Community
Djibouti
Djibouti hosts about 13,900 refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, 39.5% of all its refugees (August 2026), most in the Ali Addeh and Holl Holl camps. Djiboutians are citizens of their own state, so this page is about Somali nationals living there as refugees.
A note first
Djibouti is its own country, and its citizens are Djiboutian. Calankii treats them as neighbours and friends. This page is about people from Somalia who live in Djibouti as refugees.
Who lives there
Djibouti hosts 35,168 refugees and asylum seekers, and 13,905 of them (39.5%) are from Somalia, as of 31 August 2026. Counting all nationalities, 25,502 live in Ali Sabieh region (the Ali Addeh and Holl Holl camps), 6,924 in Djibouti city and 2,730 in Obock (Markazi camp) (UNHCR data portal).
Djibouti is also a crossing point for migrants heading to Yemen (Khaleej Times, Dec 2025).
Work and money
Camp life depends on aid. Families in the greatest need get monthly cash help after an assessment (UNHCR via ReliefWeb, Mar 2025). We have not found wage or price figures.
Who serves the community
The Government of Djibouti. Its national refugee office, ONARS, registers refugees with UNHCR. The rural water department repairs camp water systems. Partners include UNFD and CIAUD Canada. In March 2025 Holl Holl's borehole was repaired, 45 new families got tents, and births, deaths and marriages were recorded (ReliefWeb).
What the community faces now
- New arrivals: small numbers keep coming, for example eight Somali families in one week of March 2025.
- Fragile water: the Holl Holl borehole leaked in March 2025.
- Change over time: the Somali share of refugees fell from 43% in January 2025 to 39.5% in August 2026 (UNHCR).
Top needs
- Birth and marriage records that families keep and that will count at home.
- Information and preparation for anyone choosing to return.
- Income and skills.
- Reliable water.
- Remembrance and a voice for refugees who have waited many years.
How Calankii works here
Only with, never around, ONARS and UNHCR, and nothing in the camps without their consent.
What we don't know yet
Somali-only numbers per camp, wages and prices, and how long families have stayed. If you know, use "Fix this page".
Sources
- UNHCR data portal · data.unhcr.org
- Khaleej Times, Dec 2025 · khaleejtimes.com
- UNHCR via ReliefWeb, Mar 2025 · reliefweb.int
Gathered in our research record “Community profiles”. Wikipedia is used only as a backup.
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