Fast Facts about Djibouti

Fast Facts:

Djibouti takes the title of the third (3rd) smallest country .

Approximately 90% of Djibouti’s land is desert. Djibouti has no permanent rivers, only salt lakes in the desert. It has the Grand Bara Desert which covers the southern part of Djibouti.

Outside of Antarctica, the saltiest lake in the world is Lac Assal which is located in Djibouti.

This lake is even saltier than the famous Dead Sea.

This lake is the lowest point in Djibouti, but it is also the lowest point on the entire continent of Africa.

Djibouti has two areas of closed forest, Mount Mable and the Foret du Day National Park. The latter is the largest forest in all of Djibouti. Within this forest is a very large stand of East African Juniper trees (Juniperus procera) which grow to be more than nine hundred and fifty (950) meters high.  Interesting fact about Djibouti is that it is one of 16 countries on Earth where there are almost no trees. According to information from the World Bank Open Data, less than 1% of the land is covered in forest. Other similar places are Iceland, Libya, Lesotho and Jordan.

The juniper tree in Djibouti is the only type of juniper found south of the equator.

A stamp printed and used in Djibouti in the year 2011 featured the image of a famous American singer/songwriter and dancer, Michael Jackson.

In Djibouti, Christmas is not celebrated on the traditional date of December twenty-fifth (25th). It is instead celebrated on January seventh (7th).

There is a railway connecting Djibouti to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The construction of this railway began in the year 1897 and was completed in the year 1917. This railway was replaced and updated in the year 2017.

An immigrant from Arabia migrated to the area now known as Djibouti in the third (3rd) century BC. The descendants of the immigrants are still one of the two main ethnic groups found on Djibouti.

The French made Djibouti the capital of French Somaliland in the year 1891. Then, in the year 1977, Djibouti gained its independence from France.

In the year 1967, Djibouti has renamed the French Territories of the Afars and the Issas. Its name would not change again until the country gained its independence in 1977. It then officially became the Republic of Djibouti.

The most common religion in Djibouti is Islam. There are many mosques located all over the country. The tomb of Sheikh Abu Yazid is located in the Goda Mountains and is considered to be a very holy place for the local Muslims.

There is a small coral island called Moucha Island located off of the coast of Djibouti. This island is less than three (3) kilometers long.

Djibouti is home to military bases for several nations. Among these nations are France, the United States, Japan and China. The United States base is the only permanent US military base in Africa. Djibouti’s status as a model of stability in a volatile region and its proximity to the world’s busiest shipping route make it particularly attractive to global military powers.

The capital of Djibouti is Djibouti City. This city contains seventy-six percent (76%) of the country’s population.

Only one Olympic competitor from Djibouti has ever won a medal. The athlete was a man named Hussein Ahmed Salah. He won the bronze medal for the marathon at the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea.

Whale sharks are a common sight in Djibouti. The country is a popular place to swim with these magnificent creatures.

Djibouti officially dissolved their national football team in the year 2017 due to constant poor performance. The team never once qualified for a major international tournament and are ranked one hundred and eighty-fifth (185th) in the world.

Djibouti is located in Eastern Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia as well as the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Djibouti has two official languages. These languages are French and Arabic.

There is a peninsula in Northeast Africa known as the Horn of Africa, Djibouti is situated within the horn.