DJIBOUTI

By JACK TURBETT

FACT FILE • AREA: 23,200 Km• CURRENCY: FRANC• POPULATION:923,000• DRIVES ON:RIGHT• LIFE EXPECTANCY: 43• CALLING CODE:+253• LANGUAGES:FRENCH,ARABIC & AFAR • CONTINENT:AFRICA

MORE FACTS

• HDI:0.402• GPD:$1.290 Billion • GINI:40.0

FLAG

ECONOMY• The economy of Djibouti is based on service activities connected with the country's strategic location

and status as a free trade zone in northeast Africa. Two-thirds of the inhabitants live in the capital city, the remainder being mostly nomadic herders. Scant rainfall limits crop production to fruits and vegetables, and most food must be imported.

• Fishing boats docked at the Port of Djibotui • In April 2005, the United Nations world food program warned that 30,000 people in Djibouti face

serious food shortages following three years of poor rains.• Djibouti provides services as both a transit port for the region and an international transshipment and

refueling center. It has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. Salt Investment, a Djiboutian company, is overseeing a $70 million operation to industrialize the collection of Djibouti’s plentiful salt in the Lake Assall region.

•

ARMY

• The Djibouti Armed Forces (DJAF) are the military forces of Djibouti and consist of the Djibouti National Army and its sub-branches the Djibouti Air Force and The Djibouti Navy. It is located on the gulf of Adan and Bab al-Manda with a foothold on the Red Sea. It is an army of 8,000 extended with reservists such that the standard readiness strength is 13,000 people in uniform

FOOTBALL

• The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the Riverains de la Mer Rouge ("Shoremen of the Red Sea"), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Fédération Djiboutienne de Football, and is a member of the Confederation of African Football

POLITICS

• Djibouti is a semi-presidential republic.

• The government is seen as being controlled by the Somali Issa Dir clan

The national assembly building in Djibouti City.

WILDLIFE

• The wildlife of Djibouti exists in a harsh landscape, with forest accounting for less than 1% of the country's total area.

• This forest area is the main habitat of critically endangered and endemic Djibouti Francolin (a bird).

• The Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus), a common bird species in Djibouti.

DEMOGRPHICS

• Djibouti is a multiethnic country. The two largest ethnic groups are the Somali (60%) and the Afar (35%). The Somali clan component is mainly composed of the Issas, and Gadabuursi. Both are sub-clans of the larger Dir; the Issas form part of the Madoobe Dir!

RELIGON

• There are two religons in Djibouti!

• ISLAM: 96%

• CHRISTIANITY: 4%

• They do no judge People by there Religon!

EDUCATION

• The Djiboutian educational system was initially formulated to cater to a limited pupil base. As such, the schooling framework was largely elitist and drew considerably from the French colonial paradigm, which was ill-suited to local circumstances and needs

• Education is a priority for the government of Djibouti. As of 2009, it allocates 20.5% of its annual budget to scholastic instruction