The official languages spoken in Djibouti are French and Arabic. They speak French because they used to
be a colony of France, and Arabic because of the large Muslim population and close proximity to the
Arabian Peninsula. However, oddly, neither of these languages are the most spoken in Djibouti: About
300,000 people speak Somali as their first language (the language of Somalia). Despite this, Somali is
rarely used in schools or writing. In second place is Afar, an African language that, despite being spoken
natively by 1.4 million people worldwide, only has official status in Eritrea – 100,000 people in Djibouti
speak it. Standard Arabic is generally used only for official matters. The local Djibouti variant, Ta’izzi-
Ideni Arabic, is spoken by 36,000 people, and the Omani variation is spoken by 38,000 people (more
popular than the local variant!) totalling to 74,000 native speakers. Finally, French is frequently used
only for official matters; only 10,000 people in Djibouti natively speak French. Also, there are many
other languages spoken by immigrents and such, including Greek, Hindi, and Amharic.
Djibouti’s Independance Day is celebrated on June 27th. Besides this, being mostly Muslim, they
celebrate Islamic holidays, including: Lailat al Miraj (night of ascention), celebrating Muhummad’s
ascention into heaven
Naturel resources: potential geothermal power, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt,
diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum.
Animals:
The Oryx Beisa is an Antelope mostly noticed for its massive horns, considering they can be two and a half
feet long. They are three feet tall at the shoulder. They live in mostly female herds and they are also herbivores.
Ostridge: The Ostridge is the biggest bird on earth and also famous for the feather duster. They are also farmed for their meat and leather. Although it can’t fly, it can run very fast and they can even deliver a fatal kick.
Oryx Beisa below
