Kuwait (2001) | Djibouti (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.76% (male 299,080; female 288,125) 15-64 years: 68.82% (male 897,839; female 507,527) 65 years and over: 2.42% (male 31,843; female 17,547) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.2% (male 101,168; female 100,545)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 131,320; female 119,387) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 7,327; female 7,153) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 13 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1524 to 2437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. | 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 1990s 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. |
Birth rate | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.39 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.5 billion expenditures: $17.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02) |
revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Kuwait | Djibouti |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 499 km | 314 km |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 2.45 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.42 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.9 billion (2000 est.) | $366 million (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. LAROCCO embassy: Bayan, near the Bayan palace, Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
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 |
Disputes - international | in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.6 million (1995) | $36 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 75% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a $2 billion surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02, which begins 1 April, contains higher expenditures for salaries, construction, and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 29.357 billion kWh (1999) | 167.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 31.567 billion kWh (1999) | 180 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3057 (January 2001), 0.3067 (2000), 0.3044 (1999), 0.3047 (1998), 0.3033 (1997), 0.2994 (1996) | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (2003), 177.721 (2002), 177.721 (2001), 177.721 (2000), 177.721 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977) head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamud Al Sabah (since NA) and MUHAMMAD KHALID al-Hamed Al Sabah (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
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% |
Exports | $23.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | Japan 23%, US 12%, Singapore 8%, Netherlands 7% (1999) | Somalia 63.9%, Yemen 22.5%, Ethiopia 4.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $619 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
0% industry: 55% services: 45% (1996) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | 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 |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,450 km paved: 3,590 km unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.) |
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 15%, Japan 10%, UK 7%, Germany 7% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 19.7%, Ethiopia 10.9%, China 9.2%, France 6.5%, UK 5.1%, US 4.9% (2003) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials | construction, agricultural processing |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 105.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 113.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 97.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000) | 2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 1.3 million (1998 est.)
note: 68% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
282,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
464 km border countries: Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 92% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 July 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.27 years male: 75.42 years female: 77.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.12 years
male: 41.83 years female: 44.44 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.6% male: 82.2% female: 74.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,461,072 GRT/3,966,645 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, container 6, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard | Djibouti National Army (including Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.9 billion (FY00/01) | $26.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.7% (FY00/01) | 4.4% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
780,559 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 108,771 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
466,521 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 64,540 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
18,309 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun:
Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | 14.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists | 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] |
Population | 2,041,961
note: includes 1,159,913 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
466,900 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates |
2.1% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 1.175 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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 (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 85% (Sunni 45%, Shi'a 40%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.51 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
the quality of service is excellent domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 412,000 (1997) | 9,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 210,000 (1997) | 23,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.48 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.8% (official 1996 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |