Djibouti (2001) | Kiribati (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859) 15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841) 65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 20,342/female 19,806)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 29,362/female 30,136) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 1,477/female 1,969) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 12 (2000 est.) | 20 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
22,000 sq km land: 21,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994 ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.86 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$133 million expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Djibouti | Tarawa |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 314 km | 1,143 km |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | Djiboutian franc (DJF) | - |
Death rate | 14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $356 million (1999 est.) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald YAMAMOTO embassy: Plateau du Serpent, Boulevard Marechal Joffre, Djibouti mailing address: B. P. 185, Djibouti telephone: [253] 35 39 95 FAX: [253] 35 39 40 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador ROBLE Olhaye Oudine chancery: Suite 515, 1156 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $106.3 million (1995) | $15.5 million largely from UK and Japan (2001 est.) |
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. 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 40% to 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. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals 25%-50% of GDP. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (1999) | 6.51 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (1999) | 7 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999); head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed Dilleita (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: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president; percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998) | France 45.7%, Japan 29.2%, US 9.1%, Thailand 5.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
Flag description | 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 | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 22% services: 75% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total:
2,890 km paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $440 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) | Australia 33.6%, Fiji 29.8%, Japan 10.3%, New Zealand 6.9%, France 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 48.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 282,000 | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
508 km border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 46.58% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (65 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) note: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.21 years male: 49.37 years female: 53.1 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.71 years
male: 58.71 years female: 64.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.2% male: 60.3% female: 32.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $23 million (FY97) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.5% (FY97) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
108,038 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
63,589 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | geothermal areas | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic National Party or PND [ADEN Robleh Awaleh]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH] | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP [leader NA]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy or MUD | NA |
Population | 460,700 (July 2001 est.) | 103,092 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 2.25% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Djibouti | Betio |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Radios | 52,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003 |
- |
Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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: 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 |
general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati; connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 203 (1997) | 500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2000 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) |