Djibouti

Location	Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and Somalia
Geographic coordinates	11 30 N, 43 00 E
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 23,200 sq km land: 23,180 sq km water: 20 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Land boundaries	total: 516 km border countries: Eritrea 109 km, Ethiopia 349 km, Somalia 58 km
Coastline	314 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	desert; torrid, dry
Terrain	coastal plain and plateau separated by central mountains
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m highest point: Moussa Ali 2,028 m
Natural resources	potential geothermal power, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum
Land use	arable land: 0.04% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.96% (2005)
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	0.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 0.02 cu km/yr (84%/0%/16%) per capita: 25 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods volcanism: experiences limited volcanic activity; Ardoukoba (elev. 298 m) last erupted in 1978; Manda-Inakir, located along the Ethiopian border, is also historically active
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; limited arable land; desertification; endangered species
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa and the saltiest lake in the world