I | INTRODUCTION |
Djibouti
(country), republic in northeastern Africa, strategically located at the
strait of Bab el Mandeb, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The
small country takes its name from its capital and only large city, Djibouti.
Located at the intersection of trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean with the
Mediterranean Sea, and Africa with the Middle East, Djibouti has long been a
cultural and commercial crossroads.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
Djibouti has an area of 23,200 sq km (8,960 sq
mi). It extends 190 km (120 mi) from north to south and 225 km (140 mi) from
east to west. The country is bordered by Eritrea to the north; Ethiopia to the
north, west, and south; and Somalia to the southeast. To its east lies the Gulf
of Aden, an arm of the Indian Ocean. The Gulf of Tadjoura extends over 100 km
(60 mi) into Djibouti from the east coast. Plateaus and mountains rise above
narrow coastal plains to the north and south of the gulf. The country’s highest
point, Moussa Ali (2,063 m/6,768 ft), is on the northern border, at the junction
of the Ethiopian and Eritrean boundaries. Western Djibouti is a desert lowland
with depressions containing several salt lakes. The largest, Lake Abbé, lies on
the Ethiopian border. Another, Lake ‘Asal, is the lowest point in Africa at 153
m (502 ft) below sea level. Djibouti has a potential for generating geothermal
energy and limited deposits of gypsum, copper, and other ores, which are not
exploited. Very little of the country’s land is arable, and there are no
regularly flowing rivers or streams. Djibouti relies on an underground aquifer
for fresh water.
The country has a climate that is hot and dry
year-round, but it is especially hot and dry in the summer, when winds blow from
the inland desert. In the capital, average daily temperatures range from 23° to
29°C (73° to 84°F) in January and from 31° to 41°C (87° to 106°F) in July.
Annual rainfall ranges from 127 mm (5 in) in the capital to 380 mm (15 in) in
the mountains. Djibouti lies in an earthquake zone along several major faults.
The land is mostly rocky desert with scattered drought-tolerant grasses and
shrubs. Wildlife includes jackals, hyenas, ostriches, and gazelles.
Djibouti’s volcanic desert soils are among
the least hospitable in Africa. The soil is poor, and there are regular
droughts. Less than half of the population has easy access to safe drinking
water.
III | THE PEOPLE OF DJIBOUTI |
The population of Djibouti was 506,221 in
2008, yielding a population density of 22 persons per sq km (57 per sq mi).The
population is 85 percent (2005) urban. The capital, principal port, and only
sizable city is Djibouti, located on the southern side of the mouth of the Gulf
of Tadjoura.
Roughly 60 percent of Djiboutians are ethnic
Somali, the predominant group in the south, and about 30 percent are Afar, the
main group in the north. Arab, French, and other minorities make up the
remaining population. Of the Somali, more than half belong to the dominant Issa
clan. Djibouti’s official languages are French and Arabic, but Somali is the
most widely spoken language in the south, including the capital. The Afar
language prevails in the north. Almost all Djiboutians are Sunni Muslims.
Education is free and, theoretically,
compulsory for six years of primary schooling starting at age 6, but in
2002–2003, the latest year for which figures are available, only 40 percent of
primary school-aged children attended school. Only 20 percent of the teenage
population attended secondary school. In 2000 only 51.4 percent of Djibouti’s
adult population was literate. Pốle University, the country’s first university,
opened in 2000.
Historically, most Afar and Somali lived a
nomadic life in patriarchal societies organized into clans. They herded sheep,
goats, and camels. Until recent years, the Afar and Somali languages lacked
written forms. These two nomadic peoples consequently developed rich rural
traditions of folk music, dance, and oral literature. Somali are renowned for
their poetry. These rural traditions survive today, although most Djiboutians
now live in the capital city.
IV | ECONOMY |
Djibouti’s economy revolves around the capital
city’s modern seaport, which serves not only Djibouti but landlocked Ethiopia
and parts of Somalia as well. The country also relies heavily on economic aid
from France and other countries. In 2006 Djibouti’s gross domestic product
(GDP), the total value of goods and services produced within a country, was $769
million, or $939.50 per capita. Services accounted for about 80 percent of GDP,
industry made up 16 percent, and agriculture about 4 percent. Estimates indicate
that about three-quarters of the labor force works in agriculture. Djibouti’s
dry and barren landscape supports little crop farming, but subsistence livestock
herding is a significant economic activity. Although the population is mostly
urban, many city dwellers periodically tend family livestock herds in rural
areas. Estimates suggest that almost half the labor force lacks formal
employment.
Lacking significant crop farming, Djibouti
must import almost all of its food. Djibouti lacks major industries. The
government is the main service sector employer, but port-related services, such
as transport, communications, and warehousing, are more important economically.
A rail link connects the port to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Djibouti
has an international airport, and its telecommunication system is among the best
in Africa. Most households, however, lack telephones, televisions, or
computers.
The national currency is the Djibouti
franc (177.72 Djibouti francs equal U.S.$1, rate fixed since 1973). The
country has a strong banking sector. Djibouti’s main exports are animal hides
and coffee, but its service activities—related to the port facilities and
banking sector—provide most of its earnings. Its main imports are petroleum,
food products, and manufactured goods. The country relies entirely on imported
oil for its electrical power and other energy needs.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Djibouti is a republic with a strong central
government and a democratic constitution, which was adopted in 1992. All adults
aged 18 and over are eligible to vote. Principal executive power lies with the
president, who is popularly elected for a six-year term and is limited to two
terms. The president appoints a cabinet, headed by a prime minister, who is also
appointed by the president. The legislature consists of a single house, the
Chamber of Deputies, whose members are popularly elected to five-year terms.
Codes based on French civil law are administered in a lower court and a court of
appeals in the capital. Local courts administer a combination of customary and
Islamic law. A supreme court rules on constitutional questions, and all judges
are appointed by the president. Djibouti is divided into five cercles
(administrative divisions). Military service is mandatory for men aged 18 to 25;
the armed forces totaled 9,850 soldiers in 2004. Djibouti belongs to the United
Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and the Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa.
Djibouti had a one-party political system
until the promulgation of the 1992 constitution, which allowed for the existence
of a maximum of four political parties. A 2002 constitutional amendment removed
the limit on the number of political parties. The main political party is the
Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP; Popular Movement for
Progress), whose mostly Issa leadership has relied on a system of patronage to
rule Djibouti since independence. The Front pour la Restauration de l’Unité
et de la Démocratie (FRUD; Front for the Renewal of Unity and Democracy)
represents the Afar minority. The Parti National Démocratique (PND;
Democratic National Party) and the Parti du Renouveau Démocratique (PRD;
Democratic Renewal Party) are both small opposition parties favoring democratic
reforms.
VI | HISTORY |
Djibouti lies at a major global crossroads
where, some 100,000 years ago, early humans migrated from Africa to the Middle
East. Livestock herding, which remains important to Djibouti’s people, was
introduced to this region by nomads more than 10,000 years ago. The ancient
region’s small ports, inhabited by the ancestors of the Afars, hosted merchants
from Persia, Arabia, Ethiopia, and the Mediterranean. In the first centuries
ad, a series of kingdoms dominated
the region and its rich trade, paying tribute to the powerful inland kingdom of
Aksum, in what is now Ethiopia. Arab traders brought Islam to the coastal ports
by the 9th century and founded the Islamic sultanate of Adal at Zeila, a port to
the southeast in what is now Somalia. Somali people moved into what is now
southern Djibouti by the 14th century. By 1500 Adal ruled Djibouti. Starting in
1527 Ahmed al-Ghazi, the ruler of Adal, led Afar and Somali troops in a holy war
against Christian Ethiopia. The Muslims won a major victory in 1529, destroying
an entire Ethiopian army, and they went on to capture several Ethiopian
provinces. However, in 1543 an Ethiopian force with Portuguese assistance
defeated and killed Ahmed, and Adal collapsed. Subsequently, small Afar
sultanates, including Obock and Tadjoura, emerged on the northern side of the
Gulf of Tadjoura. These sultanates still survive, though the sultans have little
formal power. During the second half of the 16th century, European merchants
began a lucrative trade in Ethiopian coffee and perfumes with these Djiboutian
sultanates.
France sought to challenge British dominance
of the Indian Ocean trade by establishing a base at the strategic entrance to
the Red Sea, so France signed a treaty with the sultan of Obock in 1862.
Beginning in 1881 France set up a trading mission in Obock and concluded a
series of treaties with other local rulers that recognized French control. In
1888 France established the colony of French Somaliland—encompassing what is now
Djibouti—and chose the town of Djibouti as the colony’s capital in 1892 because
it offered a good site for a rail link to Addis Ababa. The French completed the
railroad in 1917, and the port of Djibouti grew rapidly. Large numbers of
Somalis and Arabs migrated to the port to take advantage of the opportunities
for employment and trade.
A | Independence for Djibouti |
French rule met some resistance from Afar
and Issa nomads, but the French mainly ignored the interior of the territory and
focused their attention on the port. In 1946 France made French Somaliland an
overseas territory with limited self-rule. Ethnic conflicts soon arose over
representation in the territory’s legislature. The French adopted a policy of
favoritism toward the Afars because the Somali population generally sought
independence from France and possible unification with Somalia. In a 1967
referendum, Djiboutians voted to remain under French administration, and the
colony’s name was changed to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas. Ten
years later, however, increased nationalist sentiment and international pressure
led France to hold another referendum, and this time Djiboutians overwhelmingly
voted for independence. The Republic of Djibouti achieved full independence on
June 27, 1977.
The people of Djibouti elected Hassan
Gouled Aptidon, an Issa, as its first president. Gouled quickly monopolized
power and established a single-party state in 1981. Gouled dominated the RPP—the
sole party—and rewarded his supporters with patronage. The population of the
capital city grew, and the subsequent lack of clean water, sanitation, and
adequate employment caused growing dissatisfaction and tension. Afars and other
dissidents organized resistance movements, but the government acted to suppress
any opposition.
B | Afar Rebellion |
Beginning in 1991 an armed Afar rebellion
destabilized Djibouti. By mid-1992 Afar rebels controlled two-thirds of
Djibouti’s territory. Later that year the government, under pressure from
France, held a referendum in which voters approved a new constitution permitting
opposition parties. However, the constitution required opposition groups to gain
government approval in order to compete in elections, and the government
rejected the application of FRUD, the party of the Afar rebels. The government
defeated the rebels in a 1993 military offensive. In late 1994 the two sides
signed a peace agreement. However, over the next two years several factions
split off from FRUD and vowed to continue armed resistance. Under the peace
agreement, the government granted cabinet posts to two Afar leaders,
incorporated former rebels into the military, and recognized FRUD as a
legitimate political party. With its economy devastated by the war, Djibouti was
forced to cut government spending to gain international financial assistance.
Government austerity measures further worsened Djibouti’s chronic unemployment
and poverty.
Gouled’s health began to deteriorate in
1995, and in early 1999 he announced that he would not run for another term.
Ismail Omar Guelleh, an aide of Gouled’s who had built a power base within the
RPP, won a solid victory in presidential elections in April 1999. The outbreak
of border clashes between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998 proved a boon to
Djibouti, which became virtually the only outlet for Ethiopia’s external trade
during the ensuing war. Growing port traffic improved the country’s economy, but
persistent unemployment and ongoing attacks by Afar rebel factions continued to
threaten Djibouti’s stability.
A peace agreement between the government
and a radical Afar FRUD faction was signed in February 2000 in Paris. This
brought to an end seven years of guerrilla fighting. In March the former prime
minister and leader of the splinter group of FRUD, Ahmed Dini Ahmed, returned
from his nine-year exile to lead the political opposition.
C | First Multiparty Elections |
The January 2003 election was the first to
be opened up to many political parties. The parties formed into two electoral
coalitions: the Union for a Presidential Majority (UMP) and the Union for a
Democratic Change (UAD). The UMP secured more than 62 percent of the vote. In
April 2005 President Guelleh ran unopposed in presidential elections and was
reelected.
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