Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Present-day Djibouti was the site of the medieval Ifat and Adal Sultanates. In the late 19th century, the Afar sultans signed treaties with the French that allowed the latter to establish the colony of French Somaliland in 1862. The French signed additional treaties with the ethnic Somali in 1885. Tension between the ethnic Afar and Somali populations increased over time, as the ethnic Somalis perceived that the French unfairly favored the Afar and gave them disproportionate influence in local governance.
- Capital
- Djibouti
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 1,013,703
- Area
- 23,200 sq km
- Location
- Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
- Climate
- desert; torrid, dry
- Natural resources
- potential geothermal power; gold; clay; granite; limestone; marble…
- Languages
- French (official); Arabic (official); Somali; Afar
- Religions
- Sunni Muslim 94% (nearly all Djiboutians); other 6% (mainly foreign-born residents - Shia Muslim; Christian; Hindu…
- Independence
- 27 June 1977 (from France)
- Administrative divisions
- 6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah
- Currency
- Djiboutian francs (DJF)
- Export partners
- Ethiopia 77%; UAE 5%; China 3%; Singapore 2%…
- Import partners
- China 32%; India 12%; UAE 10%; Turkey 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain