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Formerly known as the French Territory of the Afars and
the Issas, this East African state became Djibouti in 1977.
Bordering the Red Sea, the Republic of Djibouti is strategically
located near the world's busiest shipping lanes and is also
close to several Arabian oilfields. A peace accord in 1994 ended
a three-year uprising by Afars rebels.
Djibouti has a population of approximately 450,000 people,
60% of which are Somali, 35% Afar, and 5% French, Arab, Ethiopian,
and Italian. Of the populace, about 94% are Muslim 94% and
6% are Christian. A study in the year 2000 estimated that
the average life expectancy for males is 49 years, and that
of females is 52 years. In terms of literacy, 46.2% of the
population that is over the age of 15 is literate. This constitutes
60.3% of the males and 32.7% of the females.
In 1999, the GDP per capita of Djibouti was US$1,200. The
Djiboutian economy is founded in service activities, due to
the country's strategic location and status as a free trade
zone in northeast Africa. The major imports of this country
include foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals,
and petroleum products. The commodities of exportation are
mainly reexports, hides and skins, and coffee (in transit).
As of 1998, there are more than 7,900 telephone lines in
the country. This accounts for approximately 1.21 lines per
hundred people, one of the highest ratios in East Africa.
The telephone facilities in the capital city are ample, and
so are the microwave radio relay connections to more remote
areas of the country. Domestically, there is the microwave
radio relay network. Internationally, Djibouti has submarine
cables to Jiddah, Suez, Sicily, Marseilles, Colombo, and Singapore,
as well as 2 satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian
Ocean) and 1 Arabsat.
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