Djibouti (2003) | Tajikistan (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* (Khorugh), Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.1% (male 98,796; female 98,202)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 129,492; female 116,953) 65 years and over: 3% (male 6,933; female 6,754) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.4% (male 1,370,314; female 1,346,465)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,835,573; female 1,854,677) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 136,033; female 176,505) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 13 (2002) | 53 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 51
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 36 (2002) |
Area | total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | 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 1990's 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. | Tajikistan has experienced three changes in government and a five-year civil war since it gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. A peace agreement among rival factions was signed in 1997, and implemented in 2000. The central government's less than total control over some areas of the country has forced it to compromise and forge alliances among factions. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development assistance, which could create jobs and increase stability in the long term. Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace. |
Birth rate | 40.78 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 32.99 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $146 million
expenditures: $196 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Djibouti | Dushanbe |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
Coastline | 314 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 6 November 1994 |
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 Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: Tojikiston former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Djiboutian franc (DJF) | somoni |
Death rate | 19.45 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $366 million (2002 est.) | $1.23 billion (2000 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.
embassy: 10 Pavlova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003; note - the embassy in Dushanbe is not yet fully operational; most business is still handled in Almaty at 531 Sayfullin Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, telephone 7-3272-58-79-61, FAX 7-3272-58079-68 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [992] (372) 21-03-48, 21-03-50, 21-03-52, 24-15-60 FAX: [992] (372) 51-00-28, 21-03-62 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
Tajikistan does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a permanent mission to the UN: address - 136 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10021, telephone - [1] (212) 472-7645, FAX - [1] (212) 628-0252; permanent representative to the UN is Khamrokhon ZARIPOV |
Disputes - international | 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 | Uzbekistan has mined much of its undemarcated southern and eastern border with Tajikistan; border demarcation negotiations continuing with Kyrgyzstan in Isfara Valley area; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing water resources and the resulting regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $36 million (2001) | $60.7 million from US (2001) |
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 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. Another factor limiting growth is the negative impact on port activity now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. | Tajikistan has the lowest per capita GDP among the 15 former Soviet republics. Cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. Even though 80% of its people continue to live in abject poverty, Tajikistan has experienced strong economic growth since 1997. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises will further increase productivity. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, and the external debt burden. Servicing of the debt, owed principally to Russia and Uzbekistan, could require as much as 50% of government revenues in 2002, thus limiting the nation's ability to meet pressing development needs. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (2001) | 12.539 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.909 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (2001) | 14.245 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 2%
hydro: 98% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides |
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, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | Tajik 64.9%, Uzbek 25%, Russian 3.5% (declining because of emigration), other 6.6% |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000), 177.72 (1999), 177.72 (1998) | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 2.55 (January 2002), 2.2 (January 2001), 1550 (January 2000), 998 (January 1999), 350 (January 1997), 284 (January 1996)
note: the new unit of exchange was introduced on 30 October 2000, with one somoni equal to 1,000 of the old Tajikistani rubles |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Emomali RAHMONOV (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV elected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 97%, Davlat USMON 2% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $640 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles |
Exports - partners | Somalia 56.7%, Yemen 24.4%, Pakistan 4.8%, Ethiopia 4.4%, UAE 4.1% (2002) | Europe 43%, Russia 30%, Uzbekistan 13% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $619 million (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 25% services: 56% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,140 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2002 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 39 00 N, 71 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; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa | landlocked; mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR |
Highways | total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
total: 29,900 km
paved: 21,400 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 8,500 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; Tajikistan seizes roughly 80 percent of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third world-wide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium) |
Imports | NA (2001) | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 18.2%, Ethiopia 10.5%, US 9.2%, France 8.6%, China 8.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2002) | Uzbekistan 27%, Russia 16%, Europe 12% (2000) |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | 10.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, agricultural processing | aluminum, zinc, lead, chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers |
Infant mortality rate | total: 106.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 114.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 98.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
114.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2002 est.) | 33% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM, ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 4 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 282,000 | 3.187 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA% | agriculture 67%, industry 8%, services 25% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
total: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 5.41%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 93.67% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (33 seats; members are indirectly elected, 25 selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; all serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 February and 12 March 2000 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held NA 2005) and 23 March 2000 for the National Assembly (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 65%, Communist Party 20%, Islamic Rebirth Party 7.5%, other 7.5%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.13 years
male: 41.82 years female: 44.48 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 64.28 years
male: 61.24 years female: 67.46 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia | Central Asia, west of China |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (including Navy and Air Force) | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Force, Presidential National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26.53 million (FY02) | $35.4 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.4% (FY02) | 3.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 107,050 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,646,278 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 63,459 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,349,505 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 72,056 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | earthquakes and floods |
Natural resources | geothermal areas | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -3.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 400 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV, chairman]; Islamic Revival Party [Said Abdullo NURI, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Sherali KENJAYEV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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] | there are two unregistered political parties with 1,000 or more members: Progressive Party [Suton QUVVATOV]; Unity Party [Hikmatuko SAIDOV] |
Population | 457,130 (July 2003 est.) | 6,719,567 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.13% (2003 est.) | 2.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Djibouti | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) |
Radios | - | 1.291 million (1991) |
Railways | 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 (2002) |
total: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge note: includes only lines in common carrier service; lines dedicated to particular industries are excluded (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 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: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not reached by the national network
domestic: cable and microwave radio relay international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (2002) | 363,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5,000 (2002) | 2,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 13 (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 5.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.23 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2000 est.) | 20% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |