Djibouti Country Overview
Where is Djibouti located? The Republic of Djibouti can be found in East Africa, right on the Bab el Mandeb Strait. Djibouti was occupied by the French during colonial times, but has been independent for about 30 years. On the time zone map, which shows countries roughly divided into their world time zones along the lines of longitude, Djibouti is in a time zone called “East Africa Time” (EAT). In this time zone there is a time difference of 3 hours from the world clock. This means that the clocks there are always 3 hours later than those showing Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Djibouti is 921,804, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 921,804 |
| Population growth rate | 2.07% |
| Birth rate | 23.40 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 61.99 years |
| Men | 59.52 years |
| Women | 64.52 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 30.71% |
| 15-64 years | 65.46% |
| 65 years and above | 3.83% |
| Median age | 23.20 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.86 |
| Population density | 39.73 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 83.70% |
| Ethnicities | |
| approx. 60% Issa (Northern Somali), 35% Afar; Europeans (especially French) and Arabs | |
| Religions | |
| Muslim 94%, Christian 6% | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.495 |
| HDI ranking | 171st out of 194 |
People in Djibouti
About 850,000 people live in Djibouti. About 60 out of 100 residents are Somali, 35 out of 100 are Afar. Somali live mainly in the south of the country, Afar in the north and west. While the Somali live more as farmers, the Afar move around with their herds as nomads. The Afar speak Cushite. There can be tension between the two ethnic groups. The Afar who live on Lake Assal also find their income from the salt trade.
Some French also still live in Djibouti. There are also Arabs and immigrants from Ethiopia and Somalia, the neighboring states of Djibouti. Incidentally, Somalis from Somalia are allowed to flee to Djibouti if there are problems in their country, which is not infrequently the case. Immigrants from neighboring countries make up a large proportion of the population in Djibouti.
Many people now live in cities. 77 out of 100 residents are city dwellers and half of them live in the slums. A third of the population is younger than 15 years and 60 out of 100 people have no job. Few people can even afford anything here and travel as business people or politicians. The employees from abroad are also doing well in comparison. But most of Djibouti’s population is very poor.
Languages in Djibouti
Religions in Djibouti
Most of the people – 94 out of 100 – are Sunni Muslims. People of other religions are not persecuted in Djibouti. There are also some Catholics living in the country.