吉布地(Djibouti)

正式名称吉布地共和国（Republic of Djibouti）

旧称法属索马利兰（French Somaliland, 1885～1967）、法属阿法尔和伊萨领地（French Territory of the Afars and Issas, 1967～1977）

非洲东部共和国。临红海出入口亚丁湾。面积22,999平方公里。人口约461,000（2001）。首都吉布地。一半以上人口是伊萨人及其同源的索马利人。阿法尔人约占2/5，其余包括叶门阿拉伯人和欧洲人（法国人居多）。语言：阿拉伯语和法语（均为官方语）。宗教︰逊尼派伊斯兰教。货币︰吉布地法郎（DF）。吉布地分为三个主要地区：海岸平原，中、南部的火山高地，以及北部的高山地带。其中穆萨山海拔2,028公尺。土地主要是沙漠，炽热、乾燥且荒芜，可耕地不足1%。吉布地经济属开发中市场经济，几乎完全以贸易和服务业为基础，以吉布地市为中心。政府形式是共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。

西元前3世纪左右，阿法尔人的祖先阿拉伯人定居在此地。後来索马利的伊萨人居住在此地。西元825年传教士将伊斯兰教传入该地区。阿拉伯人曾控制此地区贸易直到16世纪。1888年成为法国保护国法属索马利兰。1946年法属索马利兰成为法国海外领地，1977年获得独立。20世纪晚期，该国政府得面对来自衣索比亚和索马利亚战区的难民及来自厄立特里亚的国内冲突。1990年代该国的政治状况普遍不稳定。

English version：

Djibouti

formerly (1885-1967)French Somaliland(1967-77)French Territory of the Afars and IssasRepublic, eastern Africa, on the Gulf of Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea. Area: 8,880 sq mi (22,999 sq km). Population (1997): 622,000. Capital: Djibouti. Over half of the people are Issas and related Somali clans; Afars are nearly two-fifths; the balance includes Yemeni Arabs and Europeans, mostly French. Languages: French, Arabic (both official). Religion: Sunnite Islam. Currency: Djibouti franc. Djibouti is divided into three principal regions: the coastal plain; the volcanic plateaus in the country's south and center; and the mountain ranges in the north, reaching 6,654 ft (2,028 m) at Mount Mousa. The land is primarily desert: hot, dry, and desolate; less than 1% is arable. Djibouti has a developing market economy that is almost entirely based on trade and commercial services, centering around Djibouti city. The country is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Settled around the 3rd century BC by the Arab ancestors of the Afars, it was later populated by Somali Issas. In AD 825, Islam was brought to the area by missionaries. Arabs controlled the trade in this region until the 16th century; it became the French protectorate of French Somaliland in 1888. In 1946 it became a French overseas territory, and in 1977 gained its independence. In the late 20th century, the country has received refugees from the Ethiopian-Somali war, and from civil conflicts in Eritrea. In the 1990s it suffered from political unrest.