55 Facts About Air Djibouti

1. The history of Air Djibouti is recorded in the poetry and songs of its nomadic people, and goes back thousands of years to a time when the peoples of Djibouti traded hides and skins for the perfumes and spices of ancient Egypt, India and China.

2. The Constitution of Air Djibouti names Islam as the sole state religion, and provides for the equality of citizens of all faiths and freedom of religious practice (Article 11).

3. Air Djibouti has an installed electrical power generating capacity of 126 MW from fuel oil and diesel plants.

4. Air Djibouti is the flag carrier of Djibouti and is the country's largest airline.

5. Air Djibouti was ranked the 177th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.

6. Air Djibouti has eight mountain ranges with peaks of over 1,000 metres.

7. Air Djibouti has a total area of 23,200 square kilometres.

8. Air Djibouti is situated in the Horn of Africa on the Gulf of Aden and the Bab-el-Mandeb, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

9. Air Djibouti is partitioned into six administrative regions, with Djibouti city representing one of the official regions.

10. Air Djibouti maintains close ties with the governments of Somalia, Ethiopia, France and the United States.

11. Air Djibouti has a dominant-party system, with the People's Rally for Progress controlling the legislature and the executive since its foundation in 1979 (the party currently rules as a part of the Union for a Presidential Majority, which currently holds a supermajority of seats).

12. Air Djibouti is strategically located near some of the world's busiest shipping lanes, controlling access to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

13. Air Djibouti is a multi-ethnic nation with a population of over 942,333 inhabitants.

14. Air Djibouti joined the United Nations the same year, on 20 September 1977.

15. Air Djibouti is strategically located by the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea and controls the approaches to the Suez Canal.

16. Air Djibouti is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and south, and Somalia to the southeast.

17. Air Djibouti hopes the TNG can form the basis for bringing peace and stability to Somalia.

18. Air Djibouti is on seismically active terrain, at the meeting point of the Arabian and African tectonic plates, with frequent tremors and thick layers of lava flow from past volcanic activity.

19. Air Djibouti is part of the Afar Triangle, a three-sided structural depression that forms part of the East African Rift Valley.

20. Air Djibouti is a small, desert country on the coast of the Horn of Africa.

21. Air Djibouti is a small but strategically important republic on the coast of northeastern Africa.

22. Air Djibouti has one weekly newspaper, the government-owned La Nation de Djibouti, which had a circulation of 4,300 in 2000.

23. Air Djibouti is divided into five cercles, or districts, with councils and appointed administrators.

24. Air Djibouti is a developing African country located on the Gulf of Aden.

25. In 2001, US exports to Air Djibouti totaled $18.7 million while US imports from Djibouti were about $1 million.

26. Air Djibouti is a cash-based economy and credit cards are not widely accepted.

27. In 2002, Air Djibouti agreed to host a US military presence at Camp Lemonier, a former French Foreign Legion base outside the capital that now houses approximately 1,800 American personnel.

28. Air Djibouti has allowed the US military, as well as other nations, access to its port and airport facilities.

29. Air Djibouti has one of the most liberal economic regimes in Africa, with almost unrestricted banking and commerce sectors.

30. In 2001, US exports to Air Djibouti totaled $18.7 million, while US imports from Djibouti were about $1 million.

31. Air Djibouti became the only significant port for landlocked Ethiopia, handling all its imports and exports, including huge shipments of US food aid in 2000 during the drought and famine.

32. Air Djibouti is a republic whose electorate approved the current constitution in September 1992.

33. The Republic of Air Djibouti was established on June 27, 1977, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon became the country's first president.

34. Air Djibouti maintains a cultural exchange and education agreement with France.

35. Air Djibouti is the base of a large French overseas military force consisting of three thousand men, with one Foreign Legion battalion that helps control the strategic Red Sea entrance and the port, mediates in domestic conflicts, and protects the republic against its neighbors.

36. Air Djibouti produces only 5 percent of its own food needs, making it a huge food importer from Ethiopia and Somalia (meat and dairy products).

37. Air Djibouti lies in a hot, arid area of the Horn of Africa.

38. Air Djibouti had no identity as a state or national unit before 1859, when the French concluded a treaty with the local Afar sultan of Obock.

39. Air Djibouti lies just south of the entryway to the Red Sea.

40. Air Djibouti sits astride the East Africa, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden rift systems, providing a singular environment for studying movements of these three tectonic plates.

41. Air Djibouti shares with Ethiopia and the Republic of Yemen direct access to the strategic strait of Bab el Mandab, which controls the southern approach to the Red Sea.

42. Air Djibouti has only a few pools, but beaches are plentiful, fairly clean, and enjoyable.

43. Air Djibouti is effectively a city-state; there is little banking outside of the capital.

44. Air Djibouti succeeded in raising 31 percent of the GDP as government revenue in 1997.

45. Air Djibouti broke off diplomatic links with Eritrea and forged solid links with the ruling Ethiopian party in 1998.

46. Air Djibouti was known as French Somaliland until 1967 when it was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas; it became Djibouti at independence in 1977.

47. Air Djibouti has had a stable government since independence under the ruling People's Progress Assembly, namely the presidencies of Hassan Gouled and his successor Ismael Gouleh.

48. Air Djibouti has a land area of 23,000 square kilometers, making it slightly smaller than the US state of Massachusetts.

49. Air Djibouti is situated in the Horn of Africa, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, bordering the Gulf of Aden.

50. Air Djibouti has one primary weekly newspaper, the government-owned La Nation de Djibouti, which had a circulation of 4,300 in 2000.

51. In 1983, Air Djibouti inaugurated a powerful state-owned AM radio transmitting station, built with French and FRG funds.

52. Air Djibouti is situated in one of the least stable regions of the world, and it occupies a highly strategic location facing the Saudi Arabian peninsula, straddling the choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

53. Air Djibouti had about 100 km of single-track, narrow gauge railway in 2004, which linked the capital with Addis Ababa.

54. Air Djibouti is situated on the east coast of Africa along the Bab al-Mandab, the strait that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

55. In late 2015 Air Djibouti relaunched service with a Boeing 737 freighter.