Capital city one of the hottest inhabited places on Earth and many parts have hardly any rain

Once known as French Somaliland, and later the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, the tiny country of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa gained independence in 1977. Roughly the size of Wales, it lies at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, opposite Yemen, and is bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Climate-wise, Djibouti can be more or less divided into two parts: the low-lying coastal plain and the higher-altitude interior. On the coast, the capital, also named Djibouti, is very hot throughout the year, with average maximum temperatures ranging from around 30C (80F) in winter to as high as 41C (106F) in summer. The highest ever recorded was a sweltering 46.1C (115F).

Though this is not a world record, Djibouti city is one of the hottest inhabited places on the planet, with an average year-round temperature of 28.5C (83F).

Inland, conditions are slightly more bearable, especially on the plateau, which is mostly above 600 metres (2,000 feet) high. The whole country is very dry, with less than 500mm (below 20 inches) of rain throughout. In the winter months, this mainly falls on the coast, but inland areas get more rain during the summer. However, as in much of this region, many parts of the country experience hardly any rain at all.