South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2003) | Djibouti (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | - | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels, animal hides |
Airports | none (2002) | 13 (2006) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Area | total: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
total: 23,000 sq km
land: 22,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908, except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations, and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 NM to 200 NM around each island. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 39.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $135 million
expenditures: $182 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Djibouti
geographic coordinates: 11 30 N, 43 15 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | NA km | 314 km |
Constitution | adopted 3 October 1985 | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none |
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 |
Death rate | - | 19.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $394 million (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | 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 |
Disputes - international | briefly occupied by military force in 1982 - claimed by Argentina in constitution but declares it will no longer seek settlement by force | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $64.1 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. | 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 | - | 223.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | - | 240 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 m |
lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m
highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species |
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 |
Ethnic groups | - | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | - | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.72 (2005), 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003), 177.72 (2002), 177.72 (2001) |
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% |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | - | Somalia 55.2%, Yemen 19.5%, Ethiopia 17.9% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land) | 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 - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 17.9%
industry: 22.5% services: 59.6% (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3.2% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 21st century, live on South Georgia | 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 |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | - | Saudi Arabia 21.7%, India 18.5%, China 10%, Ethiopia 4.8%, France 4.5%, US 4.3%, Japan 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | - | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | - | construction, agricultural processing, salt |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3% (2005 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 |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | - | 282,000 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 516 km
border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.04%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2005) |
Languages | - | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | based on French civil law system, traditional practices, and Islamic 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 43.17 years
male: 41.86 years female: 44.52 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9% male: 78% female: 58.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $29.05 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.3% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | - | noun: Djiboutian(s)
adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | fish | geothermal areas, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 [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 |
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] |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2003 est.) |
486,530 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.02% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | - |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (2001) |
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) |
Religions | - | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
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.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 11,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 34,500 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | - | 5.31 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 50% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |