Djibouti

agricultural land:

73.4%;

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

forest:

0.2%

other:

26.4% (2011 est.)

• most densely populated areas are in the east;
• the largest city is Djibouti, with a population over 600,000;
• no other city in the country has a total population over 50,000

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

volcanism:

• experiences limited volcanic activity;
• Ardoukoba (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

• most densely populated areas are in the east;
• the largest city is Djibouti, with a population over 600,000;
• no other city in the country has a total population over 50,000

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:

0.84 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever (2016)

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

etymology:

the country name derives from the capital city of Djibouti

name:

Djibouti

geographic coordinates:

11 35 N, 43 09 E

time difference:

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

history:

approved by referendum 4 September 1992

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly;
• Assembly consideration of proposals requires assent by at least one-third of the membership;
• passage requires a simple majority vote by the Assembly and approval by simple majority vote in a referendum;
• the president can opt to bypass a referendum if adopted by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly;
• constitutional articles on the sovereignty of Djibouti, its republican form of government, and its pluralist form of democracy cannot by amended;
• amended 2006, 2008, 2010 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the mother must be a citizen of Djibouti

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

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 appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term;
• (constitution amended in 2010 to allow a third term);
• election last held on 8 April 2016 (next to be held by 2021);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president for a fourth term; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH (RPP) 87%, Omar Elmi KHAIREH (CDU) 7.3%, other 5.6%

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 or CSM, a 10-member body consisting of 4 judges, 3 members (non parliamentarians and judges) appointed by the president, and 3 appointed by the National Assembly president or speaker;
• magistrates appointed for life with retirement at age 65;
• Constitutional Council magistrate appointments - 2 by the president of the republic, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, and 2 by the CSM;
• magistrates appointed for 8-year, non-renewable terms

subordinate courts:

• High Court of Appeal;
• 5 Courts of First Instance;
• customary courts;
• State Court (replaced sharia courts in 2003)

• Center for United Democrats or CDU [Omar Elmi KHAIREH, chairman]
• Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]
• Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM]
• Front for Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique) or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD]
• Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development [Daher Ahmed FARAH]
• Movement for Development and Liberty or MODEL [Ismail Ahmed WABERI]
• National Democratic Party or PND [Aden Robleh AWALEH]
• People's Rally for Progress or RPP [Ismail Omar GUELLEH] (governing party)
• Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Hasna Moumin BAHDON]
• Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD
• Union for a Presidential Majority or UMP (a coalition of parties including RPP, FRUD, PND, and PPSD)
• Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Ilya Ismail GUEDI Hared]
• Union for National Salvation or USN [Ahmed Youssouf HOUMED] (coalition includes ARD, MoDel, MRD, PDD, PND, UDJ)

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge D’Affaires Mark BOULWARE (since February 2017)

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 331-0270

FAX:

[1] (202) 331-0302

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires J. Alexander HAMILTON (since 23 June 2017)

embassy:

Lot 350-B, Haramouss

mailing address:

B.P. 185, Djibouti

telephone:

[253] 21 45 30 00

FAX:

[253] 21 45 31 29

• 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

name:

"Jabuuti" (Djibouti)

lyrics/music:

Aden ELMI/Abdi ROBLEH

note: adopted 1977

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 (2015)

• 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)

total:

97 km (Djibouti segment of the 756 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)

standard gauge:

97 km 1.435-m gauge (2017)

country comparison to the world: 128

total:

3,065 km

paved:

1,379 km

unpaved:

1,686 km (2000)

country comparison to the world: 165

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

• while attacks continued to decrease, the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Red Sea and 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;
• there were no incidents in the Red Sea in 2016, however one ship was fired upon during the first half of 2017;
• Operation Ocean Shield, the NATO/EUNAVFOR naval task force established in 2009 to combat Somali piracy, concluded its operations in December 2016 as a result of the drop in reported incidents over the last few years

• 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 women and girls may be forced into domestic servitude or prostitution after reaching Djibouti City, the Ethiopia-Djibouti 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;
• in 2014, Djibouti was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• one forced labor trafficker was convicted in 2014 but received a suspended sentence inadequate to deter trafficking;
• authorities did not investigate or prosecute any other forced labor crimes, any sex trafficking offenses, or any officials complicit in human trafficking, and remained limited in their ability to recognize or protect trafficking victims;
• official round-ups, detentions, and deportations of non-Djiboutian residents, including children without screening for trafficking victims remained routine;
• the government did not provide care to victims but supported local NGOs operating centers that assisted victims (2015)