Djibouti

Djibouti, city, Republic of Djibouti

Djibouti (jēbtē`), town (1995 est. pop. 383,000), capital of the Republic of Djibouti, a port on the Gulf of Tadjoura (an inlet of the Gulf of Aden). It is the nation's only sizable town and its administrative center. Its importance results from the large transit trade it enjoys as a terminus of the railroad from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to the sea and from its strategic position near the shipping lanes that carry the Suez Canal traffic. Activity at its port declined when the Suez Canal was closed (1967–75) after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. Its rail lines were severely damaged by bombing during the Ethiopian civil war in 1977. The only important industry is the production of salt from the sea. There is a camel market in the town. Djibouti was founded by the French c.1888 and became the capital of French Somaliland in 1892. There was severe rioting in Djibouti in 1967 after the territory voted to retain its ties with France.

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Djibouti, country, Africa

Djibouti (jēbtē`), officially Republic of Djibouti, republic (2005 est. pop. 477,000), c.8,900 sq mi (23,057 sq km), E Africa, on the Gulf of Aden. It is bounded by Eritrea (N), Ethiopia (W, S), Somalia (S), and the Gulf of Aden (E). Djibouti is the capital, largest city, and most significant port.

Land and People

Strategically situated, Djibouti commands Bab el Mandeb, the strait between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Largely a stony desert with isolated plateaus and highlands, it has a generally dry and hot climate. Lake Assal, the lowest point in Africa (509 ft/155 m below sea level), is in the center of the country. Djibouti is divided into five administrative districts. The population is about 60% Somali (of which the Issa constitute some 40%) and 35% Afar (of Ethiopian origin); both groups are Muslim. In addition, large numbers of refugees from Ethiopian civil wars settled in Djibouti from 1975 to 1991. Two thirds of the people live in the capital city, and the rest are nomadic herders. Official languages are French and Arabic; Somali and Afar are both widely used.

Economy

Djibouti's economy is based on a number of service activities associated with its strategic location and its position as a free-trade zone. It is a major port for NE Africa, as well as an international transshipment and refueling center. Otherwise, the nation is largely economically underdeveloped. Nomadic pastoralism is a chief occupation; goats, sheep, and camels are raised. Date palms are grown and there is a small fishing industry. Manufacturing is mainly limited to food processing and shipbuilding and repair. The city of Djibouti is the terminus of the Addis Ababa–Djibouti RR; it and the port were undergoing modernization in the late 1990s. The main exports are hides, cattle, and coffee (transshipped from Ethiopia). Djibouti imports transport equipment and petroleum, as well as most of its food and consumer goods; its economic development depends largely on foreign investment and aid. The main trading partners are France and other European Union countries, Ethiopia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

History

France first obtained a foothold in the region in 1862. French interest centered around Djibouti, the French commercial rival to Aden. By 1896 it was organized as a colony and in 1946 it became a territory within the French Union. Membership in the French Community followed in 1958. The political status of the territory was determined by a referendum in 1967, in which the Afar population, until then the group that had the lesser voice in government, gained political ascendancy with French support. The Afars opted for a continuation of the connection with France, whereas the Somalis voted for independence and eventual union with Somalia.

France officially recognized Djibouti's independence in 1977. In the three years that followed, the Afar and Issa-Somali communities struggled to obtain control over the government. In 1979, efforts were made to unite the two ethnic groups through the formation of the People's Progress Assembly (RPP). In 1981, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, president since independence, established the RPP as the only legal political party in the country.

Despite its attempts at peacemaking, Djibouti has been adversely affected by warfare in and between neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia. Moreover, beginning in 1991, tensions between Afars and the Issa-dominated government resulted in an Afar rebellion. A reconciliation agreement was reached in 1994, but the last remaining rebel group signed a peace accord only in 2001. Djibouti was the base of operations for French forces during the Persian Gulf War, and the French remain a strong military and technical presence. The United States also established a military presence in the nation beginning in 2002.

In 1992 a constitution allowing for a limited multiparty state was approved by Djibouti's voters. In 1993, Gouled was reelected in the country's first multiparty elections, which were widely boycotted by the opposition. The 1999 presidential election was won by Ismail Omar Guelleh, the governing party candidate (and a nephew of Gouled). In 2003 the government sought to expel an estimated 100,000 illegal immigrants, largely Ethiopians and Somalis, from the country. The move was prompted by security and unemployment concerns. Guelleh was reelected in 2005, but the opposition refused to contest the election, believing that the government would rig the vote.

Bibliography

I. M. Lewis, Peoples of the Horn of Africa (1969); H. G. Marcus, The Modern History of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa (1972); R. Tholomier, Djibouti: Pawn of the Horn of Africa (1981).

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Djibouti

 officially Republic of Djibouti, formerly (1967–77) French Territory of the Afars and Issas

Country, eastern Africa, on the Gulf of Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea. Area: 8,950 sq mi (23,200 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 476,700. Capital: Djibouti. Roughly half of the people are Issas and related Somali clans; Afars are about one-third; the balance includes Yemeni Arabs and Europeans, mostly French. Languages: French, Arabic (both official). Religion: Islam (predominantly Sunni). Currency: Djibouti franc. Djibouti is divided into three principal regions: the coastal plain, the volcanic plateaus in the country's south and centre, and the mountain ranges in the north, reaching 6,654 ft (2,028 m) high at Mount Moussa (Mousa). The land is primarily desert—hot, dry, and desolate; virtually none is arable. Djibouti has a developing market economy that is based almost entirely on trade and commercial services, centring on Djibouti city. The country is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Settled by the Arab ancestors of the Afars, it was later populated by Somali Issas. In AD 825 Islam was brought to the area by missionaries. Arabs controlled the trade in this region until the 16th century; it became a French protectorate in the 19th century. It was made a French overseas territory in 1946, assumed the name French Territory of the Afars and Issas in 1967, and gained its independence in 1977. In the late 20th century it received refugees from the Ethiopian-Somali war and from civil conflicts in Eritrea. From the 1990s the country experienced political unrest.

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Djibouti

City (pop., 1995 est.: 383,000), major port, and capital of Djibouti. Located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura in the Gulf of Aden, it was founded by the French in 1888 and made the capital of French Somaliland in 1892. Linked by rail to Addis Ababa in 1917, it was made a free port in 1949. The economic life of both the city and the nation depends on the city's function as a transshipment point, especially between Ethiopia and the Red Sea trade. Built on three level areas linked by jetties, the city has a mixture of ancient and modern architecture. Drought and war during the 1980s and early '90s brought many refugees to Djibouti from Somalia and Ethiopia, swelling its population.

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Djibouti, Jibouti

1. a republic in E Africa, on the Gulf of Aden: a French overseas territory (1946--77); became independent in 1977; mainly desert. Official languages: Arabic and French. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: Djibouti franc. Capital: Djibouti. Pop.: 712 000 (2004 est.). Area: 23 200 sq. km (8950 sq. miles)

2. the capital of Djibouti, a port on the Gulf of Aden: an outlet for Ethiopian goods. Pop.: 523 000 (2005 est.)

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Djibouti

Official name: Republic of Djibouti

Capital city: Djibouti

Internet country code: .dj

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

Geographical description: Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Soma­lia

Total area: 8,450 sq. mi. (21,883 sq. km.)

Climate: Desert; torrid, dry

Nationality: noun: Djiboutian(s); adjective: Djiboutian

Population: 496,374 (July 2007 CIA est.)

Ethnic groups: Somali 60%, Afar 35%, other (including French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian) 5%

Languages spoken: French (official), Arab (official), Somali, Afar

Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 6%

Legal Holidays:

Independence Day	Jun 27
Labor Day	May 1
New Year's Day	Jan 1

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Djibouti 

or Jibuti, a city, the administrative center of Somaliland (French Territory of the Afars and the Issas). Population, 61,500 (1969).

Djibouti is a port with a freight turnover of up to 3 million tons a year on the southern shores of the Gulf of Tadjura, south of the straits of Bab el Mandeb. A transit point on sea routes leading through the Suez Canal, it serves the foreign trade of Ethiopia (85 percent of all cargo coming through the port), with whose capital it is linked by rail. Djibouti has an international airport; it exports coffee, oilseed, leather, and salts. There is a wharf, a liquid-gas plant, and a food industry.

The city was founded in 1888 and became the permanent residence of the French colonial administration in 1896. By the Franco-Ethiopian agreement of Nov. 12, 1959, Djibouti was declared a free port for Ethiopian export and import.