• Djibouti is a country in northeast Africa bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

• Fast Facts:

  1. Capital: Djibouti
  2. Government: Parliamentary Republic
  3. Population: 496,374 (July 2007 Est.)
  4. Currency: Djiboutian Franc (DJF)
  5. Official Language: Arabic and French
  6. Religion: Islam, 94%

• Brief History

  Historically, the area that is now Djibouti has been an important trading outpost for spices for over a millennia. In recent times, it was a territory named the Afars and the Issas and ruled by France. Djibouti achieved its independence in 1977 and was ruled as a one-party state until 1999. The French military continues to have a strong presence in the strategically important trading nation, located on the Gulf of Aden at the mouth of the Red Sea. A tiny country, smaller than Massachusetts, two-thirds of the nation's inhabitants live in the capital city which bears the same name as the nation. Djibouti must import most of its food, and 85% of its import and export activity is done on behalf of neighboring Ethiopia. Djibouti is also home to the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa, the recently established Camp Lemonier. Djibouti's population of just under 500,000 residents is 94% Muslim.

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