Djibouti
Republic of Djibouti
republicIndependence 27 June 1977 (from France)
Djibouti as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 113 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 three consecutive six-year terms as president. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990's led to multi-party elections resulting in President Ismail Omar GUELLEH attaining office in May 1999. A peace accord in 2001 ended the final phases of a ten-year uprising by Afar rebels.
Djibouti occupies a very 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. GUELLEH favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country.
Geography
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
18 fieldsLand useshare of 23,000 sq km
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;
- limited arable land;
- desertification;
- endangered species
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;
- Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa
People
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 43.1% (male 98,796; female 98,202)
- 15-64 years:
- 53.9% (male 129,492; female 116,953)
- 65 years and over:
- 3% (male 6,933; female 6,754) (2003 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.01 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.11 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Government
Republic; President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999); Prime Minister DILEITA Mohamed Dileita (since 4 March 2001)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes, 65 seats, elected 10 January 2003one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Djibouti
- conventional short form:
- Djibouti
- former:
- French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland
Administrative divisions
5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister DILEITA Mohamed 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 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005);
- prime minister appointed by the president
- election results:
- Ismail Omar GUELLEH elected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 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 10 January 2003 (next to be held NA 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
Political parties and leaders
- 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 [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- 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]
International organization participation
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 331-0302
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 331-0270
- chancery:
- Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
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
The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa.
36 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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 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. Another factor limiting growth is the negative impact on port activity now that Ethiopia has more trade route options.
Exchange rates
Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000), 177.72 (1999), 177.72 (1998)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone 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
Transportation
7 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- 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 (2002)
Military
Djibouti National Army (including Navy and Air Force)
5 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - international
Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia including the Somali Transitional National Government in Mogadishu
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Djibouti.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/djibouti/2003.