24 Facts About Djibouti

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a strategically located country near the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa.

It has some bizarre landscapes for a country its size, including salt lakes, deep ravines, extinct volcanoes, majestic canyons, sunken plains, and basaltic plateaus.

Djibouti is the eighth-smallest country in Africa.

Djibouti covers an area of 23,200 km2 (9,000 sq mi).

Djibouti is bounded to the north by Eritrea (125 km/78 mi), to the west and south by Ethiopia (342 km/213 mi), and to the southeast by Somalia (61 km/38 mi).

Djibouti's 314 km (195 mi) coastline runs along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the country's east.

Africa's lowest point on land below sea level is found in Djibouti.

Djibouti is made up of 90% desert, 9% pasture land, and less than 1% forest.

Moussa Ali is Djibouti's tallest mountain, rising 2021 metres above sea level.

Djibouti has a population of slightly more than one million people, making it the least populous African mainland country and the fifth-least populated country in Africa.

Because of its hot, mostly dry climate, Djibouti has no permanent rivers.

Djibouti's state religion is Islam, and nearly all of the population is Sunni Muslim.

Djibouti's official languages are Arabic and French.

Somali and Afar are the most widely spoken languages in Djibouti.

Djibouti is the only permanent US military base in Africa.

Djibouti is the country's capital and largest city.

Since 1949, Djibouti's currency has been the Djiboutian Franc (DJF).

Ethnic tensions between Afars and Issas have always plagued Djibouti. Issas dominated Djibouti's civil service, military, and political scene after the country's independence in 1977.

Djibouti experienced civil war from 1991 to 1994.

In Djibouti, football is the most popular sport.

Djibouti competed in the Summer Olympics for the first time in 1984. Hussein Ahmed Salah won bronze in the men's marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the country's first and only Olympic medal. Djibouti has never participated in a Winter Olympics.

It is strictly forbidden in Djibouti to photograph infrastructure (such as ports, public buildings, airports, military facilities, and bridges).

Skoudehkaris, Djibouti's national dish, is an aromatic one-pot lamb and rice dish flavoured with cilantro, cumin, cloves, cayenne pepper, cardamom, and tomatoes.

The Djibouti Francolin, one of over forty species of francolins in the pheasant family, can only be found in the juniper forest of Djibouti's mountains. Its grayish-brown colour with white stripes and streaks distinguishes it.