# Demographics of Djibouti

Demographic features of Djibouti include population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

## Population

Djibouti is a multiethnic country. As of 2018, it has a population of around 884,017 inhabitants. Djibouti's population grew rapidly during the latter half of the 20th century, increasing from about 69,589 in 1955 to around 869,099 by 2015.
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects, the total population was 1,105,557 in 2021 compared to 62,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 35.8%, 60.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.3% was 65 years or older.
| | Total population | Population aged 0–14 (%) | Population aged 15–64 (%) | Population aged 65+ (%) |
| 1950 | 62 000 | 46.8 | 51.2 | 2.0 |
| 1955 | 70 000 | 46.0 | 52.0 | 2.0 |
| 1960 | 85 000 | 45.4 | 52.5 | 2.0 |
| 1965 | 117 000 | 44.9 | 53.0 | 2.0 |
| 1970 | 162 000 | 45.8 | 52.2 | 2.1 |
| 1975 | 224 000 | 45.9 | 52.0 | 2.1 |
| 1980 | 340 000 | 45.3 | 52.5 | 2.2 |
| 1985 | 403 000 | 44.6 | 53.1 | 2.3 |
| 1990 | 562 000 | 44.2 | 53.4 | 2.4 |
| 1995 | 627 000 | 43.4 | 54.1 | 2.5 |
| 2000 | 732 000 | 41.3 | 55.9 | 2.7 |
| 2005 | 808 000 | 38.5 | 58.5 | 3.0 |
| 2010 | 889 000 | 35.8 | 60.9 | 3.3 |
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 440 066 | 378 093 | 818 159 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 49 863 | 41 269 | 91 132 | 11.14 |
| 5–9 | 56 117 | 41 269 | 101 271 | 12.38 |
| 10–14 | 48 135 | 37 337 | 85 472 | 10.45 |
| 15–19 | 46 351 | 39 283 | 85 634 | 10.47 |
| 20–24 | 43 786 | 40 272 | 84 058 | 10.27 |
| 25–29 | 40 222 | 41 995 | 82 217 | 10.05 |
| 30–34 | 35 558 | 33 997 | 69 555 | 8.50 |
| 35–39 | 29 563 | 26 512 | 56 074 | 6.85 |
| 40–44 | 25 247 | 19 734 | 44 981 | 5.50 |
| 45–49 | 19 470 | 15 456 | 34 926 | 4.27 |
| 50–54 | 16 363 | 12 479 | 28 841 | 3.53 |
| 55–59 | 10 325 | 7 860 | 18 185 | 2.22 |
| 60–64 | 8 495 | 6 677 | 15 172 | 1.85 |
| 65+ | 10 572 | 10 069 | 20 641 | 2.52 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 154 115 | 119 875 | 273 990 | 33.49 |
| 15–64 | 275 379 | 248 149 | 523 528 | 63.99 |
| 65+ | 10 572 | 10 069 | 20 641 | 2.52 |
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 527 817 | 473 636 | 1 001 452 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 50 744 | 49 747 | 100 491 | 10.03 |
| 5–9 | 54 487 | 53 200 | 107 687 | 10.75 |
| 10–14 | 52 811 | 45 854 | 98 665 | 9.85 |
| 15–19 | 50 167 | 40 507 | 90 674 | 9.05 |
| 20–24 | 48 044 | 40 029 | 88 072 | 8.79 |
| 25–29 | 45 209 | 38 999 | 84 208 | 8.41 |
| 30–34 | 42 445 | 38 723 | 81 168 | 8.11 |
| 35–39 | 39 077 | 36 798 | 75 874 | 7.58 |
| 40–44 | 34 761 | 32 809 | 67 570 | 6.75 |
| 45–49 | 29 881 | 28 056 | 57 936 | 5.79 |
| 50–54 | 24 442 | 21 937 | 46 379 | 4.63 |
| 55–59 | 19 309 | 16 508 | 35 817 | 3.58 |
| 60–64 | 14 340 | 11 888 | 26 229 | 2.62 |
| 65–69 | 9 975 | 8 077 | 18 053 | 1.80 |
| 70–74 | 6 260 | 5 158 | 11 418 | 1.14 |
| 75–79 | 3 444 | 2 953 | 6 397 | 0.64 |
| 80+ | 2 421 | 2 393 | 4 814 | 0.48 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 158 042 | 148 801 | 306 843 | 30.64 |
| 15–64 | 347 675 | 306 254 | 653 929 | 65.30 |
| 65+ | 22 100 | 18 581 | 40 681 | 4.06 |

### Projections

The following are UN medium variant projections; numbers are in thousands:
* 2025 1,166
* 2030 1,262
* 2035 1,356
* 2040 1,447
* 2045 1,535
* 2050 1,619

## Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in Djibouti is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR* | CDR* | NC* | TFR* | IMR* |
| 1950-1955 | 3 000 | 2 000 | 1 000 | 50.0 | 28.3 | 21.7 | 7.80 | 222 |
| 1955-1960 | 4 000 | 2 000 | 2 000 | 50.7 | 25.7 | 25.0 | 7.80 | 203 |
| 1960-1965 | 5 000 | 2 000 | 3 000 | 51.2 | 23.8 | 27.4 | 7.80 | 185 |
| 1965-1970 | 7 000 | 3 000 | 4 000 | 50.3 | 21.6 | 28.6 | 7.60 | 169 |
| 1970-1975 | 9 000 | 4 000 | 5 000 | 47.8 | 19.4 | 28.4 | 7.20 | 154 |
| 1975-1980 | 13 000 | 5 000 | 8 000 | 45.2 | 17.4 | 27.8 | 6.80 | 141 |
| 1980-1985 | 16 000 | 6 000 | 11 000 | 44.0 | 15.5 | 28.6 | 6.60 | 125 |
| 1985-1990 | 21 000 | 7 000 | 14 000 | 43.1 | 14.5 | 28.6 | 6.40 | 117 |
| 1990-1995 | 24 000 | 8 000 | 16 000 | 40.1 | 13.4 | 26.7 | 5.85 | 109 |
| 1995-2000 | 23 000 | 8 000 | 15 000 | 34.4 | 12.2 | 22.2 | 5.11 | 100 |
| 2000-2005 | 24 000 | 9 000 | 15 000 | 31.2 | 11.3 | 19.9 | 4.52 | 91 |
| 2005-2010 | 25 000 | 9 000 | 16 000 | 29.4 | 10.5 | 18.9 | 3.95 | 82 |
| * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman) |||||||||

### Life expectancy

| Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 41.04 |
| 1955–1960 | 42.95 |
| 1960–1965 | 45.18 |
| 1965–1970 | 47.35 |
| 1970–1975 | 50.90 |
| 1975–1980 | 52.55 |
| 1980–1985 | 54.67 |
| 1985–1990 | 56.12 |
| 1990–1995 | 57.02 |
| 1995–2000 | 57.02 |
| 2000–2005 | 57.29 |
| 2005–2010 | 59.05 |
| 2010–2015 | 61.62 |

## Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of Djibouti is 56.2% Afar, 24.2% Somali people Somalie, 15.6% Arabs, 6.675% Djibouti Arabs (indigenous), 4.525% Yemenis, 4.4% Omanis and 5% others. The Afar clan component is mainly composed of the Debnés clan , followed by the Waîma.
The remaining 5% of Djibouti's population primarily consists of Ethiopians and Europeans (French, Italian and Swedish). In addition, as of 2021, 4,000 American troops, 1,350 French troops, 600 Japanese troops, 400 Chinese troops, and an unknown number of German troops are stationed at various bases throughout Djibouti. Approximately 76% of local residents are urban dwellers; the remainder are pastoralists. 40,000 people from Yemen live in Djibouti, accounting for 4.525% of its total population."Domestic abuse adds to Yemeni refugee women's woes in Djibouti".

## Languages

Djibouti is a multilingual nation. The majority of local residents speak Afar (650,000 speakers in Djibouti town south and north of the country) and Somali (300,000 speakers only in Djibouti town and Ali-Sabieh) as a first language. These languages are the mother tongues of the Somali and Afar ethnic groups, respectively. Both languages belong to the larger Afroasiatic family. There are 2 official languages in Djibouti: Arabic and French.
Arabic is of religious importance. In formal settings, it consists of Modern Standard Arabic. Colloquially, about 59,000 local residents speak the Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic dialect, also known as Djibouti Arabic. French serves as a statutory national language. It was inherited from the colonial period, and is the primary language of instruction. Around 17,000 Djiboutians speak it as a first language. Immigrant languages include Omani Arabic (38,900 speakers), Amharic (1,400 speakers), Greek (1,000 speakers) and Hindi (600 speakers).

## Religion

Sunni Muslim 94% (nearly all Djiboutians), other 6% (mainly foreign-born residents - Shia Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Baha'i, and atheist)