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Djibouti Country Guide

Explore Djibouti in Africa

Djibouti with the capital city Djibouti is located in Africa (Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea). It covers some 23,000 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Massachusetts) with 506,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Djibouti

The landscape offers coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains. The average density of population is approximately 22 per km². The notable climate conditions in Djibouti can be described as desert with torrid, dry. Potential threats by nature are earthquakes or droughts or occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods.

To reach someone in Djibouti dial +253 prior to a number. There are 16,800 installed telephones. And there are 128,800 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".dj". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Djibouti

Djibouti Flag Icon

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.


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.

National administrative regions of Djibouti



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Africa
Neighbours: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
Capital: Djibouti
Size23,000 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 8,880 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Population506,000
CurrencyName Franc, Currency Code:DJF
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).dj
Telephone Country Prefix+253
Mobile Phone Connections128,800
Landline Phone Connections16,800

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area23,200 (sq km)151

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population792,198 162
Population growth rate2.26 (%)40
Birth rate24.50 (births/1,000 population)60
Death rate7.96 (deaths/1,000 population)102
Net migration rate6.04 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)19
Maternal mortality rate200.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)53
Infant mortality rate51.77 (deaths/1,000 live births)40
Life expectancy at birth61.99 (years)187
Total fertility rate2.55 (children born/woman)80
Health expenditures7.20 (% of GDP)77
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate2.50 (%)27
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS14,000 87
HIV/AIDS - deaths1,000 70
Obesity - adult prevalence rate9.40 (%)134
Children under the age of 5 years underweight29.60 (%)15
Education expenditures8.40 (% of GDP)9

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)2,418,000,000 187
GDP - real growth rate4.80 (%)68
GDP - per capita (PPP)2,700 181
Labor force351,700 161
Unemployment rate59.00 (%)196
Taxes and other revenues35.90 (% of GDP)62
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-1.20 (% of GDP)64
Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.30 (%)120
Commercial bank prime lending rate10.61 (%)82
Stock of narrow money798,100,000 153
Stock of broad money1,158,000,000 164
Stock of domestic credit498,100,000 173
Current account balance4,200,000 57
Exports101,700,000 191
Imports465,100,000 191
Debt - external802,900,000 164
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home331,600,000 99

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production350,000,000 (kWh)167
Electricity - consumption325,500,000 (kWh)171
Electricity - installed generating capacity130,000 (kW)166
Electricity - from fossil fuels100.00 (% of total installed capacity)12
Refined petroleum products - consumption12,460 (bbl/day)150
Refined petroleum products - exports19 (bbl/day)123
Refined petroleum products - imports7,987 (bbl/day)135
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy2,352,000 (Mt)148

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use18,400 193
Telephones - mobile cellular193,000 181
Internet hosts215 201
Internet users25,900 185

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports13 153
Railways100 (km)126
Roadways3,065 (km)165

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures3.60 (% of GDP)32

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince