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Sub Saharan Africa

Djibouti

 Flag of Djibouti

Map of Djibouti Last reviewed: 23 October 2008

Country information

Map of Djibouti

Area: 23,200 sq km
Population: 852,844 (World Gazetteer estimate, 2008)
Capital city: Djibouti
People: Somalis (Issa) 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian and Italian 5%
Language(s): French, (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Religion(s): Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Currency: Djiboutian Franc
Major political parties: Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) consisting of the old Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres (RPP) and Front pour la Restauration de la Democratie (FRUD). Union for a Democratic Alternative (UAD) consisting of 3 opposition parties
Government: UMP
Head of State: President Ismail Omar Guelleh
Prime Minister/Premier: Dileita Mohamed Dileita
Foreign Minister: Mahamoud Ali Youssouf
Membership of international groupings/organisations: United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), League of Arab States (LAS), Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

HEALTH

Health requirements: Health Needs

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts

GDP: US$872 million (EIU, 2007)
Annual Growth: 5.9% (IMF, 2007)
Inflation: 8.1% (EIU, 2007)
MajorIndustries: The economy is based on service activities connected withthe country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone innorth-east Africa.
Major trading partners: Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, France and India.
Aid & development: Djibouti is heavily dependent on foreign assistance.

International Monetary Fund - Djibouti

Djibouti’s economy depends upon two factors; its strategically-located port, which handles 90% of Ethiopia’s trade and funding from hosting US and French forces. The port of Doraleh is intended to boost Djibouti’s role as a commercial hub at the mouth of the Red Sea. Djibouti lacks any significant natural resources other than fishing grounds, geothermal potential and some mining activity. An unemployment rate of around 56% (World Bank, 2008) continues to be a major problem as does the national fixation with khat (a mild narcotic leaf chewed widely by the Somali community). As elsewhere in the region there are social issues of HIV/AIDS and FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) that need to be addressed.



United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

HISTORY

Djibouti was first known as French Somaliland when it was established as a French colony in 1888. Independence came relatively late: in 1967 a majority of the population voted in a referendum to remain part of the French Community. The country was then renamed the French Territory of the Afars and Issas (the 2 principal ethnic groups). Djibouti gained independence in 1977.

Hassan Gouled Aptidon (an Issa-Somali) became the first President and remained in charge until he opted to step down in 1999. He established a one party state dominated by the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progres (RPP). From 1991-6 the Afars in the North of the country conducted a rebellion against the government, led by the Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite et de la Democratie (FRUD). The civil war ended with the signature of peace and national reconciliation accords in 1996. Ahmed Dini, who led the Afar insurgency from 1991 to 1994, signed an agreement with the government in 2001 and led an opposition party until his death in 2004.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Djibouti hosts the Secretariat of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Relations with Ethiopia centre on Ethiopia’s use of Djibouti port for the major part of its imports and exports. Relations with Eritrea, which had been improving after a difficult patch preceding and during the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia (1998-2000), are now at an all time low after an incursion of Eritrean troops into Djiboutian territory in June 2008, which resulted in 30 Djiboutian dead and over 100 injured.

Djibouti takes a close interest in Somalia.  It hosted the UN sponsored talks between the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for Re-Liberation of Somalia, which resulted in the agreement of a peace deal on 9 June 2008.  This was then signed by both parties on 19 August 2008. Djibouti has also developed working relations with the authorities in Somaliland which fall short of full recognition.


Djibouti has very close links with France which provides significant amounts of aid and financial support. 2,700 French troops remain stationed in Djibouti under agreements signed at independence. Djibouti also hosts 1,500 US troops (US State Dept, 2008) and is the headquarters of the US led Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) which support counter terrorism activities in the region.

RELATIONS WITH THE UK

Diplomatic Representation

The UK is represented in Djibouti by an Honorary Consul, supported by our Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Djiboutian diplomatic representation in the UK is covered by their Embassy in Paris.

Recent Visits

Former Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister, Kim Howells visited Djibouti in June 2008.

For parliamentary interest, see the Hansard website.

GEOGRAPHY

Djibouti borders Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia and is strategically located at the strait that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It has a very hot dry climate with less than 150mm of rainfall annually.

 

POLITICS

Ismail Omar Guelleh succeeded his uncle, Hasan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He won the April 1999 Presidential elections as the RPP candidate with 74% of the vote. Political parties (legalised in 1992) have since become more diverse: the RPP joined with FRUD to form a new ruling coalition, l'Union pour la Majorite Presidentielle (UMP). Four opposition parties formed L'Union pour l'Alternative Democratique (UAD) to contest parliamentary elections in January 2003. The UMP took 62.7% of the votes but won all 65 seats in the Chamber of Deputies due to Djibouti's unusual first-past-the-post list system. The UAD claimed extensive vote rigging and manipulation of constituency boundaries. Presidential elections were held on 8 April 2005. Guelleh stood unopposed as the UMP candidate and claimed 96.85% of the vote on a 78.9% turn out. The opposition UAD failed to field a candidate and called for a boycott of the polls. They have disputed the high turn out figure. Guelleh is now serving his second 6-year term and will not be eligible to stand in the presidential elections due for 2011. The last parliamentary elections took place in  February 2008, when Dileita Mohamed Dileita was reappointed as Prime Minister.

BBC News: Africa

HUMAN RIGHTS

Djibouti has ratified only 2 of the 6 core International Human Rights Treaties – the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Human Rights Annual Report 2006

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