Djibouti

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 country code

.dj

Internet hosts

215 (2012) country comparison to the world: 200

Internet users

25,900 (2009) country comparison to the world: 185

Telephone 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: 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)

Telephones - main lines in use

18,000 (2012) country comparison to the world: 191

Telephones - mobile cellular

209,000 (2012) country comparison to the world: 181

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $465.9 million expenditures: $503 million (2012 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-2.8% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 113

Commercial bank prime lending rate

12% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 82 10.61% (31 December 2011 est.)

Current account balance

$-216.2 million (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 87 $-171.8 million (2011 est.)

Debt - external

$773.9 million (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 167 $767 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Economy - overview

Djibouti's economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in the Horn of Africa. 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 re-exports - 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 holds foreign reserves amounting to less than six months of import coverage. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% between 1999 and 2006 because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). Djibouti has experienced relatively minimal impact from the global economic downturn, but its reliance on diesel-generated electricity and imported food leave average consumers vulnerable to global price shocks. Djibouti in 2012 began construction of a third port to secure its position as a critical transshipment hub in the Horn of Africa and the principal conduit for Ethiopia's trade. Djibouti also received funding in late 2012 for a desalination plant to begin address the severe freshwater shortage affecting Djibouti City, and particularly its poorest residents.

Exchange rates

Djiboutian francs (DJF) per US dollar - 177.72 (2012 est.) 177.72 (2011 est.) 177.72 (2010 est.)

Exports

$87.9 million (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 191 $85 million (2011 est.)

Exports - commodities

reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)

Exports - partners

Somalia 80.1%, UAE 4.4%, Yemen 4.1% (2012)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.336 billion (2012 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$2.354 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 187 $2.245 billion (2011 est.) $2.149 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 59.2% government consumption: 24.7% investment in fixed capital: 33% investment in inventories: -2.1% exports of goods and services: 38.3% imports of goods and services: -53.1% (2012 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 3.1% industry: 16.9% services: 80% (2012 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$2,600 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 180 $2,600 (2011 est.) $2,600 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

4.8% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 72 4.5% (2011 est.) 3.5% (2010 est.)

Gross national saving

17% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 95 16.2% of GDP (2011 est.) 34.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.9% (2002)

Imports

$574.2 million (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 191 $510.6 million (2011 est.)

Imports - commodities

foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products

Imports - partners

China 24.4%, Saudi Arabia 16.4%, India 10.6%, Indonesia 7.3% (2012)

Industrial production growth rate

4.2% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 68

Industries

construction, agricultural processing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7.9% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 184 4.4% (2011 est.)

Labor force

351,700 (2007) country comparison to the world: 162

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

Population below poverty line

42% (2007 est.)

Stock of broad money

$1.158 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 164 $1.008 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$510.6 million (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 102 $410.6 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$483.4 million (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 166 $426.3 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$758.9 million (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 153 $692.6 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

34.9% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 69

Unemployment rate

59% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 196 note: data are for urban areas, 83% in rural areas

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

1.15 million Mt (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 163

Crude oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 105

Crude oil - imports

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 178

Crude oil - production

0 bbl/day (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

Crude oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2013 es) country comparison to the world: 122

Electricity - consumption

302.3 million kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 175

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 188

Electricity - from fossil fuels

100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 166

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 75

Electricity - from other renewable sources

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 171

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 179

Electricity - installed generating capacity

130,000 kW (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 168

Electricity - production

325 million kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 169

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 137

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 89

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 184

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 122

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2013 es) country comparison to the world: 130

Refined petroleum products - consumption

12,460 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 149

Refined petroleum products - exports

19.18 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 125

Refined petroleum products - imports

8,089 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 134

Refined petroleum products - production

0 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 169

Area

total: 23,200 sq km country comparison to the world: 151 land: 23,180 sq km water: 20 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Massachusetts

Climate

desert; torrid, dry

Coastline

314 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

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

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.02 cu km/yr (84%/0%/16%) per capita: 24.84 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

11 30 N, 43 00 E

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 and the saltiest lake in the world

Irrigated land

10.12 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 516 km border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km

Land use

arable land: 0.09% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.91% (2011)

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

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

Terrain

coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains

Total renewable water resources

0.3 cu km (2011)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

name: Djibouti geographic coordinates: 11 35 N, 43 09 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution

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

Country name

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

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

Executive branch

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%

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; 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

Government type

republic

Independence

27 June 1977 (from France)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidates), COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, 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

Judicial branch

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

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

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

National anthem

name: "Jabuuti" (Djibouti)

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 June (1977)

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] 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]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Background

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 elections 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.

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 170,386 females age 16-49: 221,411 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 114,557 females age 16-49: 154,173 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 8,360 female: 8,602 (2010 est.)

Military branches

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

Military expenditures

3.6% of GDP (2011) country comparison to the world: 33

Military service age and obligation

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 33.6% (male 133,401/female 132,836) 15-24 years: 22% (male 82,174/female 92,321) 25-54 years: 36.3% (male 119,588/female 167,711) 55-64 years: 4.6% (male 17,416/female 19,269) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 12,352/female 15,130) (2013 est.)

Birth rate

24.5 births/1,000 population (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 61

Child labor - children ages 5-14

total number: 13,176 percentage: 8 % (2006 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

29.6% (2006) country comparison to the world: 15

Contraceptive prevalence rate

17.8% (2006)

Death rate

7.96 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 104

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 60.5 % youth dependency ratio: 54.1 % elderly dependency ratio: 6.4 % potential support ratio: 15.7 (2013)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 99% of population rural: 54% of population total: 88% of population unimproved: urban: 1% of population rural: 46% of population total: 12% of population (2010 est.)

Education expenditures

8.4% of GDP (2007) country comparison to the world: 9

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

2.5% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 26

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 69

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

14,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 86

Health expenditures

7.9% of GDP (2011) country comparison to the world: 64

Hospital bed density

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2010)

Infant mortality rate

total: 51.77 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 40 male: 59.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 61.99 years country comparison to the world: 187 male: 59.52 years female: 64.52 years (2013 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

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)

Major urban areas - population

DJIBOUTI (capital) 496,000 (2011)

Maternal mortality rate

200 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 54

Median age

total: 22.4 years male: 20.8 years female: 23.7 years (2013 est.)

Nationality

noun: Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian

Net migration rate

6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 20

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

9.4% (2008) country comparison to the world: 134

Physicians density

0.23 physicians/1,000 population (2006)

Population

792,198 (July 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 163

Population growth rate

2.26% (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 41

Religions

Muslim 94%, Christian 6%

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 63% of population rural: 10% of population total: 50% of population unimproved: urban: 37% of population rural: 90% of population total: 50% of population (2010 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 6 years male: 6 years female: 5 years (2011)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.72 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.55 children born/woman (2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 80

Urbanization

urban population: 77.1% of total population (2011) rate of urbanization: 1.96% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Disputes - international

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 18,725 (Somalia) (2013)

Trafficking in persons

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)

Airports

13 (2013) country comparison to the world: 152

Airports - with paved runways

total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2013)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Djibouti

Railways

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)

Roadways

total: 3,065 km country comparison to the world: 165 paved: 1,226 km unpaved: 1,839 km (2000)

Transportation - note

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