Djibouti Travel Guide

Djibouti — Country and Tourist Information

Browse the Djibouti Photo Gallery

Country Facts

Location: Northeast Africa, Gulf of Aden.
Language: The official languages are Arabic and French. Afar and Somali are spoken locally. English is spoken by hoteliers, taxi drivers and traders.
Area: 23,200 sq km (8,958 sq miles).
Time Zone: GMT + 3.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.
Population: 721,000 (UN estimate 2005)
Population Density: 31.1 per sq km
Capital City: Djibouti. Population: 575,100 (2005).
Government: Republic. Gained independence from France in 1977.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita since 2001.
Head of State: President Ismail Omar Guelleh since 1999 (re-elected in 2005).
Religion: Predominantly Muslim (94%) with Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox minorities.

Recent History

Ismail Omar Guelleh succeeded his uncle, Hasan Gouled Aptidon, in April 1999. He won the presidential elections as the RPP candidate with 74% of the vote. The RPP joined with FRUD to form a new ruling coalition, l’Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP). The UMP took 62.7% of the votes but won all 65 seats in the Chamber of Deputies due to Djibouti’s unusual first-past-the-post list system in the parliamentary elections in January 2003. Presidential elections were held on 8 April 2005. Guelleh claimed 96.85 of the vote. The opposition l’Union pour l’Alternative Démocratique (UAD) disputed the high turnout figure of 78.9% and called for a boycott of the polls. Guelleh is now serving his second six-year term and will not be eligible to stand again.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +253.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good in and around the capital and parts of the coast, and poor to non-existent elsewhere.

Internet

Services are accessible in the main post office and some hotels. There is at least one Internet cafe in Djibouti.

Media

The main newspaper, La Nation, is owned by the government, as is Radiodiffusion-Télévision de Djibouti (RTD), which operates the national radio and TV. There are no private broadcasters. All electronic media is closely controlled by the government. Private newspapers and other publications are generally allowed to circulate freely, but journalists exercise self-censorship. The official media does not criticize the government. US-sponsored Arabic-language Radio Sawa broadcasts programs to East Africa and Arabia from a transmitter in Djibouti.

Post

Letters and parcels to western Europe can take about one week by airmail or up to three weeks by surface mail

Press

• Djibouti has no daily papers.
• A weekly newspaper, La Nation, is government-owned and published in French.
• There is at least one Arabic newspaper.
• Other weekly newspapers published in French include Le Renouveau, La République (both owned by the opposition party), Le Progrès, and Le Temps.

Radio

• Radio Djibouti is government-owned and broadcast in Afar, Arabic and Somali.

Public Holidays

Below area listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2010
25 Dec Christmas Day

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
15 Feb Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
1 May Labor Day
27 Jun Independence Day
28 Jun Ascension of the Prophet
30 Aug Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
6 Nov Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
26 Nov El-am-Hejir (Islamic New Year)
25 Dec Christmas Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
4 Feb Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
1 May Labor Day
17 Jun Ascension of the Prophet
27 Jun Independence Day
19 Aug Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
25 Oct Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
15 Nov El-am-Hejir (Islamic New Year)
25 Dec Christmas Day
Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations. During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be interrupted. Many restaurants are closed during the day and there may be restrictions on smoking and drinking. Some disruption may continue into Eid al-Fitr itself. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha may last anything from two to 10 days, depending on the region.