8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Djibouti

About 1 in 5,528 people born in 2023 started life in Djibouti. A boy can expect to live 64 years and a girl 69, up from 39 and 43 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 79% have basic drinking water.

1 in 5,528
odds of being born here
23,900 births · Ranked 151st of 230
64 / 69
years of life, boys / girls
Was 39 / 43 in 1950
$2,747
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 152nd of 203 · extrapolated
73%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 25 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 282 in every 1,000 births to 50.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth63.5 years for boys, 68.5 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 550.3 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year9,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles76%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.0%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year477 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year45 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.6.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.61UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth31.5 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 48 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2017
5%Poorest fifth
10%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
48%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,747 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth48% / 5% (2017)World Bank PIP
Unemployment26.1% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises1.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person5.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming1% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed51% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Djibouti, with 626,512 people.

73%
live in cities
65%
have electricity at home
79%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Djibouti626,512
Balbala554,350
Ali Sabih50,006
Dikhil32,801
Tadjoura19,533
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French50%
Afar42%
Somali41%
Arabic7%
French, Arabic is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Djibouti1.2 million
Ali Sabieh50,006
Dikhil32,801
Tadjourah19,533
Arta17,477
Obock15,429

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 0.3% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Libya1,606
Ethiopia1,364
Egypt223
Residents born abroad10.8% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.3% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostLibya (1,606), Ethiopia (1,364), Egypt (223)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $56.0 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

14% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

14%
of older people receive a pension (2019)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024189Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence455 between 1990 and 2008UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Djibouti, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Djibouti

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences