Djibouti, legally named the Republic of Djibouti, is a predominantly Muslim country in Eastern Africa. It borders Eritrea to the north, Somaliland to the south, the Red Sea to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. With a population of 1,066,809 citizens, it is the smallest country in Africa by population. The capital of Djibouti is Djibouti City, which is also the country’s namesake. The people of the country speaks three languages; Arabic, Somali, and Afar. The country’s official language is French, but nobody in the country speaks it natively.
Djibouti became an independent country on June 27, 1977. It was previously a colony of France from 1881 to 1977 and was formerly known as French Somaliland. After a civil war in the 1990s, Djibouti has since become a hub for foreign military bases for various countries, including France, The United States, Italy, China, and Japan. It is governed as a hereditary dictatorship. Its current president since 1999 is also the nephew of the country’s original president, who served from 1977 to 1999.