This brief report gives a background of Djibouti’s independence on 27 June 1977. It then looks at Djibouti’s basic facts such as area, population, G.N.P, resources, the railway and port, political parties and its neighbours. Djibouti is then looked at in a wider international context, with the Arab States, the Soviet Union, black African States and West (United States and France) having interests. While Djibouti will continue to need French financial and technical aid, its development as an independent state will depend primarily on avoiding involvement in the threatening conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia. Djibouti is politically dependent on Somalia and the Arab states, while it still has considerable economic dependence on Ethiopia’s transit trade.
