# Djibouti and Ethiopia compared Djibouti and Ethiopia side by side: 37 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 3 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/dji-vs-eth Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Djibouti: 27 June 1977 — Independence of the Republic of Djibouti - Ethiopia: 1st century CE — The Kingdom of Aksum rises on the Ethiopian plateau ## Economy | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $4.2 B | 2024 | $150 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $3,553 | 2024 | $1,134 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 7.0% | 2024 | 7.6% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.1% | 2024 | 21.0% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 241.2% | 2024 | 17.4% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 1.2 m | 2024 | 132 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 66.2 yrs | 2024 | 67.6 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 72.9% | 2024 | 23.6% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 2.6 | 2024 | 3.9 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 35.1 | 2024 | 35.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 56.4 | 2024 | 33.7 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 41.8 | 2024 | 38.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 41.4 | 2024 | 41.7 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 39.6 | 2024 | 38.9 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 29.8 | 2024 | 39.0 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 2.3% | 2023 | 2.8% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.21 | 2022 | 0.14 | 2023 | | Under-5 mortality | 48.9 | 2024 | 44.5 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 75.0% | 2024 | 72.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | — | — | 13.5% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 3.8% | 2018 | 2.3% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 5.2% | 2011 | 5.9% | 2014 | | Adult literacy | — | — | 60.5% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | — | — | 84.4% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | — | — | 33.9% | 2015 | ## Technology | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Internet users | 65.3% | 2024 | 21.9% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 48 | 2023 | 65 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 3.3% | 2023 | 3.8% | 2023 | | R&D spending | — | — | 0.3% | 2017 | | Researchers (per million) | — | — | 89 | 2017 | ## Geography | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 23,180 km² | 2023 | 1,128,499 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 0.3% | 2023 | 14.9% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 73.5% | 2023 | 34.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.8 | 2024 | 0.1 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 26.9% | 2022 | 90.6% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 5.9% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 5.6% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 65.2% | 2023 | 55.4% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Djibouti | Observed | Ethiopia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.6% | 2008 | 0.7% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $36 M | 2008 | $922 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 13,000 | 2020 | 138,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/DJI.md and https://terralore.co/country/ETH.md. ## Entangled histories (3 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - c. 1332: **Ifat broken by Ethiopia; rise of Adal** — The Ethiopian emperor Amda Seyon defeats Ifat; the Sultanate of Adal succeeds it as the leading Muslim power contesting the Christian highlands. (from the Djibouti chronicle; sources: History of Djibouti; Djibouti (country and history)) - 1529: **Adal's invasion of the highlands** — Adal forces under Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ('Gran') invade Christian Ethiopia, the high point of the coastal Muslim states' power before Adal's later decline. (from the Djibouti chronicle; sources: Djibouti (country and history); Djibouti) - 1917: **Railway reaches Addis Ababa** — The line is completed to Addis Ababa, giving landlocked Ethiopia its main outlet to the sea and confirming Djibouti as the entrepôt for Ethiopian trade. (from the Djibouti chronicle; sources: Ethio-Djibouti Railways; 100-year-old Ethiopia's French-built railway remains vital for residents; Djibouti (country and history)) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/DJI/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/ETH/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Djibouti and Ethiopia compared", terralore.co/compare/dji-vs-eth, retrieved .