Cayman Islands (2001) | Djibouti (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
22.21% (male 3,807; female 4,084) 15-64 years: 69.74% (male 12,102; female 12,676) 65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,318; female 1,540) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.2% (male 101,168; female 100,545)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 131,320; female 119,387) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,327; female 7,153) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 13 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
259 sq km land: 259 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica from 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. | 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 three consecutive six-year terms as president. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to multi-party elections resulting in President Ismail Omar GUELLEH attaining office in May 1999. A peace accord in 2001 ended the final phases of a ten-year uprising by Afar rebels. Djibouti occupies a very 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. GUELLEH favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country. |
Birth rate | 13.79 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.39 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$265.2 million expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | George Town | Djibouti |
Climate | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 160 km | 314 km |
Constitution | 1959, revised 1972 and 1992 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | Caymanian dollar (KYD) | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $70 million (1996) | $366 million (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Marguerita RAGSDALE
embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye
chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
Disputes - international | none | Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia including the Somali Transitional National Government in Mogadishu |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $36 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1997, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million visitors in 1997. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. | 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 being 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. 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 50% continues to be a major problem. Inflation is not a concern, however, because of the fixed tie of the franc to the US dollar. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 306.9 million kWh (1999) | 167.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 330 million kWh (1999) | 180 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Environment - current issues | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchment | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (2003), 177.721 (2002), 177.721 (2001), 177.721 (2000), 177.721 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor and President of the Executive Council Peter SMITH (since 5 May 1999) head of government: Kurt TIBBETTS (since November 2000) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister DILEITA Mohamed Dileita (since 4 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 9 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH elected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
Exports | $1.5 million (1998) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | mostly US | Somalia 63.9%, Yemen 22.5%, Ethiopia 4.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms on a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $930 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $619 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.4% industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $24,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (1999 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 30 N, 80 30 W | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | important location between Cuba and Central America | 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 |
Highways | total:
406 km paved: 304 km unpaved: 102 km |
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | vulnerable to drug money laundering and drug transshipment to the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $507.6 million (1998) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan | Saudi Arabia 19.7%, Ethiopia 10.9%, China 9.2%, France 6.5%, UK 5.1%, US 4.9% (2003) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture | construction, agricultural processing |
Infant mortality rate | 10.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 105.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (1998) | 2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 19,820 (1995) | 282,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 23% other: 69% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2001) |
Languages | English | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | British common law and local statutes | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA |
unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 10 January 2003 (next to be held NA January 2008) election results: percent of vote - RPP 62.2%, FRUD 36.9%; seats - RPP 65, FRUD 0; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.03 years male: 76.24 years female: 81.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.12 years
male: 41.83 years female: 44.44 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
106 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,656,452 GRT/2,643,036 DWT ships by type: bulk 21, cargo 5, chemical tanker 27, container 4, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Denmark 2, Finland 1, Greece 11, Norway 3, UK 3, US 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | Royal Cayman Islands Police Force (RCIPF) | Djibouti National Army (including Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $26.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.4% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 108,771 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 64,540 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, first Monday in July | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun:
Caymanian(s) adjective: Caymanian |
noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to November) | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | 12.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | there are no formal political parties but the following loose groupings act as political organizations; National Team; Democratic Alliance; Team Cayman | 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 (governing party) [Ismail Omar GUELLEH]; 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 [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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] |
Population | 35,527 (July 2001 est.) | 466,900 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.12% (2001 est.) | 2.1% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayman Brac, George Town | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: railway under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia (2003) |
Religions | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Church of God, other Protestant | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
0.86 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine coaxial cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of Djibouti are adequate as are the microwave radio relay connections to outlying areas of the country
domestic: microwave radio relay network international: country code - 253; submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19,000 (1995) | 9,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,534 (1995) | 23,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.04 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.48 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (1997) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |