West Bank (2001) | Djibouti (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); 'Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjoura |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.58% (male 98,314; female 97,859) 15-64 years: 54.58% (male 132,619; female 118,841) 65 years and over: 2.84% (male 6,787; female 6,280) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | fruits, vegetables; goats, sheep, camels |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 12 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (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 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total:
22,000 sq km land: 21,980 sq km water: 20 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. | The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. A peace accord in 1994 ended a three-year uprising by Afars rebels. |
Birth rate | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 40.66 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$133 million expenditures: $187 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | - | Djibouti |
Climate | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | desert; torrid, dry |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 314 km |
Constitution | - | multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
Republic of Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti former: French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | Djiboutian franc (DJF) |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $356 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador Donald YAMAMOTO 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 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 | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) | $106.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. | 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 40% to 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. The year 2001 will see only small growth as port activity should decrease now that Ethiopia has more trade route options. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 167.4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 180 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | Djiboutian francs per US dollar - 177.721 (fixed rate since 1973) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President GUELLEH Ismail Omar (since 8 May 1999); head of government: Prime Minister DILLEITA Mohamed Dilleita (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: GUELLEH Ismail Omar elected president; percent of vote - GUELLEH Ismail Omar 74.4%, IDRIS Moussa Ahmed 25.6% |
Exports | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | $260 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit) |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Somalia 53%, Yemen 23%, Ethiopia 5%, (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $574 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 22% services: 75% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 11 30 N, 43 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) | strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland |
Highways | total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
total:
2,890 km paved: 364 km unpaved: 2,526 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | $440 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | France 13%, Ethiopia 12%, Italy 9%, Saudi Arabia 6%, UK 6% (1998) |
Independence | - | 27 June 1977 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (1996 est.) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | limited to a few small-scale enterprises, such as dairy products and mineral-water bottling |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 101.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | NA | 282,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture 75%, industry 11%, services 14% (1991 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total:
508 km border countries: Eritrea 113 km, Ethiopia 337 km, Somalia 58 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Legal system | - | 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 19 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - RPP 65; note - RPP (the ruling party) dominated the election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
51.21 years male: 49.37 years female: 53.1 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.2% male: 60.3% female: 32.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,369 GRT/3,030 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | NA | Djibouti National Army (includes Navy and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $23 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.5% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
108,038 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
63,589 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun:
Djiboutian(s) adjective: Djiboutian |
Natural hazards | droughts | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
Natural resources | arable land | geothermal areas |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 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]; People's Progress Assembly or RPP (governing party) [Ismail Omar GELLEH] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy or FRUD and affiliates; Movement for Unity and Democracy or MUD |
Population | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
460,700 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Djibouti |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | 52,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003 |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Muslim 94%, Christian 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
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: 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 | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 203 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (plus 5 low-power repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.72 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |