Sierra Leone (2002) | Djibouti (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,230,530; female 1,280,084)
15-64 years: 52.1% (male 1,397,070; female 1,528,986) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,256; female 90,817) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides |
Airports | 10 (2001) | 13 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. After several setbacks, the end to the eleven-year conflict in Sierra Leone may finally be near at hand. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. Reestablishment of government authority throughout the country is slowly proceeding and national elections took place in May 2002. | 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. |
Birth rate | 44.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 39.98 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Djibouti |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 402 km | 314 km |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti
conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | leone (SLL) | - |
Death rate | 18.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.3 billion (2000) | $366 million (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter Russell CHAVEAS
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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 Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
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 | ongoing conflict in Sierra Leone has engendered refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $103 million (2001 est.) | $36 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development, following a 10-year civil war. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. There are plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during the conflict. The major source of hard currency consists of the mining of diamonds. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 227.85 million kWh (2000) | 167.4 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 245 million kWh (2000) | 180 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 2,212.47 (January 2002), 1,985.89 (2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997) | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001), 177.72 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA 22.4% |
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% |
Exports | $65 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | NZ 33.7%, Belgium 32.6%, US 7.4%, France 5.1% (2000) | Somalia 63.8%, Yemen 22.6%, Ethiopia 5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | 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 - $2.7 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 27% services: 30% (2000) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 15.8% services: 80.7% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa | 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 | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 11,700 km
paved: 936 km unpaved: 10,764 km (2002) |
total: 2,890 km
paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1989) (1989) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $145 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Czech Republic 26.7%, UK 26.6%, US 5.1%, Netherlands 4.6% (2000) | Saudi Arabia 19.7%, India 12.4%, Ethiopia 11.8%, China 8.1%, France 5.6%, US 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | construction, agricultural processing, salt |
Infant mortality rate | 144.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, 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) | 1 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 1.369 million
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) (1981 est.) |
282,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.76%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 92.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 45.96 years
male: 43.01 years female: 49.01 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 43.1 years
male: 41.84 years female: 44.39 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Army (RSLAF) | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.3 million (FY01) | $28.6 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY01) | 4.4% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,203,682 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 583,946 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum |
Net migration rate | 6.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning (2002 est.) |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Alhaji Sat KOROMA, interim chairman]; Citizens United for Peace and Progress or CUPP [Alfred Musa CONTEH, interim chairman]; Coalition for Progress Party or CPP [Jeridine WILLIAM-SARHO, interim leader]; Democratic Center Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [George E. L. PALMER]; Democratic Party or DP [Henry BALO, acting chairman]; National Alliance Democratic Party or NADP [Mohamed Yahya SILLAH, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National People's Party or NPP [Andrew TURAY]; National Republican Party or NRP [Stephen Sahr MAMBU]; National Unity Movement or NUM [Sam LEIGH, interim chairman]; National Unity Party or NUP [John BENJAMINE, interim leader]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Alliance or PDA [Cpl. (Ret.) Abdul Rahman KAMARA, interim chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Osman KAMARA]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward John KARGBO]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday Saybana SANKOH, chairman]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Andrew Victor LUNGAY]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KAREFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader]; Young People's Party or YPP [Cornelius DEVEAUS, interim chairman] | 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 | Trade Unions and Student Unions | 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 | 5,614,743 (July 2002 est.) | 476,703 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.21% (2002 est.) | 2.06% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 84 km
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge note: Sierra Leone has no common carrier railroads; the existing railroad is private and used on a limited basis while the mine at Marampa is closed (2001) |
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) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: The national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 25,000 (2001) | 9,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2001) | 23,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.94 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.4 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 50% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | - |