely populated, it is important chiefly because of the capital city's port, the terminal of the Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway that carries 60% of Ethiopia's foreign trade. Originally known as French Somaliland, the colony voted in 1958 and 1967 to remain under French rule. It was renamed the Territory of the Afars and Issas in 1967 and took the name of its capital city on June 27, 1977, when France transferred sovereignty to the new independent nation of Djibouti. On Sept. 4, 1992, voters approved in referendum a new multiparty constitution. In 1991, conflict between the Afars and the Issa-dominated government erupted and the continued warfare has ravaged the country.
The dictatorial president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had run the country since its independence, finally stepped aside in 1999, and Ismail Omar Guelleh was elected president. In March 2000, the main Afars rebel group signed a peace accord with the government. The fighting, severe drought, and the presence of tens of thousands of refugees from its war-torn neighbors, Ethiopia and Somalia, have severely strained Djibouti's agricultural capacity.
Government: Republic with a unicameral legislature.
History: Ablé immigrants from Arabia migrated to what is now Djibouti in about the 3rd century B.C. Their descendants are the Afars, one of the two main ethnic groups that make up Djibouti today. Somali Issas arrived thereafter. Islam came to the region in 825.
Djibouti was acquired by France between 1843 and 1886 through treaties with the Somali sultans. Small, arid, and sparsely populated, it is important chiefly because of the capital city's port, the terminal of the Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway that carries 60% of Ethiopia's foreign trade. Originally known as French Somaliland, the colony voted in 1958 and 1967 to remain under French rule. It was renamed the Territory of the Afars and Issas in 1967 and took the name of its capital city on June 27, 1977, when France transferred sovereignty to the new independent nation of Djibouti. On Sept. 4, 1992, voters approved in referendum a new multiparty constitution. In 1991, conflict between the Afars and the Issa-dominated government erupted and the continued warfare has ravaged the country.
The dictatorial president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, who had run the country since its independence, finally stepped aside in 1999, and Ismail Omar Guelleh was elected president. In March 2000, the main Afars rebel group signed a peace accord with the government. The fighting, severe drought, and the presence of tens of thousands of refugees from its war-torn neighbors, Ethiopia and Somalia, have severely strained Djibouti's agricultural capacity.
Map of Djibouti
Republic of Djibouti
President: Ismail Omar Guelleh
(1999)
Prime Minister: Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (2013)
Land area: 8,486 sq mi (21,979 sq km);
total area: 8,880 sq mi (23,000 sq km)
Population (2014 est.): 810,179 (growth
rate: 2.23%); birth rate: 24.08/1000; infant mortality rate:
50.2/1000; life expectancy: 62.4
Capital (2011 est.):
Djibouti, 496,000
Monetary unit: Djibouti franc
National name: Jumhouriyya
Djibouti
Languages:
French and Arabic (both official), Somali,
Afar
Ethnicity/race:
Somali 60%, Afar 35%, other 5% (includes
French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian)
National Holiday:
Independence Day, June 27
Religions:
Islam 94%, Christian 6%
Literacy rate: 67.9% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013
est.): $2.505 billion; per capita $2,700. Real growth rate:
5%. Inflation: 2.5%. Unemployment: 59% in urban areas,
80% in rural areas (2007 est.). Arable land: 0.09%.
Agriculture: fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal
hides. Labor force: 294,600 (2012). Industries:
construction, agricultural processing, salt. Natural
resources: geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone,
marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum. Exports:
$90.8 million (2013 est.): reexports, hides and skins,
coffee (in transit). Imports: $593.3 million (2013):
foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum
products. Major trading partners: Somalia, Yemen,
Saudi Arabia, India, China, Indonesia, UAE (2012).
Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 18,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 209,000 (2012). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001).
Broadcast media: state-owned
Radiodiffusion-Television de Djibouti (RTD) operates the sole
terrestrial TV station as well as the only 2 domestic radio networks; no
private TV or radio stations; transmissions of several international
broadcasters are available (2007). Internet
hosts: 215 (2012). Internet users: 25,900 (2009).
Transportation: Railways: total: 100 km
(Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) (2008).
Highways: total: 3,065 km
(2000 est.). Waterways: none. Ports and harbors:
Djibouti. Airports: 13 (2013).
International disputes:
Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland"
leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in
Somalia; Kuwait is chief investor in the 2008 restoration and upgrade of
the Ethiopian-Djibouti rail link; in 2008, Eritrean troops moved across
the border on Ras Doumera peninsula and occupied Doumera Island with
undefined sovereignty in the Red Sea.
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