Form of Government: Republic
Area: 23 200 sq km
Population: 988 002 inhab. (estimate 2020)
Density: 42.59 inhab./sq km
Coordinates: lat. 13° - 11° N; long. 42° - 43° E
Capital: Djibouti (capital) 561 564 inhab. (2018);
Currency: Djibouti franc (100 centimes, no longer used)
Human development index: 0.524 (rank: 166)
President: Ismail Omar Guelleh (RPP), elected 9 April 1999, last reconfirmed 9 April 2021
Prime Minister: Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed (RPP), since 1 April 2013
Internet: www.instad.dj (Institut National de la Statistique)
Member of Arab League, AU, COMESA, OIC, UN, WTO
Djibouti

International license plate code DJI
International dialling code 00253
Travel vaccinations requirement yellow fever (required only if traveling from a country with risk of transmission); malaria prophylaxis (recommended)
Electricity (Voltage) 220
Driving side rigth
Internet code .dj
GMT +3
DST not applied
Annual average temperature (°C) Jibuti 30
Average temperature in January/July (°C) Jibuti 25.5/36.5
Daily sunshine hours in June/December (average) Jibuti 10/9
Annual average precipitation (mm) Jibuti 165
Days of rainfall (annual average) Jibuti 18
Geography.
Situated on the Bab el Mandeb strait at the southernmost end of the Red Sea, Djibouti is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the south-east and Ethiopia to the south and west. It looks out to the Gulf of Aden to the east. The climate is hot and dry.
Government
A former French colony which went by the name French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in 1967 it became the French Territory of the Afars and Isaas, before gaining independence on 27 June 1977 and being renamed Djibouti. In 1981, the People’s Rally for Progress (RPP), a political party of mainly Issa ethnicity, turned the country into a one-party state. The 1992 Constitution established a multi-party, semi-presidential system, but ethnic tensions led to a civil war which only ended in 2001. The President of the Republic is elected by direct suffrage for five years, as well as the 65 members of the National Assembly.
France maintains a naval base and a garrison in Djibouti. The country also hosts US, Japanese, Chinese and Italian military bases.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Air force | 2.4 | % | 2015 |
Army | 76.6 | % | 2015 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Homicides | 6.5 | per 100 000 pop. | 2015 |
Administrative division
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Djibouti | 561 564 | inhab. | 2018 |
Ali Sabieh | 22 630 | inhab. | 2009 |
Population
Population by age and gender (% - 2020) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
MALE | AGE | FEMALE |
The Issa, a Somali clan, have their homeland in the south and in the capital; the Afar, of Danakil-Ethiopian origin, are found in the north.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Birth rate | 20.998 | ‰ | 2019 |
Death rate | 6.979 | ‰ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Issa | 46$ | % | 2000 |
Afar | 35$ | % | 2000 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Muslim (Sunni) | 94$ | % | 2017 |
Christian | 5$ | % | 2017 |
DESCRIPTION |
---|
Arabic (official) |
French (official) |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
0-14 years | 29.6 | % | 2020 |
15-29 years | 30.9 | % | 2020 |
Economy
Apart from fishing and farming, the most important activities stem from the free port and the foreign military bases.
Djibouti is linked to Addis Ababa by a long-serving rail-way line, now replaced by a modern line built in 2016 by Chinese companies.
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Agricultural prod. index (2004-06=100) | 133.07 | index | 2016 |
Agricultural prod. index (2014-16=100) | 126.33 | index | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Active population | 412 802 | units | 2020 |
Active population, Females | 39.8 | % | 2020 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Unemployment rate | 11.6 | % | 2020 |
Unemployment rate, Females | 40.2 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenses | 133 968 | M LCU | 2019 |
Revenues | 128 931 | M LCU | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 33.1 | % | 2019 |
industry | 13.1 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
agriculture | 1.368 | % | 2019 |
industry | 11.767 | % | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Currency in circulation | 49.939 | BN LCU | 2020 |
International reserves | 686.339 | M US$ | 2020 |
Agriculture
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
arable land | 0.086 | % | 2018 |
forests | 0.243 | % | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cereals, total | 0.021 | 1000 t | 2019 |
maize | 0.021 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cabbages | 0.008 | 1000 t | 2019 |
carrots and turnips | 0.014 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beans, dry | 2.211 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
pepper | 0.3 | 1000 t | 2005 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar cane | 0.053 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
fruits, total | 4.853 | 1000 t | 2019 |
pears | 0.003 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
citrus fruits | 2.712 | 1000 t | 2019 |
lemons | 2.705 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
dates | 0.118 | 1000 t | 2019 |
mangoes | 0.628 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
maize | 0.01 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
beans, dry | 6.913 | 1000 ha | 2019 |
Forests-Livestock-Fishing
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
timber | 404 621 | m³ | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cattle | 300.328 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
cattle and buffaloes | 300.328 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sheep | 469.329 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
goats | 514.941 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
asses | 8.372 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
asses and mules | 8.372 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
camels | 70.894 | 1000 heads | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
hides and skins | 2.087 | 1000 t | 2019 |
meat | 11.664 | 1000 t | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
crustaceans and molluscs | 0.1 | t | 2019 |
marine fishes | 2 270.031 | t | 2019 |
Minerals
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
clay | 36$ | 1000 t | 2016 |
salt | 0.5 | 1000 t | 2016 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
limestone | 270 | 1000 t | 2016 |
sand and gravel - t | 1 600 | 1000 t | 2016 |
Energy
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
non-renewable electricity generation | 97.561 | % | 2018 |
- thermal | 40$ | M kWh | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
- thermal | 130 | 1000 kW | 2018 |
- other renew. | 0.36 | 1000 kW | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
total installed capacity | 130.36 | 1000 kW | 2018 |
total net generation | 41$ | M kWh | 2018 |
Industry
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
sugar | 0.005 | 1000 t | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
cement | 180 | 1000 t | 2017 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
manufacturing production | 91.942 | M US$ | 2019 |
Trade
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
manufactures | 90.7 | % of goods exports | 2009 |
fuels | 6.5 | % of goods exports | 2009 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Ethiopia | 128 | M US$ | 2009 |
France | 73$ | M US$ | 2009 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
France | 197 | M US$ | 2009 |
United Arab Emirates | 120 | M US$ | 2009 |
Tourism
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expenditures | 22.3 | M US$ | 2018 |
Number of arrivals | 63 000 | units | 2013 |
Social and welfare
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Expected years of schooling | 6.3 | years | 2011 |
Graduates | 637 | units | 2009 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Students, primary level | 68 701 | units | 2019 |
Students, secondary level | 65 499 | units | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Hospital beds | 1.4 | per 1000 pop. | 2018 |
Physicians | 0.06 | per 1000 pop. | 2018 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
HIV | 0.8 | % of adults | 2019 |
Malaria | 49 402 | cases | 2019 |
DESCRIPTION | VALUE | UNITS | YEAR |
---|---|---|---|
Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking | 9.5 | % | 2019 |
Access to electricity | 61.276 | % | 2019 |