REPUBLIC of DJIBOUTI
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Location: Horn of Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden
and the Red Sea; between Eritrea and Somalia
Capital: Djibouti
Area: 23,000 sq km
Coastline: 370 km
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,063 m
Languages: official: Arabic, French
Other: Somali, widely spoken; Afar
Population: 721,000 (UN 2005)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43.2%
15-64 years: 53.7%
65 years and over: 3.1%
Life expectancy: 51 years (men), 54 years (women)
Religions: Muslim 94%; Christian 6%
Literacy: 67.9% of total population
Internet domain: dj
Currency: Djibouti Franc
The Republic of Djibouti is located on the northeast coast of the
Horn of Africa, at the junction of the
Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is bordered by Eritrea to
the north, Ethiopia to the west and southwest, and Somalia to the
south. Its coastline is 370m long and forms the narrow
Gulf of
Tadjoura. The northern coast near the Eritrean border faces
the Strait of Bab al Mandab on the southwestern tip of Yemen. The
capital,
Djibouti, is located on the southern coast of the Gulf and
is the country’s main port.
Djibouti is divided into six regions centered on its main towns:
'Ali Sabih Region, Arta Region, Dikhil Region, Djibouti City, Obock
Region, Tadjoura Region.
Lake Abhe is in the southwestern corner of Dikhil region,
Lake Asal is located in the south of
Tadjoura
region. The main towns in Djibouti are Djibouti
city, Tadjoura, Obock, Ali Sabieh, and Dikhil.
Terrain
The landscape varies form rugged mountains in the north to a
series of low desert plains separated by plateaus in the south and
west. Much of the terrain is blanketed with volcanic basalt. The
highest point in the country is Mt Moussa Ali (2068m or 6768 ft),
the lowest is Lake Asal, 155m (514 ft) below sea level.
Climate
Djibouti is one of the hottest countries in the world. The
average temperature is about 37C (99F) in the hot months, and 31C
(87F) in the cool months which run form October – April. In
mid-summer the dry and dusty khamsin wind blows form the inland
desert. Rainfall is less than 125mm per year and vegetation is
sparse, except along the coast of Tadjoura, which is a fertile area
with crop production of fruit and vegetables.
Environment
At the entrance to the Gulf of Tadjourah, north Djibouti
city, a large reef plateau forms the base of the islands of
Mousha and Maskali. The islands are surrounded by extensive
coral reefs. The
Haramous-Loyada wetland lies on the south-eastern coast
between the capital and Loyada at the Somali border. It is shallow
and sandy with several estuaries.
People
The people of the Republic of Djibouti are divided into two
main groups: the Afars live in the sparsely populated north and west
and had sultanates in this region and into Ethiopia. The Issas are
concentrated in the capital and in the southeast and are related to
the Somalis. Both groups are Muslim. Most of the country’s
population lives in the capital city Djibouti, (395,000) while the
rest are nomadic herders.
Djibouti has experienced economic hardship as a result of droughts
and refugees from other countries in the Horn of Africa. There were
around 20,000 Somali refugees in the country in 2000.
Economy
Djibouti’s port is a free trade zone with modern container
facilities. The country derives income from port services to
Ethiopia and other landlocked African countries; it serves as a
refueling and transshipment location for goods entering and leaving
East Africa. There is an international airport at Ambouli. There is
other transshipment overland and by sea to neighboring countries.
France and the US have troops stationed in Djibouti, which also
contributes to the country's income.
Scanty rainfall limits agricultural yield to small quantities of
fruits and vegetables, and 90% of food is imported from France and
Ethiopia.
Djibouti is a source, transit, and destination country for
trafficking in women and children. The government is making
significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking.
Natural resources
Djibouti has limited deposits of minerals: iron ore, copper
and gypsum which are not being exploited, its geothermal resources
are being developed.
Education and Cultural life
Education is free and run by the state. About two thirds of
the population is literate. The Université de Djibouti is located in
the capital city.
As a port city there is some entertainment available. There is one
radio and TV station which broadcasts in Arabic, French, Afar and
Somali. The government sponsors organizations that are dedicated to
preserving traditional culture and dance.
History
Djibouti has been inhabited by pastoral nomads from the Afar
tribes of Ethiopian origin and the Issa tribes of Somali origin.
Islam was introduced in 825 AD and Arab traders controlled the
region until the 16th century.
The French arrived in 1862, looking for a strategic position on the
Red Sea. They negotiated with the Afar sultans for the right
to settle on the northern shore of the
Gulf of
Tadjoura in the town of Obock.
In 1888 the French established the colony of Somaliland and started
building Djibouti city on the southern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura.
It replaced Obocka as the capital of the colony. By 1917 the French
had completed the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway, which still the
backbone of Djibouti’s transport and services-based economy.
Modern History and Govenrment
In 1946 Djibouti was made an overseas territory within the
French Union with its own legislature and representation in the
French parliament. In 1949 the Issas demonstrated against the
colonial powers, calling for the reunification of Italian, British
and French Somaliland and the expulsion of all colonial powers. The
Afars supported French rule, so the French put Ali Aref and his
fellow Afars in control of local government. A 60% vote for
continued French rule in 1967 was achieved by the expulsion of
ethnic Somalis and the arrest of opposition leaders, and caused
serious riots in the capital.
Aref resigned in 1976, and Djibouti gained independence from France
on June 22, 1977. It was the last French colony on the African
mainland to win independence. Hassan Gouled Aptidon, the leader of
the independence movement, was elected president. Djibouti
established a peaceful existence through strict neutrality in
regional affairs, and a balance between the two main ethnic groups.
In 1979 Hassan Gouled established the People's Progress Assembly
party, and in 1981 a new constitution made the People's Progress
Assembly (RPP) the only legal party. Treaties of friendship were
signed with Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan
A new multiparty
constitution
was approved by referendum on September 4, 1992. The same
year, fighting erupted between government forces and Afar Front for
Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) in the northeast. Gouled
was re-elected president in 1993, and in 1994 a power-sharing
agreement peace agreement was reached with Afar FRUD ending the
civil war. In 1999, Djibouti's first multi-party presidential
elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar Guelleh; he was
the sole candidate and was re-elected to a second and final term in
2005.
In September 2002, a 1992 law allowing only four parties to compete
in elections expired, paving the way to full multi-party democracy.
The first multi-party elections took place in January 2003. A bloc
of four pro-government parties supporting President Guelleh, known
as the Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP; Union for the
Presidential Majority), took all 65 parliamentary seats.
Cities:
Djibouti ,
Tadjoura
Djibouti's
Constitution,
Universities
References :
http://africanelections.tripod.com/dj.html;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/;
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/;
http://lonleyplanet.com,
http://www.unep.ch/alseas/main/persga;
http://www.reefbase.org/global_database/ |