_#_Disputes: possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic
Somalis
_#_Climate: desert; torrid, dry
_#_Terrain: coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
_#_Natural resources: geothermal areas
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
9%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 91%
_#_Environment: vast wasteland
_#_Note: strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes
and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia
_*_People
_#_Population: 346,311 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 117 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 46 years male, 50 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Djiboutian(s); adjective--Djiboutian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Somali (Issa) 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab,
Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
_#_Religion: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
_#_Language: French and Arabic (both official); Somali and Afar widely
used
_#_Literacy: 48% (male 63%, female 34%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: NA, but a small number of semiskilled laborers at
the port and 3,000 railway workers; 52% of population of working age
(1983)
_#_Organized labor: 3,000 railway workers
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Djibouti
_#_Type: republic
_#_Capital: Djibouti
_#_Administrative divisions: 5 districts (cercles, singular--cercle);
Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura
_#_Independence: 27 June 1977 (from France; formerly French Territory
of the Afars and Issas)
_#_Constitution: partial constitution ratified January 1981 by the
National Assembly
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system, traditional
practices, and Islamic law
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister, Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--President Hassan GOULED Aptidon (since 24 June
1977);
Head of Government--Prime Minister BARKAT Gourad Hamadou (since 30
September 1978)
_#_Political parties and leaders: only party--People's Progress
Assembly (RPP), Hassan GOULED Aptidon
_#_Suffrage: universal adult at age NA
_#_Elections:
President--last held 24 April 1987 (next to be held April 1993);
results--President Hassan GOULED Aptidon was reelected without
opposition;
National Assembly--last held 24 April 1987 (next to be
held April 1992); results--RPP is the only party; seats--(65 total)
RPP 65
_#_Communists: NA
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Roble OLHAYE; Chancery
(temporary) at the Djiboutian Permanent Mission to the UN; 866 United
Nations Plaza, Suite 4011, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 753-3163;
US--Ambassador Robert S. BARRETT IV; Embassy at Villa Plateau du
Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti (mailing address is B. P.
185, Djibouti); telephone [253] 35-39-95
_#_Flag: 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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy is based on service activities connected with
the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in
northeast Africa. 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 over 40% continues to be a major problem. Per capita
consumption dropped an estimated 35% over the last five years with
a population growth rate of 6% (including immigrants and refugees) and a
recession.
_#_GDP: $340 million, $1,030 per capita; real growth rate - 1.0% (1989
est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (1989)
_#_Unemployment rate: over 40% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $131 million; expenditures $154 million, including
capital expenditures of $25 million (1990 est.)
_#_Exports: $190 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--hides and skins, coffee (in transit);
partners--Middle East 50%, Africa 43%, Western Europe 7%
_#_Imports: $311 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals,
petroleum products;
partners--EC 36%, Africa 21%, Asia 12%, US 2%
_#_External debt: $355 million (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 0.1% (1989); manufacturing
accounts for 4% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 110,000 kW capacity; 190 million kWh produced,
580 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as
dairy products and mineral-water bottling
_#_Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; scanty rainfall limits
crop production to mostly fruit and vegetables; half of population
pastoral nomads herding goats, sheep, and camels; imports bulk of food
needs
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY78-89), $39
million; Western (non-US) countries, including ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $1,035 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89),
$149 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $35 million
_#_Currency: Djiboutian franc (plural--francs); 1 Djiboutian franc
(DF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Djiboutian francs (DF) per US$1--177.721 (fixed
rate since 1973)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: the Ethiopian-Djibouti railroad extends for 97 km
through Djibouti
_#_Highways: 2,900 km total; 280 km bituminous surface, 2,620 km
improved or unimproved earth (1982)
_#_Ports: Djibouti
_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 13 total, 10 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: fair system of urban facilities in Djibouti and
radio relay stations at outlying places; 7,300 telephones; stations--2
AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station and 1 ARABSAT;
1 submarine cable to Saudi Arabia
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army (including Navy and Air Force), paramilitary
National Security Force, National Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 89,519; 52,093 fit for military
service
_#_Defense expenditures: $29.9 million, NA% of GDP (1986)
_%_
_@_Dominica
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 750 km2; land area: 750 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than four times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 148 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;