Djibouti 🇩🇯
Djibouti is a country in Africa with a population of 1,120,849. Its capital is Djibouti. The official currency is DJF, and the main languages are French, Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Djibouti
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 1,120,849
- Area: 23,200 km²
- Density: 48.3 people per km²
- Currency: DJF
- Languages: French, Arabic
- ISO code: DJ
Where Djibouti sits
Djibouti 🇩🇯 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Djibouti. It covers 23,200 square kilometres — 147th in the world — and is home to about 1,120,849 people, 159th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Djibouti compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Djibouti sits closest to Eswatini and Cyprus. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Belize and El Salvador.
At 48.3 people per square kilometre it is about 1.2 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
French is an official language in 30 countries here, among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi, and 25 others. The DJF is used by Djibouti and no one else.
To see Djibouti next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Djibouti
Easy one: the capital has the same name as the country, so the answer is Djibouti twice. For the flag, think sea (blue) above land (green), with a white sail carrying a red star.
The flag of Djibouti: light blue, green, white and red
🇩🇯 The flag is light blue over green horizontal bands, with a white triangle at the hoist holding a red five-pointed star. Blue stands for the sea and sky, green for the earth, white for peace, and the red star for the struggle for independence and unity.
Region and neighbours
Djibouti is a small country in the Horn of Africa, on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden. It shares land borders with 3 countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
- Eritrea 🇪🇷 — capital Asmara
- Ethiopia 🇪🇹 — capital Addis Ababa
- Somalia 🇸🇴 — capital Mogadishu
Three facts about Djibouti
- Lake Assal, about 155 m below sea level, is the lowest point in Africa.
- Djibouti became independent from France in 1977.
- Its port sits beside one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the route between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Sources: Wikipedia: Djibouti, Wikipedia: Flag of Djibouti, Wikipedia: Lake Assal (Djibouti), CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Djibouti
- African capitals quiz — match Djibouti to Djibouti
- African flags quiz — spot the Djibouti flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Djibouti
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Djibouti those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Djibouti
- Djibouti capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Djibouti
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Djibouti
- Capital of Djibouti: Djibouti — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Djibouti flag?
The flag of Djibouti is light blue over green horizontal bands, with a white triangle at the hoist holding a red five-pointed star. Blue stands for the sea and sky, green for the earth, white for peace, and the red star for the struggle for independence and unity.
Which countries border Djibouti?
Djibouti shares land borders with Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
How can I remember the capital of Djibouti?
Easy one: the capital has the same name as the country, so the answer is Djibouti twice. For the flag, think sea (blue) above land (green), with a white sail carrying a red star.