Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Danny Philip
President: Ismael Omar Guelleh
Population
584,578
774,389
Life Expectancy
74.420 years
61.570 years
Capital City
Djibouti
Largest city
Honiara (population: 56,298)
Djibouti (population: 623,891)
Human Development Index
0.591
0.513
GDP per capita
$2,700 US
Literacy Rate
%
67.9%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
13.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
59.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
27 June 1977 (from France)
Religions
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Languages
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Exports
reexports, hides and skins, coffee (in transit)
External Debt
$812,500,000 US
Exchange Rate
Djiboutian francs (DJF) per US dollar - 177.71 (2007), 174.75 (2006), 177.72 (2005), 177.72 (2004), 177.72 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
Area
28,896 km sq
23,200 km sq
Coastline
5,313 km
314 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
