Overview of Djibouti
Djibouti is a sub-Saharan East African country with a combined land area of about 23,200km2 (Wikipedia). It is located in the East African region, bothering countries like Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Yemen, Gulf of Aden and the red sea with its capital in Djibouti city. It is not a landlocked country, it is blessed with a coastline of about 314km2 that houses one liner ports and a terminal port. About 80% of Djibouti’s annual port traffic is tied to Ethiopia, Djibouti can benefit from its neighbour’s continued economic recovery, but the downside is that Djibouti will also remain vulnerable to possible disruptions due to political instability in the Tigray region (Coface).
Main agricultural products include Fruits, Vegetables, sheep, goat camels and animal hides. In Djibouti, Industry accounts for a fifth of the Djibouti gross domestic product as agriculture plays a much lesser impact on the economy. The tertiary activity contributes to more than 80% of Djibouti’s wealth (world bank).
Economic Snapshots
Djibouti has just one port, housed on the coastline of 314km2. It is predominantly a Muslim nation, Sunni (94%), Christians and others (6%). French (official), Arabic (official) Somali and Afar are the languages spoken in the country. It is a lower middle income country with a GDP per capita income of about $3,426 (2020 ). The GDP was about $3.38 Billion (2020). Inflation and unemployment rate is 5.3% (2020) and 28.4% respectively (trading economics), while about 50.29% of the country’s population is between 1-24years of age. The major products exported from the country include Chlorides ($45.9M), Palm Oil ($45M), ($11.6M), Vegetables($10.9), Sheep and Goats ($9.46M).
Foreign company should be looking at producing or exporting the following products to Djibouti, as its major imports are Petroleum products($374M), Fertilizers ($246M), Palm Oil ($232M), Sunflower seeds ($200M), Palm oil (70.3M) and Cars ($69.4) (OEC 2020).