]! ^! 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. In 1999, Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH; he was re-elected to a second and final term in 2005. Djibouti occupies a 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 is also developing stronger ties with the US. Djibouti hosts the only US military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. 
]" ^" Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia ^# 11 30 N, 43 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 23,000 sq km `" 22,980 sq km `# 20 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Massachusetts ^' `! 516 km `Y Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km ^( 314 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm ^* desert; torrid, dry ^+ coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains ^, `% Lac Assal -155 m `& Moussa Ali 2,028 m ^- geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum ^. `' 0.04% `( 0% `) 99.96% (2005) ^/ 10 sq km (2003) ^0 earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods ^1 inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic 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 
]# ^3 496,374 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 43.4% (male 107,957/female 107,233) `, 53.2% (male 137,111/female 126,952) `- 3.4% (male 8,626/female 8,495) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.2 years `. 18.6 years `/ 17.7 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.984% (2007 est.) ^7 39.07 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 19.23 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.007 male(s)/female `, 1.08 male(s)/female `- 1.015 male(s)/female `2 1.045 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 100.77 deaths/1,000 live births `. 108.35 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 92.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 43.25 years `. 41.88 years `/ 44.65 years (2007 est.) ^= 5.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 2.9% (2003 est.) ^? 9,100 (2003 est.) ^@ 690 (2003 est.) _` `h high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria `* highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2007) ^A `3 Djiboutian(s) `4 Djiboutian ^B Somali 60%, Afar 35%, other 5% (includes French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian) ^C Muslim 94%, Christian 6% ^D French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 67.9% `. 78% `/ 58.4% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Djibouti `7 Djibouti `Z Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti `[ Djibouti/Jibuti `\ French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland ^H republic ^I `8 Djibouti `9 11 30 N, 43 15 E `: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah ^K 27 June 1977 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 27 June (1977) ^M multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 ^N based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999) `< Prime Minister Mohamed Dileita DILEITA (since 4 March 2001) `= Council of Ministers responsible to the president `> president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 April 2005 (next to be held by April 2011); prime minister appointed by the president `? Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 100% ^Q unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) `> last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held in January 2008) `? percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD 36.9%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supreme ^S Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM]; Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP [Ismail Omar GUELLEH] (governing party); Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Moumin Bahdon FARAH]; Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Ahmed Dini AHMED]; Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ ^T Union for Presidential Majority UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD, PPSD and PND); Union for Democratic Changeover or UAD (opposition coalition includes ARD, MRDD, UDJ, and PDD) [Ahmed Dini AHMED] ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, ITUC, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Roble OLHAYE Oudine `S Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 `T [1] (202) 331-0270 `U [1] (202) 331-0302 ^W `R Ambassador W. Stuart SYMINGTON `_ Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti `` B. P. 185, Djibouti `T [253] 35 39 95 `U [253] 35 39 40 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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 are 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. Djibouti 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% continues to be a major problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of payments. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% 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. ^Z $619 million (2002 est.) ^[ $702 million (2005 est.) ^\ 3.2% (2005 est.) ^] $1,000 (2005 est.) ^^ `@ 17.9% `A 22.5% `B 59.6% (2003 est.) ^_ 282,000 (2000) ^` `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^a 50% (2004 est.) _! 50% (2001 est.) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 3% (2005 est.) _$ `E $135 million `F $182 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) _& fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides _' construction, agricultural processing _( 3% (1996 est.) _) 200 million kWh (2004) _* 186 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 11,900 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $250 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _4 reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) _5 Somalia 66.4%, Ethiopia 21.5%, Yemen 3.4% (2005) _6 $987 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _7 foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products _8 Saudi Arabia 21.9%, India 18.7%, China 10.2%, Ethiopia 4.8%, France 4.7%, US 4.4%, Japan 4.2% (2005) _9 $394 million (2004 est.) _: $64.1 million (2004) _; Djiboutian franc (DJF) _< Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 174.75 (2006), 177.72 (2005), 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 11,100 (2004) _? 34,500 (2004) _@ `G telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate, as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country `H microwave radio relay network `I country code - 253; submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseille, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network _A AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) _B 1 (2002) _C .dj _D 1,540 (2006) _E 9,000 (2005) 
]' _F 13 (2006) _G `! 3 `a 1 `J 1 `b 1 (2006) _R `! 10 `b 2 `c 5 `W 3 (2006) _e `! 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway) `n 100 km 1.000-m gauge `* railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2005) _H `! 2,890 km `K 364 km `L 2,526 km (1999) _S `! 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT by type: cargo 1 (2006) _I Djibouti 
]( _J Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) _T 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001) _K males age 18-49: 95,328 females age 18-49: 87,795 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 46,020 females age 18-49: 42,181 (2005 est.) _U 4.1% (2006 est.) 
]) _N Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia; thousands of Somali refugees await repatriation in UNHCR camps in Djibouti _c `o 9,828 (Somalia) (2006) __ `f Djibouti is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and possibly forced labor; small numbers are trafficked from Ethiopia and Somalia for sexual exploitation; economic migrants from these countries also fall victim to trafficking upon reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor; women and children from neighboring countries reportedly transit Djibouti to Arab countries and Somalia for ultimate use in forced labor or sexual exploitation `g Tier 2 Watch List - Djibouti does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so based partly on the government's commitments to undertake future action 