Djibouti
Originally home to nomadic tribes, Djibouti was eventually colonized by the French and became French Somalialand. The country guards the entrance to the Red Sea and so maintains a high French and military presence.
Total Area:23,000 sq km
Land Borders: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
Population: 486,530
Life Expectancy: 43 years
HIV % Total Poulation:2.9%
Ethnic Groups: Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Languages:French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
President:Ismail Omar GUELLEH
GDP - Per Capita: $1,300
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 is also developing stronger 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.