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Beach scene Moucha Island, Djibouti
Beach scene Moucha Island, a small coral island off the coast of Djibouti in the Gulf of Tadjoura.
Image: Ryan Kilpatrick
 

___ Republic of Djibouti

Flag of Djibouti
Flag of Djibouti
Location map of Djibouti. Where in Africa is Djibouti?
Location map of Djibouti

A virtual guide to Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, a small country on the northeastern coast of Africa bordering the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. Djibouti borders Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and it shares maritime borders with Yemen.


Due to its geographic location at the Gulf of Aden, the barren country is of considerable geopolitical interest, Djibouti controls access and egress to a major waterway, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Djibouti was controlled by France, especially the French Foreign Legion, until 1977, in 2002, the United States established America's largest military base in Africa here (Camp Lemonnier).

The country occupies an area of 23,200 km², compared it is slightly larger than Slovenia, or slightly smaller than New Jersey.

Djibouti has a population of 850,000 (in 2016 est.), capital and largest city is Djibouti City, spoken languages are French and Arabic (both official), Somali, and Afar. Main religion is Islam, about 94% of the population are Muslims.


Republic of Djibouti | République de Djibouti


Country Profile



Background:
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 Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Issa-dominated government.
Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections in 1999 resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH.
Djibouti occupies a very strategic geographic location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands.
The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, but has also developed increasingly stronger ties with the United States in recent years.
Djibouti currently hosts the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism.
 
 

Official Name:
République de Djibouti
Arabic: Jumhuriyah Jibuti
short form: Djibouti
int'l long form: Republic of Djibouti
former: Territoire Français des Afars et des Issas (French Territory of the Afars and Issas), French Somaliland.

ISO Country Code: dj

Time:
Local Time = UTC +3h
Actual Time: Sun-Mar-17  23:57

Country Calling Code: +253

Capital City: Djibouti (City)

Other Cities: Dikhil, Arta, Ali-Sabieh, Obock, Tadjoura.

Government:
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Ratified September 1992 by referendum.
Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France).

Geography:
Location: Northeast coast of the Horn of Africa on the Strait of Mandeb, which separates the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Area: 23,200 km² (8,880 sq mi)
Terrain: Coastal desert and plateau separated by central mountains.

Climate: Torrid and semi-arid, fresh season, from October to April (average 25°).

People:
Nationality: Djiboutian(s).
Population: 850,000 (2016 est.)
Ethnic groups: Somalis (Issaks, Issas, and Gadaboursis) 60%, Afars 35%, Ethiopians,Arab, French, and Italian.
Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%.
Languages: French and Arabic (official); Somali and Afar widely used.
Literacy: 65%.

Natural resources: Gold, clay, granite, marble, minerals (salt, perlite, gypsum, limestone), petroleum, geothermal areas.

Agriculture products: livestock, fishing, fruits, vegetables.

Industries: Banking and insurance (12.5% of GDP), transportation (Djibouti harbour), tourism, construction, agricultural processing, salt.

Exports partners: Somalia 79.7%, USA 5.4%, Yemen 4.6%, UAE 4% (2015)

Imports partners: China 41.8%, Saudi Arabia 14.2%, Indonesia 5.9%, India 4.3% (2015)

Currency: Djiboutian Franc (DJF)


People's Palace, Djibouti City, Djibouti
The People's Palace (Palais du Peuple) Djibouti's landmark on Boulevard Bounhour, Djibouti City.
Image: Skilla1st

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Djibouti

Republique Djibouti
Official website of the Republic of Djibouti.


Primature de la Republique de Djibouti
Prime Minister's Office.

Assemblée Nationale
Official website of Djibouti national assembly.


Ministère des Affaires Etrangères
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Djibouti.

Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Djibouti to the United Nations
UN site with some information about Djibouti.
US Embassy in Djibouti
Official website of the US embassy.
Ambassade de France en République de Djibouti
French Embassy Djibouti (in French).

Maps
Map of Djibouti
Political and administrative map of Djibouti.

Google Earth Google Earth Djibouti
Searchable map and satellite view of Djibouti.
Google Earth Google Earth Djibouti City
Searchable map and satellite view of Djibouti's capital city.

Map of the Red Sea
Political and topographic map of the Red Sea.
Map of Africa
Political Map of Africa.
Relief Map of Africa

News


Agence Djiboutienne d'Information
State news agency with Djibouti national and regional news (in French)

La Nation
A government-owned daily (in French)


Djibnet
Provides news from Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia (in English and French)

Radio/TV
Radiodiffusion Télévision de Djibouti
Djibouti Television - RTD the state-run TV and Radio station (in French).
 

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Arts & Culture


Institut français de Djibouti
Institut français de Djibouti is a center of art and culture, part of the cultural and cooperation network of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Culture of Djibouti
Short Wikipedia article about culture in Djibouti.
 
Issa Somali man and woman in traditional attire
Man and woman of Issa Somali people in traditional attire (1844)

Business & Economy


Banque Centrale de Djibouti
Official website of Djibouti's Central Bank.


Adjib - Djibouti Telecom
Government-run telecommunications monopoly based in Djibouti City.
Djibouti Telecom
Business website of Djibouti Telecom.

Transportation
Airlines
Air Djibouti
Air Djibouti, also known as Red Sea Airlines, is now the flag carrier of Djibouti with its hub at Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport.

Djibouti Air
Djibouti Air was the national carrier of Djibouti until 2002.

Djibouti Airlines
was a privately owned Djiboutian airline, the company ceased operations in 2009.

Port
Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA)
Official website of the port authority.
 
 
Ardoukoba volcano, Djibouti
Cinder cone of the Ardoukoba volcano in the Ardoukôba-Rift, one of the most active volcanic zones in the world.
Image: Rolfcosar

Travel and Tour Consumer Information


Destination Djibouti - Travel and Tour Guides


Discover Djibouti:
Djibouti, a land of exchange and encounters, offers you a wide range of activities: diving, fishing, excursions combining the interior of the country and the sea, discover geological riches, adventures and sightseeing of unusual sites guaranteed to enter an unknown world.

Moucha Island, small coral island off the coast of Djibouti.
Lake Abbe, a salt lake on the Ethiopia-Djibouti border. Lake Assal, a crater lake in central-western Djibouti and Ardoukoba, a volcano in the Ardoukôba-Rift.
Day Forest National Park (Forêt du Day), a national park in the Goda Mountains, the nation's largest heavily vegetated area.
Decan Wildlife Refuge, a wildlife sanctuary.
Abourma petroglyphs, thousands of Neolithic petroglyphs,

Office National du Tourisme
Precious little information about Djibouti travel and tourism.


Afrique Djibouti
Djibouti portal with information on the country, travel, climate and more.
Whale Sharks of Djibouti 
Djibouti underwater photographs by Nick Blake.
Djibouti d'hier à aujourd'hui
A guide to Djibouti yesterday and today.


 

Education


Ministère de l'Education Nationale
Official website of the Ministry of Education (in French).

Centre d'Études et de Recherches Scientifiques de Djibouti
CERD Scientific Research Center of Djibouti in the fields of Languages, Geoscience and New Technologies.

Université de Djibouti
Djibouti University is a public institution of higher education and research, it is the oldest University in Djibouti, established in 2006 (in French).
 
 
Sulphuric chimneys at lake Abbe
Sulphuric chimneys at lake Abbe, a salt lake on the Ethiopia-Djibouti border.
Image: Rolf Cosar 

Environment & Nature


Geologie Djibouti
Website about the continental rift of the Asal - Ghoubbet region where the Arabic Plate tends to separate from the African Plate (in French).

IGAD
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional grouping of seven Eastern African countries created in 1986 to fight the recurrent and severe droughts and other natural disasters that caused widespread famine, ecological degradation and economic hardship in the Eastern Africa region between 1974 and 1984.
 
 

History


History of Djibouti
Wikipedia entry about the history of Djibouti.

L'histoire de Djibouti
Brief history of Djibouti (in French)

WWW-VL HISTORY Djibouti
Some documents related to Djibouti's history.
 
 

Search

Adjib - Annuaire Web djiboutien
Index of Djiboutian related sites (in French).


Sources and additional Information about Djibouti

Africa South of the Sahara: Djibouti
Stanford University.

BBC Country Profile: Djibouti

Amnesty International: Djibouti

FAO: Djibouti

GlobalEDGE: Djibouti

The Heritage Foundation: Djibouti

Human Rights Watch: Djibouti

OEC: Djibouti

Reporters Without Borders: Djibouti

Wikipedia: Djibouti

The World Factbook -- Djibouti
 

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