"text":"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 election 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."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia"
"text":"earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods",
"volcanism":{
"text":"experiences limited volcanic activity; Ardoukoba (elev. 298 m) last erupted in 1978; Manda-Inakir, located along the Ethiopian border, is also historically active"
"text":"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":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"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"
}
},
"People and Society":{
"Nationality":{
"noun":{
"text":"Djiboutian(s)"
},
"adjective":{
"text":"Djiboutian"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Somali 60%, Afar 35%, other 5% (includes French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian)"
"text":"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)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate":{
"text":"8.5% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight":{
"text":"29.8% (2012)"
},
"Education expenditures":{
"text":"4.5% of GDP (2010)"
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)":{
"total":{
"text":"6 years"
},
"male":{
"text":"7 years"
},
"female":{
"text":"6 years (2011)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14":{
"total number":{
"text":"13,176"
},
"percentage":{
"text":"8% (2006 est.)"
}
}
},
"Government":{
"Country name":{
"conventional long form":{
"text":"Republic of Djibouti"
},
"conventional short form":{
"text":"Djibouti"
},
"local long form":{
"text":"Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti"
},
"local short form":{
"text":"Djibouti/Jibuti"
},
"former":{
"text":"French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Djibouti"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"11 35 N, 43 09 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"approved by referendum 4 September 1992; amended 2006, 2008, 2010 (2010)"
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"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"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil MOHAMED (since 1 April 2013)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"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 2011 (next to be held by 2016); prime minister appointed by the president"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president for a third term; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH (RPP) 80.6%, Mohamed Warsama RAGUEH (independent) 19.4%"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale, formerly the Chamber of Deputies (65 seats; 52 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 13 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA magistrates); Constitutional Council (consists of 6 magistrates)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"High Court of Appeal; 5 Courts of First Instance; customary courts"
}
},
"Political parties and leaders":{
"text":"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]"
"text":"1156 15th Street NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20005"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 331-0270"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 331-0302"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Thomas P. KELLY III (since 13 October 2014)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"Lot 350-B, Haramouss, Djibouti"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"B. P. 185, Djibouti"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[253] 21 45 30 00"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[253] 21 45 31 29"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"red star; national colors: light blue, green, white, red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Jabuuti\" (Djibouti)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Aden ELMI/Abdi ROBLEH"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1977"
}
}
},
"Economy":{
"Economy - overview":{
"text":"Djibouti's economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location as a deepwater port on the Red Sea. 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 reexports - 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’s reliance on diesel-generated electricity and imported food and water leave average consumers vulnerable to global price shocks. The government has emphasized infrastructure development for transportation and energy and Djibouti – with the help of foreign partners – has begun to increase and modernize its port capacity."
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy":{
"text":"1.796 million Mt (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Communications":{
"Telephones - fixed lines":{
"total subscriptions":{
"text":"21,900"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"3 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular":{
"total":{
"text":"287,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"35 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system":{
"general assessment":{
"text":"telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate, as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"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)"
}
},
"Broadcast media":{
"text":"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)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations":{
"text":"AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001)"
},
"Television broadcast stations":{
"text":"1 (2001)"
},
"Internet country code":{
"text":".dj"
},
"Internet users":{
"total":{
"text":"73,500"
},
"percent of population":{
"text":"9.1% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation":{
"Airports":{
"text":"13 (2013)"
},
"Airports - with paved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"3"
},
"over 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"2,438 to 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"1 (2013)"
}
},
"Airports - with unpaved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"10"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"7"
},
"under 914 m":{
"text":" ++ 2 (2013)"
}
},
"Railways":{
"total":{
"text":"100 km (Djibouti segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)"
},
"narrow gauge":{
"text":"100 km 1.000-m gauge"
},
"note":{
"text":"railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2008)"
"text":"while attacks continued to decrease, with only 4 in 2014, 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"
"text":"Djibouti Armed Forces (Forces Armees Djiboutiennes, FAD): Djibouti National Army (includes Navy, Djiboutian Air Force (Force Aerienne Djiboutienne, FAD), National Gendarmerie (GN)) (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service; 16-25 years of age for voluntary military training; no conscription (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"170,386"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"221,411 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"114,557"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"154,173 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"8,360"
},
"female":{
"text":"8,602 (2010 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"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"
"text":"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":{
"text":"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; the government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute a significant effort toward meeting the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking; a national action plan was completed in 2014, but tangible efforts to prevent trafficking were minimal; authorities failed to investigate or prosecute any forced labor of child prostitution crimes, and no victim identifications were reported in 2013; foreign victims were deported to countries where they could face retribution (2014)"
