Djibouti (2006) | South Africa (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah | 9 provinces; Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Northern Province, Western Cape |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.3% (male 105,760/female 105,068)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 135,119/female 124,367) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 8,183/female 8,033) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
32.01% (male 7,023,639; female 6,928,559) 15-64 years: 63.11% (male 13,264,654; female 14,244,484) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 798,914; female 1,325,847) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides | corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products |
Airports | 13 (2006) | 741 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
142 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 47 914 to 1,523 m: 71 under 914 m: 10 (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 (2006) |
total:
599 1,524 to 2,437 m: 33 914 to 1,523 m: 304 under 914 m: 262 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
total:
1,219,912 sq km land: 1,219,912 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Massachusetts | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. In 1999, Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH; he was re-elected to a second and final term in 2005. Djibouti occupies a 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 is also developing stronger ties with the US. Djibouti hosts the only US military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. | After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule. |
Birth rate | 39.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 21.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$31.1 billion expenditures: $34.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY01/02) |
Capital | name: Djibouti
geographic coordinates: 11 30 N, 43 15 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Pretoria; note - Cape Town is the legislative center and Bloemfontein the judicial center |
Climate | desert; torrid, dry | mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights |
Coastline | 314 km | 2,798 km |
Constitution | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 | 10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti local long form: Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti local short form: Djibouti/Jibuti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
conventional long form:
Republic of South Africa conventional short form: South Africa former: Union of South Africa abbreviation: RSA |
Currency | - | rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 19.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 16.77 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $394 million (2004 est.) | $25.6 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador W. Stuart SYMINGTON
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 Delano E. LEWIS, Sr. embassy: 877 Pretorius Street, Pretoria mailing address: P. O. Box 9536, Pretoria 0001 telephone: [27] (12) 342-1048 FAX: [27] (12) 342-2244 consulate(s) general: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg |
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 Makate Sheila SISULU chancery: 3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1607 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | Djibouti maintains economic ties and border accords with "Somaliland" leadership while maintaining some political ties to various factions in Somalia; thousands of Somali refugees await repatriation in UNHCR camps in Djibouti | Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $64.1 million (2004) | $676.3 million |
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. | South Africa is a middle-income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into the 30% unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment, and to reduce poverty by relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (2003) | 172.393 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 3.884 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 2.457 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (2003) | 186.903 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
92.74% hydro: 0.39% nuclear: 6.87% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species | lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification |
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:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% | black 75.2%, white 13.6%, Colored 8.6%, Indian 2.6% |
Exchange rates | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2005), 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001) | rand per US dollar - 7.60 (March 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (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 (eligible for a second 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 Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thabo MBEKI (since 16 June 1999); Executive Deputy President Jacob ZUMA (since 17 June 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 2 June 1999 (next scheduled for sometime between May and July 2004) election results: Thabo MBEKI elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 100% (by acclamation) note: ANC-IFP governing coalition |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $30.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) | gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment |
Exports - partners | Somalia 55.2%, Yemen 19.5%, Ethiopia 17.9% (2005) | UK, Italy, Japan, US, Germany |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side; the Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes
note: prior to 26 April 1994, the flag was actually four flags in one - three miniature flags reproduced in the center of the white band of the former flag of the Netherlands, which had three equal horizontal bands of orange (top), white, and blue; the miniature flags were a vertically hanging flag of the old Orange Free State with a horizontal flag of the UK adjoining on the hoist side and a horizontal flag of the old Transvaal Republic adjoining on the other side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $369 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.9%
industry: 22.5% services: 59.6% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
5% industry: 30% services: 65% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.2% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 30 N, 43 00 E | 29 00 S, 24 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 | South Africa completely surrounds Lesotho and almost completely surrounds Swaziland |
Highways | - | total:
358,596 km paved: 59,753 km (including 1927 km of expressways) unpaved: 298,843 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.1% highest 10%: 45.9% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment center for heroin, hashish, marijuana, and possibly cocaine; cocaine consumption on the rise; world's largest market for illicit methaqualone, usually imported illegally from India through various east African countries; illicit cultivation of marijuana |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products | machinery, foodstuffs and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 21.7%, India 18.5%, China 10%, Ethiopia 4.8%, France 4.5%, US 4.3%, Japan 4.2% (2005) | Germany, US, UK, Japan |
Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 31 May 1910 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (1996 est.) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, agricultural processing, salt | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs |
Infant mortality rate | total: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 110.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 94.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
60.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2005 est.) | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, BIS, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, NSG, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 44 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | 12,700 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court of Appeals; High Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 282,000 (2000) | 17 million economically active (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
total:
4,750 km border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491 km, Namibia 855 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2005) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 67% forests and woodland: 7% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law | based on Roman-Dutch law and English 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 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 |
bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (400 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) and the National Council of Provinces (90 seats, 10 members elected by each of the nine provincial legislatures for five-year terms; has special powers to protect regional interests, including the safeguarding of cultural and linguistic traditions among ethnic minorities); note - following the implementation of the new constitution on 3 February 1997 the former Senate was disbanded and replaced by the National Council of Provinces with essentially no change in membership and party affiliations, although the new institution's responsibilities have been changed somewhat by the new constitution
elections: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces - last held 2 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - ANC 66.4%, DP 9.6%, IFP 8.6%, NP 6.9%, UDM 3.4%, ACDP 1.4%, FF 0.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - ANC 266, DP 38, IFP 34, NP 28, UDM 14, ACDP 6, FF 3, other 11; National Council of Provinces - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ANC 61, NP 17, FF 4, IFP 5, DP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 43.17 years
male: 41.86 years female: 44.52 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
48.09 years male: 47.64 years female: 48.56 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: 81.8% male: 81.9% female: 81.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia | Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa |
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-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2006) |
total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 271,650 GRT/268,604 DWT ships by type: container 6, petroleum tanker 2 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | the National Defense Force continues to integrate former military, black homelands forces, and ex-opposition forces |
Military branches | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) | South African National Defense Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Services), South African Police Service or SAPS |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29.05 million (2005 est.) | $2 billion (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.3% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
11,469,812 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
6,977,328 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
466,399 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | Freedom Day, 27 April (1994) |
Nationality | noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
noun:
South African(s) adjective: South African |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods | prolonged droughts |
Natural resources | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum | gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km |
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 [Ismail Omar GUELLEH] (governing party); 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 | African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP [Kenneth MESHOE, president]; African National Congress or ANC [Thabo MBEKI, president]; Democratic Alliance (formed from the merger of the Democratic Party or DP and the New National Party or NP) [Anthony LEON, leader]; Freedom Front or FF [Constand VILJOEN, president]; Inkatha Freedom Party or IFP [Mangosuthu BUTHELEZI, president]; Pan-Africanist Congress or PAC [Stanley MOGOBA, president]; United Democratic Movement or UDM [Bantu HOLOMISA] |
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] | Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU [Zwelinzima VAVI, general secretary]; South African Communist Party or SACP [Blade NZIMANDE, general secretary]; South African National Civics Organization or SANCO [Mlungisi HLONGWANE, national president]; note - COSATU and SACP are in a formal alliance with the ANC |
Population | 486,530 (July 2006 est.) | 43,586,097
note: South Africa took a census October 1996 which showed a population of 40,583,611 (after an official adjustment for a 6.8% underenumeration based on a postenumeration survey); estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.02% (2006 est.) | 0.26% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 13.75 million (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 (2005) |
total:
21,431 km narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | Christian 68% (includes most whites and Coloreds, about 60% of blacks and about 40% of Indians), Muslim 2%, Hindu 1.5% (60% of Indians), indigenous beliefs and animist 28.5% |
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 (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 253; submarine cable to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseille, Colombo, and Singapore; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; Medarabtel regional microwave radio relay telephone network |
general assessment:
the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic: consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,100 (2004) | 5.075 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 34,500 (2004) | over 2,000,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains | vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 5.31 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.43 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% (2004 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | NA |