Djibouti
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry information - Djibouti
Country name - conventional long form : Republic of Djibouti
Country name - conventional short form : Djibouti
Country name - local long form : Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti
Country name - local short form : Djibouti/Jibuti
Country name - former : French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland
Country code : DJ
Government type : republic
Capital - name : Djibouti
Capital - time difference : UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 27 June (1977)
Population : 506,221 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Djiboutian(s)
Nationality - adjective : Djiboutian
Languages : French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Currency (code) : Djiboutian franc (DJF)
Currency code : DJF
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : high
Major infectious diseases - note : highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Djibouti is located Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia. The climate is desert; torrid, dry. The terrain is coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas became Djibouti in 1977. Hassan Gouled APTIDON installed an authoritarian one-party state and proceeded to serve as president until 1999. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to a civil war that ended in 2001 following the conclusion of a peace accord between Afar rebels and the Issa-dominated government. In 1999, Djibouti's first multi-party presidential elections resulted in the election of Ismail Omar GUELLEH; he was re-elected to a second and final term in 2005. Djibouti occupies a strategic geographic location at the mouth of the Red Sea and serves as an important transshipment location for goods entering and leaving the east African highlands. The present leadership favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country, but also has strong ties with the US. Djibouti hosts the only US military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism.
