Home

Djibouti vs. Eritrea

Geography

DjiboutiEritrea
LocationEastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, between Eritrea and SomaliaEastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Geographic coordinates11 30 N, 43 00 E15 00 N, 39 00 E
Map referencesAfricaAfrica
Areatotal: 23,200 sq km

land: 23,180 sq km

water: 20 sq km
total: 117,600 sq km

land: 101,000 sq km

water: 16,600 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly smaller than New Jerseyslightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundariestotal: 528 km

border countries (3): Eritrea 125 km, Ethiopia 342 km, Somalia 61 km
total: 1,840 km

border countries (3): Djibouti 125 km, Ethiopia 1033 km, Sudan 682 km
Coastline314 km2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climatedesert; torrid, dryhot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Terraincoastal plain and plateau separated by central mountainsdominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Elevation extremeshighest point: Moussa Ali 2,021 m

lowest point: Lac Assal -155 m

mean elevation: 430 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m

lowest point: near Kulul within the Danakil Depression -75 m

mean elevation: 853 m
Natural resourcespotential geothermal power, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleumgold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Land useagricultural land: 73.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 73.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.2% (2018 est.)

other: 26.4% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 75.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 6.8% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 68.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 15.1% (2018 est.)

other: 9.8% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land10 sq km (2012)210 sq km (2012)
Natural hazards

earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods

volcanism: experiences limited volcanic activity; Ardoukoba (298 m) last erupted in 1978; Manda-Inakir, located along the Ethiopian border, is also historically active

frequent droughts, rare earthquakes and volcanoes; locust swarms

volcanism: Dubbi (1,625 m), which last erupted in 1861, was the country's only historically active volcano until Nabro (2,218 m) came to life on 12 June 2011

Environment - current issuesinadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution; limited arable land; deforestation (forests threatened by agriculture and the use of wood for fuel); desertification; endangered speciesdeforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement
Geography - notestrategic location near world's busiest shipping lanes and close to Arabian oilfields; terminus of rail traffic into Ethiopia; mostly wasteland; Lac Assal (Lake Assal) is the lowest point in Africa and the saltiest lake in the worldstrategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
Total renewable water resources300 million cubic meters (2017 est.)7.315 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionmost densely populated areas are in the east; the largest city is Djibouti, with a population over 600,000; no other city in the country has a total population over 50,000 as shown in this population distribution mapdensity is highest in the center of the country in and around the cities of Asmara (capital) and Keren; smaller settlements exist in the north and south as shown in this population distribution map

Source: CIA Factbook