The population of Djibouti was 460,700 in 2001, yielding a population density of 20 persons per sq km (51 per sq mi).The population is 83 percent (1999) urban. The capital, principal port, and only sizable city is Djibouti, located on the southern side of the mouth of the Gulf of Tadjoura.
Roughly 60 percent of Djiboutians are ethnic Somali, the predominant group in the south, and about 30 percent are Afar, the main group in the north. Arab, French, and other minorities make up the remaining population. Of the Somali, more than half belong to the dominant Issa clan. Djibouti’s official languages are French and Arabic, but Somali is the most widely spoken language in the south, including the capital. The Afar language prevails in the north. Almost all Djiboutians are Sunni Muslims.
The Afar (Denakil, or Danakil) speak a language that forms a dialect continuum with Saho. Saho-Afar is usually classified as an Eastern Cushitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language phylum. The Afar live in the sparsely populated areas to the west and north of the Gulf of Tadjoura. This region includes parts of several former as well as extant Afar sultanates. The sultans' roles are now largely ceremonial, and the social divisions within the traditional Afar hierarchy are of diminished importance.
Djibouti lies at a major global crossroads where, some 100,000 years ago, early humans migrated from Africa to the Middle East. Livestock herding, which remains important to Djibouti’s people, was introduced to this region by nomads more than 10,000 years ago. The ancient region’s small ports, inhabited by the ancestors of the Afars, hosted merchants from Persia, Arabia, Ethiopia, and the Mediterranean. In the first centuries ad, a series of kingdoms dominated the region and its rich trade, paying tribute to the powerful inland kingdom of Aksum, in what is now Ethiopia.
In 1946 France made French Somaliland an overseas territory with limited self-rule. Ethnic conflicts soon arose over representation in the territory’s legislature. The French adopted a policy of favoritism toward the Afars because the Somali population generally sought independence from France and possible unification with Somalia. In a 1967 referendum, Djiboutians voted to remain under French administration, and the colony’s name was changed to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. Ten years later, however, increased nationalist sentiment and international pressure led France to hold another referendum, and this time Djiboutians overwhelmingly voted for independence. The Republic of Djibouti achieved full independence on June 27, 1977.
The people of Djibouti elected Hassan Gouled Aptidon, an Issa, as its first president. Gouled quickly monopolized power and established a single-party state in 1981. Gouled dominated the RPP the sole party and rewarded his supporters with patronage. The population of the capital city grew, and the subsequent lack of clean water, sanitation, and adequate employment caused growing dissatisfaction and tension. Afars and other dissidents organized resistance movements, but the government acted to suppress any opposition.
Beginning in 1991 an armed Afar rebellion destabilized Djibouti. By mid-1992 Afar rebels controlled two-thirds of Djibouti’s territory.
Djibouti's only television and radio station, which broadcasts in French, Arabic, Afar, and Somali, is state-run, as is the weekly French-language newspaper, La Nation. The government sponsors several organizations dedicated to the preservation of traditional culture and dance.
In 1984 Djibouti entered the Olympics for the first time; since then its marathon runners have commanded international attention.
Major holidays are Independence Day, June 27, and the festivals of the Muslim calendar.
Historically, most Afar and Somali lived a nomadic life in patriarchal societies organized into clans. They herded sheep, goats, and camels. Until recent years, the Afar and Somali languages lacked written forms. These two nomadic peoples consequently developed rich rural traditions of folk music, dance, and oral literature. Somali are renowned for their poetry. These rural traditions survive today, although most Djiboutians now live in the capital city.
The landscape of Djibouti is varied and extreme, ranging from rugged mountains in the north to a series of low desert plains separated by parallel plateaus in the west and south. Its highest peak is Mount Mousa at 6,768 feet (2,063 metres); the lowest point, which is also the lowest in Africa, is the saline Lake Assal, 515 feet (157 metres) below sea level.
Located at the convergence of the African and Arabian tectonic plates, the territory is geologically active. Slight tremors are frequent, and much of the terrain is littered with basalt from past volcanic activity.
Djibouti’s main exports are animal hides and coffee, but its service activities related to the port facilities and banking sector provide most of its earnings.
Djibouti’s economy revolves around the capital city’s modern seaport, which serves not only Djibouti but landlocked Ethiopia and parts of Somalia as well. The country also relies heavily on economic aid from France and other countries. In 1998 Djibouti’s gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of goods and services produced within a country, was $519 million, or $820 per capita. Services accounted for about 76 percent of GDP, industry made up 21 percent, and agriculture about 4 percent. Estimates indicate that about three-quarters of the labor force works in agriculture. Djibouti’s dry and barren landscape supports little crop farming, but subsistence livestock herding is a significant economic activity. Although the population is mostly urban, many city dwellers periodically tend family livestock herds in rural areas. Estimates suggest that almost half the labor force lacks formal employment.
Much of the country's economic potential lies in the transport and service sectors. An international airport is located at Ambouli. The port of Djibouti is a free-trade zone with modern container and refrigeration facilities and a rail link to Ethiopia. International telecommunications services are some of the best in sub-Saharan Africa. The capital has attracted several large commercial banks and provides a thriving entertainment industry necessary to a port city. There is also much unrecorded transshipment, via camels, dhows, and trucks, to bordering countries.
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 40% to 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. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options.
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.
Djibouti’s official languages are French and Arabic, but Somali is the most widely spoken language in the south, including the capital. The Afar language prevails in the north. Almost all Djiboutians are Sunni Muslims.
Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH]
Djibouti is a republic with a strong central government and a democratic constitution, which was adopted in 1992. All adults aged 18 and over are eligible to vote. Principal executive power lies with the president, who is popularly elected for a six-year term and is limited to two terms. The president appoints a cabinet, headed by a prime minister, who is also appointed by the president. The legislature consists of a single house, the Chamber of Deputies, whose members are popularly elected to five-year terms. Codes based on French civil law are administered in a lower court and a court of appeals in the capital. Local courts administer a combination of customary and Islamic law. A supreme court rules on constitutional questions, and all judges are appointed by the president. Djibouti is divided into five cercles (administrative divisions).
International organization Member
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Education is free and, theoretically, compulsory for six years of primary schooling starting at age 6, but in 1996, the latest year for which figures are available, only 38.5 percent of primary school-aged children attended school. Only 14.1 percent of the teenage population attended secondary school. In 2001 only 84.9 percent of Djibouti’s adult population was literate. Djibouti has no colleges or universities.
Military branches: Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 108,038 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 63,589 (2001 est.)
None
