Djibouti

total:

0.02 cu km/yr (84%/0%/16%)

per capita:

24.84 cu m/yr (2000)

• earthquakes;
• droughts;
• occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods

volcanism:

• experiences limited volcanic activity;
• Ardoukoba (elev. 298 m) last erupted in 1978;
• Manda-Inakir, located along the Ethiopian border, is also historically active

• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• limited arable land;
• desertification;
• endangered species

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• 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

noun:

Djiboutian(s)

adjective:

Djiboutian

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.89 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.71 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.86 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

total number:

13,176

percentage:

8 % (2006 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Djibouti

conventional short form:

Djibouti

local long form:

Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti

local short form:

Djibouti/Jibuti

former:

French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland

name:

Djibouti

geographic coordinates:

11 35 N, 43 09 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

chief of state:

President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil MOHAMED (since 1 April 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers (responsible to the president); (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• president is eligible to hold office until age 75;
• election last held on 8 April 2011 (next to be held by 2016);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president for a third term; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 80.6%, Mohamed Warsama RAGUEH 19.4%

• unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms);
• note - constitutional amendments in 2010 provided for the establishment of a senate

elections:

last held on 22 February 2013 (next to be held in 2018)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats - UMP (coalition of parties associated with President Ismail Omar GUELLEH) 49, USN 16

highest court(s):

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA magistrates); Constitutional Council (consists of 6 magistrates)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court magistrates appointed by the president with the advice of the Superior Council of the Magistracy;
• magistrates appointed for life with retirement at age 65;
• Constitutional magistrates - 2 appointed by the president, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, and 2 by High Council of the Judiciary;
• magistrates appointed for 8-year, non-renewable terms

subordinate courts:

• High Court of Appeal;
• 5 Courts of First Instance;
• customary courts

• 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]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Roble OLHAYE Oudine (since 22 March 1988)

chancery:

Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone:

[1] (202) 331-0270

FAX:

[1] (202) 331-0302

chief of mission:

Ambassador Geeta PASI (since 29 August 2011)

embassy:

Lot 350-B, Haramouss, Djibouti

mailing address:

B. P. 185, Djibouti

telephone:

[253] 21 45 30 00

FAX:

[253] 21 45 30 20

• 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

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

2.4%

highest 10%:

30.9% (2002)

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:

• Djibouti Telecom is the sole provider of telecommunications services and utilizes mostly a microwave radio relay network;
• fiber-optic cable is installed in the capital;
• rural areas connected via wireless local loop radio systems;
• mobile cellular coverage is primarily limited to the area in and around Djibouti city

international:

• country code - 253;
• landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 and EASSy fiber-optic submarine cable systems providing links to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America;
• satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean and 1 Arabsat);
• Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network (2009)

• 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)

total:

100 km (Djibouti segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)

country comparison to the world: 126

narrow gauge:

100 km 1.000-m gauge

note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2008)

total:

3,065 km

country comparison to the world: 165

paved:

1,226 km

unpaved:

1,839 km (2000)

• 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

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

males age 16-49:

170,386

females age 16-49:

221,411 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

114,557

females age 16-49:

154,173 (2010 est.)

male:

8,360

female:

8,602 (2010 est.)

• 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

current situation:

• Djibouti is a transit, source, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• economic migrants from East Africa en route to Yemen and other Middle East locations are vulnerable to exploitation in Djibouti;
• some woman and girls may be forced into domestic servitude or prostitution after reaching Djibouti City, the Ethiopian-Djiboutian trucking corridor, or Obock - the main crossing point into Yemen;
• Djiboutian and foreign children may be forced to beg, to work as domestic servants, or to commit theft and other petty crimes

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Djibouti does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• outside of child prostitution, the government fails to investigate or prosecute any other trafficking offenses, including those allegedly committed by complicit officials;
• it has made no attempt to implement the protection or prevention components of its anti-trafficking law, and its working group on trafficking was inactive in 2012;
• a draft national action plan against human trafficking remains incomplete (2013)