Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Djibouti is fully 97 percent Muslim, but it has escaped the kinds of entanglements with jihadist groups that have afflicted Somalia. Economically, Djibouti is very closely tied to Ethiopia--90 percent of the shipments through its main port come from or go to Ethiopia. Given that country’s rapid economic growth, Djibouti has benefited as well. But it is Djibouti’s geostrategic position that has attracted a significant international presence. . . . These land leases also bring in considerable revenues: “We don’t have anything else but location” said a government official recently—but it has been turned into a very significant economic asset. . . . Nearly three-quarters of its GDP is directly associated with the port, and unemployment is estimated at more than 50 percent. . . . China has further bolstered its African presence with its first-ever overseas military base in Djibouti . . . The only place on Earth where warships of these two countries’ navies [U.S. and China] are moored practically next to each other. Djibouti occupies a highly strategic geographic position at the chokepoint southern outlet of the Red Sea, through which passes at least one-fourth of the world’s oil shipped by supertanker." [Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 17th Edition, p. 276-7, 299]