military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $2.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1991)

:Djibouti Geography

Total area:
22,000 km2
Land area:
21,980 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
517 km; Ethiopia 459 km, Somalia 58 km
Coastline:
314 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
24 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
possible claim by Somalia based on unification of ethnic Somalis
Climate:
desert; torrid, dry
Terrain:
coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
Natural resources:
geothermal areas
Land use:
arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and
woodland NEGL%; other 91%
Environment:
vast wasteland
Note:
strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian
oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia

:Djibouti People

Population:
390,906 (July 1992), growth rate 2.7% (1992)
Birth rate:
43 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
16 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
115 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
47 years male, 50 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.3 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Djiboutian(s); adjective - Djiboutian
Ethnic divisions:
Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Religions:
Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Languages:
French and Arabic (both official); Somali and Afar widely used
Literacy:
48% (male 63%, female 34%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
Labor force:
NA, but a small number of semiskilled laborers at the port and 3,000 railway
workers; 52% of population of working age (1983)
Organized labor:
3,000 railway workers, General Union of Djiboutian Workers (UGTD),
government affiliated; some smaller unions

:Djibouti Government

Long-form name:
Republic of Djibouti
Type:
republic
Capital:
Djibouti
Administrative divisions:
5 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); `Ali Sabih, Dikhil, Djibouti,
Obock, Tadjoura
Independence:
27 June 1977 (from France; formerly French Territory of the Afars and Issas)
Constitution:
partial constitution ratified January 1981 by the National Assembl