Labour and taxation
Djibouti’s high unemployment rate—estimated to be anywhere from almost three-fifths to more than four-fifths of the country’s workforce—is further exacerbated by the thousands of illegal migrants who go to Djibouti and are willing to accept subminimum wages.
Tax revenue in Djibouti funds more than half the annual budget. Sources of revenue include indirect taxes, direct taxes, transit taxes, and harbour dues and related fees.
Transportation and telecommunications
Djibouti’s title as a regional trade hub is built upon its modern international port and the Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway. There is also much unrecorded transshipment, via camels, dhows, and trucks, to bordering countries.
Djibouti’s road network comprises about 2,000 miles (3,000 km) of roads, of which less than half is paved. Primary routes include a paved road linking Tadjoura and the north with the capital, and the Grand Bara road, which links the capital with the south.
The Djibouti–Addis Ababa railway is an important source of revenue for Djibouti. It is jointly owned by the governments of Djibouti and Ethiopia and has been upgraded with the financial support of the European Union. Despite these upgrades, however, the line has continued to deteriorate, affecting both passenger and freight traffic. Still, the railway serves as an important economic lifeline for landlocked Ethiopia, especially in the wake of rising border tensions with the neighbouring coastal country of Eritrea that began in 1998.
The port of Djibouti is a free-trade zone with modern container and refrigeration facilities and a rail link to Ethiopia. The international port provides capabilities for bunkering and the transshipment of goods to other countries in the region. Attempts at diversification—including the construction of new container terminals, the refurbishment of docking berths, and the inauguration of a new port with a deepwater container facilities and an oil and gas terminal at nearby Doralé—have centred on capturing a larger share of the worldwide transshipment of goods along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Djibouti has several small airports throughout the country that provide access to domestic air service. There is an international airport located at Ambouli, near Djibouti city.
Djibouti’s international telecommunications services are some of the best in sub-Saharan Africa, designed to support the country’s position as a financial and business hub. An earth station links Djibouti to the Arab Satellite Communication Organization (Arabsat). Djibouti is also linked to the submarine South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe–3 (SEA-ME-WE-3) telecommunications system.
With regard to personal communication, mobile phone use is far more prevalent than landline use and continues to increase. Internet usage outside the business realm is limited but growing.
Government and society
Djibouti did not adopt a constitution until 1992, 15 years after having achieved independence. Prior to that the country was governed by nine constitutional articles that had been adopted in 1981. Under the constitution the president, who serves as head of state and head of government, is elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years, without any limitation on the number of terms served. The president nominates and is assisted by a prime minister. The National Assembly is the legislative arm of the government and comprises 65 members who are presided over by the prime minister. Assembly members are elected by universal suffrage for a period of five years. A constitutional amendment in 2010 provided for the creation of a Senate, although one was not immediately established.
The country is divided into six administrative units: five régions (Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Tadjourah, and Obock) and Djibouti city.
The judiciary is divided into three separate court systems. A customary court system maintains a trial level in Djibouti city and each region, as well as an appellate level in Djibouti city. These courts are responsible only for civil matters. A second court system, based on Sharīʿah, deals with family matters that fall under the jurisdiction of the Islamic faith. Although presided over by a kadi (a Muslim judge), this system is similar to the customary court system in that it includes both trial and appellate levels. The third court system is Western in origin, heavily patterned after the French judicial system. The Supreme Court constitutes the top court of appeals for this system. Its jurisdiction includes appeals from both the customary and Sharīʿah court systems.
From 1981 until 1992 Djibouti had a single-party system, with the Popular Assembly for Progress (Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès; RPP) being the sole legal party. During this time deputies to the National Assembly could be elected only from a list supplied by the RPP; abstention from voting was the only legal form of opposition.
The 1992 constitution officially inaugurated a multiparty political system that authorized competition between four political parties. Although it was a significant departure from the single-party rule of 1977–92, critics noted that Djibouti largely remained a de facto single-party political system, with the ruling party maintaining wide powers. In 2002 the restriction on the number of parties was lifted, allowing for the creation of many new legally recognized political parties.
Women and minorities are able to participate in the political process, although representation tends to be disproportionate. In the mid-2000s, women held one-tenth of National Assembly seats. Women have also served in cabinet positions and as president of the Supreme Court. Minorities have held National Assembly seats as well as a number of cabinet positions.
1Constitutional amendments adopted in April 2010 call for a new Senate, yet to be established, in addition to the existing National Assembly, forming a bicameral parliament.
|Official name||Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī (Arabic); République de Djibouti (French) (Republic of Djibouti)|
|Form of government||multiparty republic with one legislative house (National Assembly )1|
|Head of state and government||President: Ismail Omar Guelleh, assisted by Prime Minister: Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed|
|Official languages||Arabic; French|
|Monetary unit||Djibouti franc (FDJ)|
|Population||(2014 est.) 872,000|
|Total area (sq mi)||8,960|
|Total area (sq km)||23,200|
|Urban-rural population||Urban: (2011) 76.3%|
Rural: (2011) 23.7%
|Life expectancy at birth||Male: (2012) 59.2 years|
Female: (2012) 64.1 years
|Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate||Male: (2007) 81.2%|
Female: (2007) 63.8%
|GNI per capita (U.S.$)||(2009) 1,280|