Hydrogeology of Djibouti

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Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of Djibouti


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Djibouti, located where the Red Sea joins the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, at a crossroads linking Africa to the Middle East, and at the mouth of the Suez Canal, has always been a trading hub. The area of present-day Djibouti was once part of a series of ancient kingdoms with strong links to ancient Ethiopia and Egypt. Its proximity to the Arabian Peninsula meant Islam was adopted early. It was later colonised by France in the late 19th century, and the construction of railroads to Ethiopia meant it became an important regional port. It won independence as the Republic of Djibouti in 1977. The independent country’s first president remained in power until 1999. In the 1990s, the country experienced a civil war that ended in a power sharing agreement in 2000. Since 2000, there have been periodic episodes of civil unrest and a number of contested elections, but overall Djibouti is perceived internationally as having being relatively politically stable.

This, combined with Djibouti’s strategic location, have led to it being the site of a number of military bases for foreign personnel, as well as continuing to have regionally important ports, which bring in the majority of national revenue. It is a hub for international naval forces combating piracy in one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Foreign relations are therefore very important to the country’s economic stability. The Djibouti franc is pegged to the USD. The economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for 80% of GDP, with commercial activities focused on the country’s free trade policies and transport links. Industry, including fishing and fish processing, and growing salt production, accounts for around 17% of GDP. The desert environment limits agricultural production, which accounts for only 3% of GDP. Rural people traditionally relied on nomadic pastoralism, but rural populations are now small: three quarters of Djibouti's inhabitants live in cities. Its limited natural resources mean that Djibouti relies heavily on energy and food imports. Despite the importance of services to the economy, there is very high unemployment. Nevertheless, relative political stability also means that the country has become an important country of passage for refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants from surrounding countries.

Djibouti is an arid country with very limited surface water resources. Over 90% of water supplies come from groundwater. In some areas, groundwater levels are known to be deep and/or groundwater is known to have high levels of mineralisation.


Compilers

Dr Kirsty Upton and Brighid Ó Dochartaigh, British Geological Survey, UK

Dr Imogen Bellwood-Howard, Institute of Development Studies, UK

Please cite this page as: Upton, Ó Dochartaigh and Bellwood-Howard, 2018.

Bibliographic reference: Upton K, Ó Dochartaigh BÉ and Bellwood-Howard, I. 2018. Africa Groundwater Atlas: Hydrogeology of Djibouti. British Geological Survey. Accessed [date you accessed the information]. https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Hydrogeology_of_Djibouti

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The Africa Groundwater Atlas is hosted by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and includes information from third party sources. Your use of information provided by this website is at your own risk. If reproducing diagrams that include third party information, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and the third party sources. Please see the Terms of use for more information.

Geographical Setting

Djibouti. Map developed from USGS GTOPOPO30; GADM global administrative areas; and UN Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. For more information on the map development and datasets see the geography resource page

General

Capital city Djibouti
Region East Africa
Border countries Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
Total surface area* 23,200 km2 (2,320,000 ha)
Total population (2015)* 887,900
Rural population (2015)* 192,100 (22%)
Urban population (2015)* 695,800 (78%)
UN Human Development Index (HDI) [highest = 1] (2014)* 0.4704

* Source: FAO Aquastat


Climate

Djibouti's climate is of tropical dry type, with a cool season (22-30 °C) from October to April and a warm season (30-40 °C) from May to September. Average annual evapotranspiration is estimated at 2,000 mm. Average annual rainfall is very low and erratic.

These maps and graphs were developed from the CRU TS 3.21 dataset produced by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK. For more information see the climate resource page.

Average monthly precipitation for Djibouti showing minimum and maximum (light blue), 25th and 75th percentile (blue), and median (dark blue) rainfall Average monthly temperature for Djibouti showing minimum and maximum (orange), 25th and 75th percentile (red), and median (black) temperature Quarterly precipitation over the period 1950-2012 Monthly precipitation (blue) over the period 2000-2012 compared with the long term monthly average (red)

Surface water

Djibouti has no perennial rivers. The hydrographic system is divided into two zones, one draining towards the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden, the other towards the western plains of the country. Rainfall is low and erratic, usually occurring as heavy storm events that often cause flooding. Ephemeral rivers flow after rainfall events. There are two significant lakes, Lakes Abhe and Assal, with a combined area of 100 km² (FAO AQUASTAT 2005).

Soil

Soil Map of Djibouti, from the European Commission Joint Research Centre: European Soil Portal. For more information on the map see the soil resource page

Land cover

Land Cover Map of Djibouti, from the European Space Agency GlobCover 2.3, 2009. For more information on the map see the land cover resource page


Water statistics

1989 1998 2000 2013 2014 2015
Rural population with access to safe drinking water (%) 64.7
Urban population with access to safe drinking water (%) 97.4
Population affected by water related disease No data No data No data No data No data No data
Total internal renewable water resources (cubic metres/inhabitant/year) 337.9
Total exploitable water resources (Million cubic metres/year) No data No data No data No data No data No data
Freshwater withdrawal as % of total renewable water resources 6.267
Total renewable groundwater (Million cubic metres/year) 15
Exploitable: Regular renewable groundwater (Million cubic metres/year) No data No data No data No data No data No data
Groundwater produced internally (Million cubic metres/year) 15
Fresh groundwater withdrawal (primary and secondary) (Million cubic metres/year) 18
Groundwater: entering the country (total) (Million cubic metres/year) No data No data No data No data No data No data
Groundwater: leaving the country to other countries (total) (Million cubic metres/year) No data No data No data No data No data No data
Industrial water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year) 0
Municipal water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year) 16
Agricultural water withdrawal (all water sources) (Million cubic metres/year) 3
Irrigation water withdrawal (all water sources)1 (Million cubic metres/year) 2.5
Irrigation water requirement (all water sources)1 (Million cubic metres/year) 0.8
Area of permanent crops (ha) 0
Cultivated land (arable and permanent crops) (ha) 2,000
Total area of country cultivated (%) 0.0862
Area equipped for irrigation by groundwater (ha) 670
Area equipped for irrigation by mixed surface water and groundwater (ha) 0

These statistics are sourced from FAO Aquastat. They are the most recent available information in the Aquastat database. More information on the derivation and interpretation of these statistics can be seen on the FAO Aquastat website.

Further water and related statistics can be accessed at the Aquastat Main Database.

1 More information on irrigation water use and requirement statistics

Geology

The geology map shows a simplified version of the geology at a national scale. More information is available in the report UN (1989) (see References section, below).



Geology of Djibouti at 1:5 million scale. Developed from USGS map (Persits et al. 2002). For more information on the map development and datasets see the geology resource page

Hydrogeology

The hydrogeology map below shows a simplified version of the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the hydrogeology Map resource page for more details).

More information on the hydrogeology of Djibouti is available in the report United Nations (1989) (see References section, below).

Hydrogeology of Djibouti at 1:5million scale. For more information on how the map was developed see the hydrogeology map resource page

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The high evapotranspiration combined with intermittent rainfall mean that a very low proportion of rainfall infiltrates as groundwater recharge, although indirect recharge infiltrates from ephemeral river flows after heavy rainfall events.


Transboundary aquifers

For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the Transboundary aquifers resources page.

References

References with information on the geology and hydrogeology of Djibouti can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive.

FAO AQUASTAT. 2005. Djibouti. FAO AQUASTAT.

United Nations. 1989. Groundwater in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa: Djibouti. United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development.

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Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of Djibouti