A city state with a desert hinterland, Djibouti lies in northeast Africa on the strait linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Known from 1967 as the French Territory of the Afars and Issas, Djibouti became independent in 1977. Its economy relies on the main port, the railroad to Addis Ababa, and French aid. A guerrilla war which erupted in 1991 as a result of tension between the Issas in the south and the Afars in the north has largely been resolved.

The main ethnic groups are the Afars and Issas; tension between these groups developed into a guerrilla war in 1991. The population was swelled in 1992 by 20,000 Somali refugees. The rural people are mostly nomadic.

Strengths

Free port in key Red Sea location; large profits from 1991 Gulf War and from 1992 US and UN intervention in Somalia. Continuing development of Djibouti and Tadjoura port facilities.

Weaknesses

Dependence on French aid and garrison. Civil war has delayed planned Saudi investment. Other ports on Red Sea now providing stiff competition.

President Hassan Gouled Aptidon, an Issa, backed by France, dominated politics from independence in 1977 until his retirement in 1999. Afar fears of Issa domination erupted in 1991, when the Afar guerrilla group FRUD took control of much of the country. The French intervened militarily to keep Gouled in power, but forced him to hold elections in 1992, won by the RPP. The FRUD became a legal political party following a 1996 peace agreement. An alliance of the RPP and FRUD won the elections in 1997. Presidential elections in April 1999 were won by Ismael Omar Guelleh, a former close aide of Gouled, amid opposition claims of electoral fraud.

France, with a key military presence, is pressing for greater democratization. Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Eritrea all seek to contain Afar secessionism. In 2000 the southern town of Arta hosted the Somali reconciliation conference.

The size of the armed forces is a state secret, but is estimated at 9600 personnel; former FRUD guerrillas were integrated into the army. There is a 3200-strong French garrison.

The few mineral resources are scarcely exploited. Geothermal energy is being developed and natural gas has recently been found. The guerrilla war delayed attempts to develop underground water supplies for agriculture.

The concentration of business around Djibouti port means that inland desert areas are not threatened. Ecological issues are not a national concern.

Djibouti's port, created by the French in the 19th century and now a modern container facility, is its key asset. Landlocked Ethiopia's vital link to the sea is the Addis Ababa–Djibouti railroad.

AIDS is a growing problem in Djibouti port, with its large prostitute population. UN estimates for 1999 suggested that there were some 37,000 AIDS and HIV sufferers. Small French-financed hospitals cater for the urban elite.

Schooling is mostly in French, although there has been a growing emphasis on Islamic teaching, particularly as Saudi Arabia has declared an interest in providing aid for education. Djibouti has no university.

The government has accused FRUD of atrocities, but the state's own human rights record has been criticized by Amnesty International. While drug smuggling and prostitution are rife, petty crime, rather than violence, is the norm.

As happens in many African states, the wealth in Djibouti tends to be concentrated among those closest to government. Djiboutians working in the ports also do well, although much port labor is expatriate. The guerrilla war has had little effect on port life, since it is almost completely isolated from the rest of the country. The nomads of the interior are the poorest group.

Trade in the mild narcotic qat, or "green gold," which is grown in Ethiopia and shipped through Djibouti, is highly lucrative, to the extent that the state is now taking its share of the profits. In Djibouti, qat chewing is an age-old social ritual.

Most visitors are passing through on their way to Ethiopia, or coming to see relatives working in Djibouti port.

The French set up a coaling station at Djibouti in the 1880s, to balance the British presence in Aden.

• 1917 Railroad from Addis Ababa reaches Djibouti port.
• 1977 Independence.
• 1981–1992 One-party state.
• 1989 Eruption of violence between Afars and Issas.
• 1991 FRUD launches armed insurrection.
• 1994 Peace agreement with FRUD.
• 1999 Ismael Omar Guelleh becomes president.
• 2000 Coup attempt by police officers fails.