A small country of north-east Africa, formerly part of French Somaliland, on the south coast of the Gulf of Aden at the narrow entrance to the Red Sea, opposite Yemen.

Physical

It lies on the Great Rift Valley: Lake Assal lies at 155 m (509 feet) below sea-level. The climate is harsh and much of the country is semi-arid desert.

Economy

Trade is the mainstay of the economy; Djibouti City, the capital, is a free port and through its rail link to Addis Ababa, recently rebuilt by the Chinese, handles trade for Ethiopia and other neighbouring African states.

History

The small enclave of Djibouti was created as a port c.1888 by the French and became the capital of French Somaliland (1892). Its importance results from its strategic position on the Gulf of Aden. In 1958 it was declared by France to be the Territory of the Afars and Issas, but in 1977 it was granted total independence as the Republic of Djibouti under President Hassan Gouled Aptidon (re-elected in 1981 and 1987), leading the Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) party. Famine and wars in neighbouring countries have produced many economic problems, with refugees arriving in large numbers from Ethiopia and Somalia. In November 1991 the Front pour la Restauration de la Unité et la Démocratie (FRUD) was formed, mostly of Afar opposition groups opposed to the one-party rule of Gouled Aptidon. There was fighting in the west and south until French mediation in February 1992. Later that year a multiparty constitution was adopted and elections were held. Only one opposition party was allowed to contest the elections; less than half the population voted and the RPP won all the seats. A ceasefire was agreed in 1993 but sporadic fighting continued until 2001. Genuinely multiparty elections were held in 2003. There were border skirmishes with Eritrea in 2008; although UN sanctions were imposed on Eritrea in 2009, its troops did not finally leave Djibouti until 2010. Ismael Omar Guelleh became President in 1999 and was re-elected in 2005, 2011, and 2016 against very limited opposition. The country was badly affected by drought in 2011–14. Although Guelleh has tried to keep Djibouti distant the deepening civil war in Yemen, over 36,000 refugees crossed the Red Sea by the end of 2016.