Djibouti Population: 466,900 (July 2004 est.) Capital: Djibouti [ Select Another Country ]

An Introduction to Djibouti
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 three consecutive six-year terms as president. Unrest among the Afars minority during the 1990s led to multi-party elections resulting in President Ismail Omar GUELLEH attaining office in May 1999. A peace accord in 2001 ended the final phases of a ten-year uprising by Afar rebels. Djibouti occupies a very 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. GUELLEH favors close ties to France, which maintains a significant military presence in the country.

The Djiboutian Flag 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.

Rankings of The Most Populous Countries in the World.

1. China   2. India   3. United States   4. Indonesia   5. Brazil   6. Russia   7. Pakistan   8. Bangladesh   9. Japan 10. Nigeria

11. Mexico 12. Germany 13. Philippines 14. Vietnam 15. Egypt 16. Turkey 17. Iran 18. Ethiopia 19. Thailand 20. United Kingdom

21. France 22. Italy 23. Congo 24. Ukraine 25. South Korea 26. South Africa 27. Burma 28. Colombia 29. Spain 30. Poland

Some interesting facts and figures about Djibouti. Pop Growth Rate / Year:     • 2.1% Avg. Life Expectancy:     • 41.83 yrs - Male     • 44.44 yrs - Female Phone Lines:     • 9,500 (2003) Televisions:     • 28,000 (1997) Radios:     • 52,000 (1997) Internet Code:     • .dj Did you know ... People from Djibouti are called Djiboutians