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Djibouti is a republic whose electorate approved the current constitution in September 1992. Many laws and decrees from before independence remain in effect.In the presidential election held April 8, 2005 Ismail Omar Guelleh was re-elected to another 6-year term. Currently, political power is shared by a Somali president and an Afar prime minister,...
Djibouti's fledgling economy depends on a large foreign expatriate community, the maritime and commercial activities of the Port of Djibouti, its airport, and the operation of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad. During the civil war (1991-94), there was a significant diversion of government budgetary resources from developmental and social services to...
Djibouti's only television and radio station, which broadcasts in French, Arabic, Afar, and Somali, is state-run, as is the weekly French-language newspaper, La Nation. The government sponsors several organizations dedicated to the preservation of traditional culture and dance. In 1984 Djibouti entered the Olympics for the first time; since then its...
The Republic of Djibouti gained its independence on June 27, 1977. It is the successor to French Somaliland (later called the French Territory of the Afars and Issas), which was created in the first half of the 19th century as a result of French interest in the Horn of Africa. However, the history of Djibouti, recorded in poetry and songs of its nomadic...
Djibouti is part of the African continent bounded to the northeast and east by the Red Sea, the southeast by Somalia, the southwest by Ethiopia and to the north by Eritrea. The country is a barren strip of land around the Gulf of Tadjoura, varying in width from 20km (12 miles) to 90km (56 miles), with a coastline of 300km (188 miles), much of it white...
About two-thirds of the Republic of Djibouti's 650,000 inhabitants live in the capital city. The indigenous population is divided between the majority Somalis (predominantly of the Issa tribe, with minority Issaq and Gadabursi representation) and the Afars (Danakils). All are Cushitic-speaking peoples, and nearly all are Muslim. Among the 15,000 foreigners...
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