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East Africa, south of Somalia, bordering the Red Sea. Slightly smaller than Massachusetts. Desert.
French territory until 1977. Civil war between ethnicities in the 1990s that ended in 2001. Presidential elections held in 1999.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Factbook: "The economy is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location and status as a free trade zone in the Horn of Africa. Two-thirds of Djibouti's 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. Imports and exports from landlocked neighbor Ethiopia represent 85% of port activity at Djibouti's container terminal. Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry."
Estimated per capita GDP:
2008 $3,700
2007 $3,600
2006 $3,500
Unemployment estimated for 2007: 59%
Deaths: 19.16. Births: 38.61, down from 39.98 in 2005.
Estimated for July 2008: 506,221, up from 476,703 in 2005. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 1.945 percent per year.
Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 99.13, down from 104.13 in 2005 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 43.31 years.
Living with HIV/AIDS, ages 15 to 49: 2.9 percent (2003).
Somali 60 percent; Afar 35 percent; French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5 percent
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.