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East Africa

Djibouti

Djibouti is a eastern African country of roughly 1.1M people, covering 23,200 km² with its capital at Djibouti City. Its economy is worth about $4.0B in nominal terms, anchored by logistics, ports, services.

Population
1.1M
Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects
Capital
Djibouti City
GDP
$4.0B
Area
23,200 km²
Currency
Djiboutian franc

Map

Interactive map of DjiboutiEast AfricaMap placeholder

Overview

Djibouti is a eastern African country of roughly 1.1M people, covering 23,200 km² with its capital at Djibouti City. Its economy is worth about $4.0B in nominal terms, anchored by logistics, ports, services.

Government

Djibouti operates as a presidential republic. Independence: 1977. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Djibouti City.

Economy

Nominal GDP is approximately $4.0B, or around $3,747 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Djiboutian franc. Leading sectors are logistics, ports, services.

Population

Djibouti has a projected population, 2026 of 1,067,516 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 46 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.

Cities

The largest urban centres are Djibouti City, Ali Sabieh, Tadjoura. Djibouti City serves as the seat of government.

History

Modern Djibouti took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1977. Our History section covers each period in depth.

Languages

Widely used languages include French, Arabic, Somali. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.

Culture

Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Djibouti form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.

Education

Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.

Healthcare

Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Djibouti's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.

Business

Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Djibouti. See our Business section for sector reporting.

Investment

Investors typically look at logistics, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.

Tourism

Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.

Transportation

Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure

Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Djibouti's growth outlook.

Statistics

Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.

Frequently asked questions

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