Djibouti (2005) | Seychelles (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura | 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.3% (male 103,516/female 102,860)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 133,168/female 121,823) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 7,748/female 7,588) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
28.27% (male 11,367; female 11,167) 15-64 years: 65.47% (male 25,453; female 26,737) 65 years and over: 6.26% (male 1,673; female 3,318) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish |
Airports | 13 (2004 est.) | 14 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
8 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total:
455 sq km land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Issa-dominated government. Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections in 1999 resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH. 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. The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, but has also developed increasingly stronger ties with the United States in recent years. Djibouti currently hosts the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. |
Birth rate | 39.98 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 17.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$249 million expenditures: $262 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Djibouti | Victoria |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 314 km | 491 km |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 18 June 1993 |
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 Seychelles conventional short form: Seychelles |
Currency | - | Seychelles rupee (SCR) |
Death rate | 19.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $366 million (2002 est.) | $240 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia; although most of the 26,000 Somali refugees in Djibouti who fled civil unrest in the early 1990s have returned, several thousand still await repatriation in UNHCR camps | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - recipient | $36 million (2001) | $16.4 million (1995) |
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 are 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. Djibouti 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 at least 50% continues to be a major problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of payments. 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. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. The vulnerability of the tourist sector was illustrated by the sharp drop in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war. Although the industry has rebounded, the government recognizes the continuing need for upgrading the sector in the face of stiff international competition. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit and further privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2000, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have hindered short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles ruppee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector should remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. |
Electricity - consumption | 167.4 million kWh (2002) | 148.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 180 million kWh (2002) | 160 million kWh (1999) |
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:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | Seychellois (mixture of Asians, Africans, Europeans) |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000) | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 6.0397 (November 2000), 5.6009 (2000), 5,3426 (1999), 5.2622 (1998), 5.0263 (1997), 4.9700 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed Dileita 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 8 April 2005 (next to be held by April 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH 100% |
chief of state:
President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20-22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: France Albert RENE reelected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 66.7%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 19.5%, Sir James MANCHAM (DP) 13.8% |
Exports | NA | $111 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004) | France, UK, Netherlands, Italy, China, Germany, Japan |
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 | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $610 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
3.1% industry: 26.3% services: 70.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2002 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 4 35 S, 55 40 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 | 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands |
Highways | total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
total:
373 km paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $440 million (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%, France 5.6%, US 4.8% (2004) | South Africa, UK, China, Singapore, France, Italy |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, agricultural processing, salt | fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | total: 104.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 111.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 96.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
17.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2002 est.) | 6% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 282,000 (2000) | 30,900 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | industry 19%, services 71%, agriculture 10% (1989) |
Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2001) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 11% other: 74% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | English (official), French (official), Creole |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law |
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 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least ten percent of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20-22 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 61.7%, UO 26.1%, DP 12.1%; seats by party - SPPF 30, UO 3, DP 1 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the share of each party in the total vote |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.1 years
male: 41.84 years female: 44.39 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
70.69 years male: 65.17 years female: 76.37 years (2001 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: 58% male: 56% female: 60% (1971 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia | Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,353 GRT/7,638 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) | Army, Coast Guard, air wing, National Guard, Presidential Protection Unit, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $28.6 million (2004) | $13 million (FY93) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.4% (2004) | 2.8% (FY93) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
22,951 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
11,452 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | Constitution Day, 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
noun:
Seychellois (singular and plural) adjective: Seychelles |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -6.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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 DP [James MANCHAM]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE] - the governing party |
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] | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 476,703 (July 2005 est.) | 79,715 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.06% (2005 est.) | 0.49% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Djibouti | Victoria |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 42,000 (1997) |
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 (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal adult | 17 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: 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 |
general assessment:
effective system domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,500 (2003) | 19,635 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 23,000 (2003) | 16,316 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.4 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.83 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |