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 Afar minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 with a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Somali Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first multiparty presidential election resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH as president; he was reelected to a second term in 2005 and extended his tenure in office via a constitutional amendment, which allowed him to begin a third term in 2011. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the intersection of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and serves as an important shipping portal for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands and transshipments between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The government holds longstanding ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, and has strong ties with the United States. Djibouti hosts several thousand members of US armed services at US-run Camp Lemonnier.

Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia

11 30 N, 43 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than New Jersey

314 km

desert; torrid, dry

coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains

potential geothermal power, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum

arable land 0.1%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 73.3%

10.12 sq km (2003)

0.3 cu km (2011)

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 and the saltiest lake in the world

Somali 60%, Afar 35%, other 5% (includes French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian)

French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar

Muslim 94%, Christian 6%

828,324 (July 2015 est.)

2.2% (2015 est.)

23.65 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

6.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

DJIBOUTI (capital) 529,000 (2015)

2.39 children born/woman (2015 est.)

19% (2012)

8.9% of GDP (2013)

0.23 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2012)

urban: 97.4% of population

rural: 64.7% of population

total: 90% of population

urban: 2.6% of population

rural: 35.3% of population

total: 10% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 59.8% of population

rural: 5.1% of population

total: 47.4% of population

urban: 40.2% of population

rural: 94.9% of population

total: 52.6% of population (2015 est.)

1.59% (2014 est.)

9,900 (2014 est.)

600 (2014 est.)

8.5% (2014)

29.8% (2012)

4.5% of GDP (2010)

republic

6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah

27 June 1977 (from France)

Independence Day, 27 June (1977)

approved by referendum 4 September 1992; amended 2006, 2008, 2010 (2010)

mixed legal system based primarily on the French civil code (as it existed in 1997), Islamic religious law (in matters of family law and successions), and customary law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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]

Movement for Development and Liberty or MODEL [Sheikh Guirreh MEIDAL]

People's Rally for Progress or RPP [Ismail Omar GUELLEH] (governing party)

Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]

Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed YOUSSOUF]

Union for a Presidential Majority or UMP (a coalition of parties including RPP, FRUD, PND, and PPSD)

Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Ismail GUEDI Hared]

Union for National Salvation or USN (an umbrella coalition comprising PRD, PDD, MODEL, ARD, and UDJ) [Ahmed Youssouf HOUMER]

ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidates), COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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; blue stands for sea and sky and the Issa Somali people; green symbolizes earth and the Afar people; white represents peace; the red star recalls the struggle for independence and stands for unity

red star; national colors: light blue, green, white, red

Djibouti's economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location as a deepwater port on the Red Sea. Three-fourths of Djibouti's inhabitants live in the capital city; the remainder are mostly nomadic herders. Scant rainfall limits crop production to small quantities of 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. Imports, exports, and reexports - primarily of coffee from landlocked neighbor Ethiopia - represent 70% of port activity at Djibouti's container terminal. 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 nearly 60% 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. Djibouti’s reliance on diesel-generated electricity and imported food and water leave average consumers vulnerable to global price shocks. The government has emphasized infrastructure development for transportation and energy and Djibouti – with the help of foreign partners – has begun to increase and modernize its port capacity.

$2.865 billion (2014 est.)

$2.703 billion (2013 est.)

$2.574 billion (2012 est.)

$1.589 billion (2014 est.)

6% (2014 est.)

5% (2013 est.)

4.8% (2012 est.)

$3,100 (2014 est.)

$2,900 (2013 est.)

$2,700 (2012 est.)

20.7% of GDP (2014 est.)

6.1% of GDP (2013 est.)

7.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

(2014 est.)

fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides

construction, agricultural processing, shipping

4.3% (2014 est.)

294,600 (2012)

60% (2014 est.)

18.8%

40.9 (2002)

35.6% of GDP (2014 est.)

-5.3% of GDP (2014 est.)

38.6% of GDP (2012 est.)

calendar year

2.9% (2014 est.)

3.5% (2013 est.)

10.5% (31 December 2014 est.)

11% (31 December 2013 est.)

$1.011 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$877 million (31 December 2013 est.)

$1.43 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.24 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$569.6 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$494.1 million (31 December 2013 est.)

-$436 million (2014 est.)

-$136.2 million (2013 est.)

$119.5 million (2014 est.)

$114.1 million (2013 est.)

reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit), scrap metal

Somalia 82.9%, Yemen 5%, UAE 4.4% (2014)

$612.1 million (2014 est.)

$575 million (2013 est.)

foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, clothing

China 29.3%, Saudi Arabia 16.3%, Indonesia 8%, India 7.7% (2014)

$891.3 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$863.6 million (31 December 2013 est.)

$790.6 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$645.6 million (31 December 2013 est.)

Djiboutian francs (DJF) per US dollar -

177.7 (2014 est.)

177.72 (2013 est.)

177.72 (2012 est.)

177.72 (2011 est.)

177.72 (2010 est.)

330 million kWh (2011 est.)

306.9 million kWh (2011 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

130,000 kW (2011 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

11,680 bbl/day (2013 est.)

19 bbl/day (2010 est.)

8,089 bbl/day (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

1.796 million Mt (2012 est.)

state-owned Radiodiffusion-Television de Djibouti 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)

AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)

1 (2001)

.dj

13 (2013)

2 (2013)

while attacks decreased significantly in 2012, the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden remain a high risk for piracy; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators, including the use of on-board armed security teams, contributed to the drop in incidents

Djibouti Armed Forces (Forces Armees Djiboutiennes, FAD): Djibouti National Army (includes Navy, Djiboutian Air Force (Force Aerienne Djiboutienne, FAD), National Gendarmerie (GN)) (2013)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 16-25 years of age for voluntary military training; no conscription (2012)

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