Djibouti vs. Eritrea
Government
| Djibouti | Eritrea | |
|---|---|---|
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Djibouti conventional short form: Djibouti local long form: Republique de Djibouti/Jumhuriyat Jibuti local short form: Djibouti/Jibuti former: French Somaliland, French Territory of the Afars and Issas etymology: the country name derives from the capital city of Djibouti | conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia etymology: the country name derives from the ancient Greek appellation "Erythra Thalassa" meaning Red Sea, which is the major water body bordering the country |
| Government type | presidential republic | presidential republic |
| Capital | name: Djibouti geographic coordinates: 11 35 N, 43 09 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the origin of the name is disputed; multiple descriptions, possibilities, and theories have been proposed | name: Asmara geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 56 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name means "they [women] made them unite," which according to Tigrinya oral tradition refers to the women of the four clans in the Asmara area who persuaded their menfolk to unite and defeat their common enemy; the name has also been translated as "live in peace" |
| Administrative divisions | 6 districts (cercles, singular - cercle); Ali Sabieh, Arta, Dikhil, Djibouti, Obock, Tadjourah | 6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (South), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi K'eyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea) |
| Independence | 27 June 1977 (from France) | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 27 June (1977) | Independence Day, 24 May (1991) |
| Constitution | history: approved by referendum 4 September 1992 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; Assembly consideration of proposals requires assent at least one third of the membership; passage requires a simple majority vote by the Assembly and approval by simple majority vote in a referendum; the president can opt to bypass a referendum if adopted by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; constitutional articles on the sovereignty of Djibouti, its republican form of government, and its pluralist form of democracy cannot by amended; amended 2006, 2008, 2010 | history: ratified by the Constituent Assembly 23 May 1997 (not fully implemented) amendments: proposed by the president of Eritrea or by assent of at least one half of the National Assembly membership; passage requires at least an initial three-quarters majority vote by the Assembly and, after one year, final passage by at least four-fifths majority vote by the Assembly |
| Legal system | mixed legal system based primarily on the French civil code (as it existed in 1997), Islamic religious law (in matters of family law and successions), and customary law | mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic religious law |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Ismail Omar GUELLEH (since 8 May 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil MOHAMED (since 1 April 2013) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term; election last held on 9 April 2021 (next to be held in April 2026); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ismail Omar GUELLEH reelected president for a fifth term; percent of vote - Ismail Omar GUELLEH (RPP) 97.4%, Zakaria Ismael FARAH (MDEND) 2.7% | chief of state: President ISAIAS Afwerki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afwerki (since 8 June 1993) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); the only election was held on 8 June 1993, following independence from Ethiopia (next election postponed indefinitely) election results: ISAIAS Afwerki elected president by the transitional National Assembly; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afwerki (PFDJ) 95%, other 5% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale, formerly the Chamber of Deputies (65 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 23 February 2018 (next to be held in February 2023) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 57, UDJ-PDD 7, CDU 1; composition - men 47, women 18, percent of women 26.7% | description: unicameral National Assembly (Hagerawi Baito) (150 seats; 75 members indirectly elected by the ruling party and 75 directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to form a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely due to the war with Ethiopia, and as of late 2020, there was no sitting legislative body election results: NA |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA magistrates); Constitutional Council (consists of 6 magistrates) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court magistrates appointed by the president with the advice of the Superior Council of the Magistracy CSM, a 10-member body consisting of 4 judges, 3 members (non parliamentarians and judges) appointed by the president, and 3 appointed by the National Assembly president or speaker; magistrates appointed for life with retirement at age 65; Constitutional Council magistrate appointments - 2 by the president of the republic, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, and 2 by the CSM; magistrates appointed for 8-year, non-renewable terms subordinate courts: High Court of Appeal; 5 Courts of First Instance; customary courts; State Court (replaced sharia courts in 2003) | highest courts: High Court (consists of 20 judges and organized into civil, commercial, criminal, labor, administrative, and customary sections) judge selection and term of office: High Court judges appointed by the president subordinate courts: regional/zonal courts; community courts; special courts; sharia courts (for issues dealing with Muslim marriage, inheritance, and family); military courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Center for United Democrats or CDU [Ahmed Mohamed YOUSSOUF, chairman] Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Abdillahi HAMARITEH] Djibouti Development Party or PDD [Mohamed Daoud CHEHEM] Front for Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Front pour la Restauration de l'Unite Democratique) or FRUD [Ali Mohamed DAOUD] Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development [Daher Ahmed FARAH] Movement for Development and Liberty or MoDel [Ismail Ahmed WABERI] Movement for the Development and Balance of the Djiboutian Nation (Mouvement pour le Dévelopment et l'Équilibre de la Nation Djiboutienne) or MDEND [Zakaria Ismael FARAH] National Democratic Party or PND [Aden Robleh AWALEH] People's Rally for Progress or RPP [Ismail Omar GUELLEH] (governing party) Peoples Social Democratic Party or PPSD [Hasna Moumin BAHDON] Republican Alliance for Democracy or ARD [Aden Mohamed ABDOU, interim president] Union for a Presidential Majority or UMP (coalition includes RPP, FRUD, PND, PPSD) Union for Democracy and Justice or UDJ [Ilya Ismail GUEDI Hared] | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afwerki] (the only party recognized by the government) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU (candidates), COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS (observer), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Siad DOUALEH (28 January 2016) chancery: 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 331-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 331-0302 email address and website: info@djiboutiembassyus.org https://www.djiboutiembassyus.org/ | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires BERHANE Gebrehiwet Solomon (since 15 March 2011) chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 email address and website: embassyeritrea@embassyeritrea.org https://us.embassyeritrea.org/ |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jonathan Goodale PRATT (since 22 February 2021) embassy: Lot 350-B Haramouss, B.P. 185 mailing address: 2150 Djibouti Place, Washington DC 20521-2150 telephone: [253] 21-45-30-00 FAX: [253] 21-45-31-29 email address and website: DjiboutiACS@state.gov https://dj.usembassy.gov/ | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven C. WALKER (since December 2019) embassy: 179 Alaa Street, Asmara mailing address: 7170 Asmara Place, Washington DC 20521-7170 telephone: [291] (1) 12-00-04 FAX: [291] (1) 12-75-84 email address and website: consularasmara@state.gov https://er.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of light blue (top) and light green with a white isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a red five-pointed star in the center; blue stands for sea and sky and the Issa Somali people; green symbolizes earth and the Afar people; white represents peace; the red star recalls the struggle for independence and stands for unity | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle; green stands for the country's agriculture economy, red signifies the blood shed in the fight for freedom, and blue symbolizes the bounty of the sea; the wreath-olive branch symbol is similar to that on the first flag of Eritrea from 1952; the shape of the red triangle broadly mimics the shape of the country note: one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Vanuatu |
| National anthem | name: "Jabuuti" (Djibouti) lyrics/music: Aden ELMI/Abdi ROBLEH note: adopted 1977 | name: "Ertra, Ertra, Ertra" (Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea) lyrics/music: SOLOMON Tsehaye Beraki/Isaac Abraham MEHAREZGI and ARON Tekle Tesfatsion note: adopted 1993; upon independence from Ethiopia |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| National symbol(s) | red star; national colors: light blue, green, white, red | camel; national colors: green, red, blue |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the mother must be a citizen of Djibouti dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Eritrea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 20 years |
Source: CIA Factbook
