ABC gives us it's interpretation of the CIA's statistics, below.

Hard to believe the second sentence failed to note
that oil is they prime cargo on those shipping routes.

Or, that Ollie North claimed the area is not strategically important.

Most people in the dry, rocky country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa are nomadic herders. Djibouti is located on strategic shipping routes between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Because the country is so close to the Arabian peninsula, tribes in Djibouti were among the first in Africa to adopt Islam. The former French colony gained independence in 1977. Djibouti produces nothing for export and depends on trade, banking and French aid.

People
Languages	French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Major Religions	Muslim 94%, Christian 6%
Ethnic groups	Somali 60%, Afar 35%, French, Arab, Ethiopian, and Italian 5%
Growth rate	1.51%
Birth rate	41.75 births/1,000
Death rate	14.69 deaths/1,000
Fertility rate	5.94 children/woman
Male life expectancy	49
Female life expectancy	53
Infant mortality rate	102.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Economy
Labor force	282,000
Unemployment rate	40% (1996)
Inflation Rate	3% (1997)
Gross domestic product (total value of goods and services produced annually)	$520.0 million (1997 est.)
Budget	$175.0 million (1997 est.)
Debt	$276.0 million (1996)
Exports	$39.6 million (1996 est.), primarily hides and skins, coffee (in transit) (1995)
Imports	$200.5 million (1996 est.), primarily foods, beverages, transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum products (1995)
Defense spending	N/A
Highways	2,890 km (1996)

Source: 1998 CIA World Factbook

The Ethiopia-Eritrea War has been
a major boost to the economy.

Africa | Updates

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