Country Facts - Dijibouti

The People

Ethnic Composition

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

Religious Composition

Muslim	94%
Christian	6%

Languages Spoken

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

Education and Literacy

Djibouti's overall adult literacy is around 46.2 percent. Among males it is 60.3 percent and females 32.7 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 282,000

By occupation:

Agriculture	75%
Industry	11%
Services	14%

Geography

Land Mass Total

8,880 sq mi (23,000 sq km)

Land

8,872 sq mi (22,980 sq km)

Water

7.7 sq mi (20 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 315 mi (508 km)

Border countries: Eritrea 70 mi (113 km), Ethiopia 209 mi (337 km), Somalia 36 mi (58 km).

Coastline

195 mi (314 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Desert; torrid and dry.

Terrain

Coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Lac Assal 508 ft (155 m)
Highest: Mousa Ali 6,653 ft (2,028 m)

Natural Resources

Geothermal areas.

Land use

Arable land	0%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	100%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods.

Environment - current issues

Inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification.

Geography Note

Srategic 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.

Demographics

Population

472,810 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	42.6%	Male: 100,903	Female: 100,420
15-64 years:	54.5%	Male: 135,409	Female: 122,209
65 years and over:	2.9%	Male: 7,220	Female: 6,649

Growth Rate

2.59% (2002)

Life Expectancy

51.6 years (2002)
female: 53.52 years
male: 49.73 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$1,400 (2001)

Infant Mortality

99.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.11 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	1.09 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.06 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

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 50 percent continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the U.S. dollar. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35 percent 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.
Another factor limiting growth is the negative impact on port activity now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. GDP growth, though negative in the late 1990s, moved back into the plus column beginning in 2000 (0.7%) with steady progress shown in 2001 (1.6%) and 2002 (2%). Prospects for 2004-2005 will be far less dramatic due to regional issues. In May 2003, the World Bank approved a US$6 million loan to Djibouti for the ongoing International Road Corridor Rehabilitation Project. This project will secure an acceptable level of service along the Djibouti-Galafi route for Djibouti port's transit corridor to Ethiopia.

Unemployment

50% (2000)

Inflation Rate

2% (2001)

Industries

Construction, agricultural processing

Exports

US$260 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports

US$440 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$586 million (2001)

Top Export Partners

Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5% (1998)

Top Import Partners

France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998)

Top Exports

Reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)

Top Imports

Foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products.

Debt - external

US$366 million (2002)

Economic aid

Recipient: US$36 million (2001)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	6:20a.m. to 1p.m.	Closed
Retail	7a.m. to 1p.m.	Closed
Banks	7:15a.m. to 11:45a.m.	Closed
Government	7:15a.m. to 11:45a.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Festival of Sacrifice (Id al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)³	May 14	May 2	April 21
Independence Day	June 27	June 27	June 27
Start of Ramadan*¹	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*²	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day*³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijara calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*¹	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*²	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
*³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press