Djibouti (2001) | Nauru (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
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: 36.4% (male 2,508/female 2,410)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 4,111/female 4,224) 65 years and over: 2% (male 144/female 131) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels | coconuts |
Airports | 12 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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.) |
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Area | total:
22,000 sq km land: 21,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | about 0.1 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 exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$133 million expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | Djibouti | no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 314 km | 30 km |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
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 Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Currency | Djiboutian franc (DJF) | - |
Death rate | 14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $356 million (1999 est.) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $106.3 million (1995) | $20 million mostly from Australia (2005) |
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. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (1999) | 27.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (2005) |
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 along plateau rim 61 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification | limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003) |
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 Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Marcus STEPHEN (since 19 December 2007); note - President Ludwig SCOTTY defeated in a no confidence vote in parliament on 19 December 2007 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 19 December 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: NA |
Exports | $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | phosphates |
Exports - partners | Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 22% services: 75% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Highways | total:
2,890 km paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
- |
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.) | 1,023 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Industries | limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
Infant mortality rate | 101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
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, ADB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 282,000 | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.) | note: employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation (1992) |
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 25 August 2007 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 18; note - 15 of 18 incumbents reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.21 years male: 49.37 years female: 53.1 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 63.44 years
male: 59.85 years female: 67.21 years (2007 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, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 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.) |
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Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $23 million (FY97) | - |
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, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | geothermal areas | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party; note - loose multiparty system |
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.) | 13,528 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 1.781% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Djibouti | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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 |
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Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
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: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.099 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age; universal adult | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 8,000 (1997) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 203 (1997) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2000 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |