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People
Population
More than half of the Republic of Djibouti's inhabitants (over 800,000) reside in the capital city. The population is divided between the Somalis (predominantly of the Issa tribe, with minority Issak and Gadaboursi representation) and the Afar. All are Cushitic-speaking peoples, although French and Arabic are the official languages and Somali and Afar are spoken languages. Nearly all the inhabitants are Muslim, however, there is a small Christian minority. Among the 15,000 foreigners residing in Djibouti, the French are the most numerous. Among the French are 3,200 troops. There is also a sizable Arab population living in Djibouti, which constitutes about five percent of the population.
Cultural and Ethnic Divisions
The ethnic divide between the Issa and the Afar dominates the social and political landscapes. It is the cause of political hostilities and the root of what some at one time called Djibouti's 'boiling cauldron.' In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a renewed effort to grow a "greater Afar" nation that led many to believe that the cauldron would boil over. Ultimately, the conflict abated without significant regime upheaval. In the political sphere there have been attempts at power sharing to try to quell the conflict, though the political dominance of the Issa continues to be a source of Afar resentment and periodic unrest. In the social sphere the divide looms large.
There is also a divide in Djibouti between those who are of Arab descent and those who are of African descent. The importance of the Arab population derives largely from the wealth they have amassed. The Arab population plays a disproportionately powerful role in the commercial sector. The divide is further complicated by the fact that though Djiboutians share a united faith in Islam, the Arab population holds the dominant commercial connection to the broader Arab world. Arab influence in the political sphere has been limited predominantly to its role in civil society.
Socio-Economic Considerations
Djibouti has few natural resources to offer beyond low profit-yielding salt. The arid soils provide little agricultural opportunity, there is little or no mineral wealth, and there is no oil known off the coast. The people, while more educated than many of their regional counterparts, are not well trained enough to offer international business skills. Infrastructure does not provide the requirements for attracting significant international business. Djibouti's main advantages have been its strategic position. It has a vibrant port in a region of large land-locked country. Since the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict Djibouti has profited by providing Ethiopia an alternative to the Eritrean port. As a neighbor to Somalia and Somaliland, and baring a large Somali population, Djibouti has seen its interest involved in the Somali conflict, most notably hosting peace talks in Spring 2000.
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, the average life expectancy in Djibouti is 61.14 years of age (58.69 years for males and 63.66 years for females). The infant mortality rate is 99 deaths per 1000 live births and the birth rate is close to two percent.
The risk of infectious diseases in this country is high. Food or waterborne diseases include bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever; vectorborne disease include malaria. The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country although it poses a negligible risk. The HIV/AIDs infection rate is lower than many other African countries at only 2.9 percent. About 6.4 percent of GDP in this country is spent on health expenditures.
Around 67.9 percent of the population is literate, although that number obfuscates gender disparity -- 78 percent of males are literate and 58.4 percent of females are literate. About 8.4 percent of GDP in this country is spent on educational expenditures.
A notable measure of human development is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is formulated by the United Nations Development Program. The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main areas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. The HDI places Djibouti in the low human development category, at 147th place.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliograpy for list of research sources. Supplementary sources: Indian Ocean Newsletter.
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