Natural hazards:
earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the
Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods
Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land;
desertification; endangered species
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to
Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly
wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa
People Djibouti
Population:
486,530 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 105,760/female 105,068)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 135,119/female 124,367)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 8,183/female 8,033) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.2 years
male: 18.7 years
female: 17.7 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.02% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
39.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)