Map of Côte d'Ivoire | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Close ties to France since independence in 1960 the development of cocoa production for export and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999 a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country and in January 2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President GBAGBO and rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a three-month stalemate but issues that sparked the civil war such as land reform and grounds for citizenship remained unresolved. In March 2007 President GBAGBO and former New Force rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. As a result of the agreement SORO joined GBAGBO's government as Prime Minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the zone of confidence separating North from South integrate rebel forces into the national armed forces and hold elections. Several thousand French and UN troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to help the parties implement their commitments and to support the peace process.


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Location: Western Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and Liberia

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N 5 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 322,460 km²
Land: 318,000 km²
Water: 4,460 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries
Total: 3,110 km
Border countries: (5) Burkina Faso 584 km; , Ghana 668 km; , Guinea 610 km; , Liberia 716 km; , Mali 532 km

Coastline: 515 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate: tropical along coast semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March) hot and dry (March to May) hot and wet (June to October)

Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas diamonds manganese iron ore cobalt bauxite copper gold nickel tantalum silica sand clay cocoa beans coffee palm oil hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 10.23%
Permanent crops: 11.16%
Other: 78.61% (2005)

Irrigated land: 730 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 81 km³ (2001)

Natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

Geography
Note: most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area the forested interior is sparsely populated


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Population
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 2.156% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Ivoirian
Adjective: Ivoirian

Ethnic groups: Akan 42.1% Voltaiques or Gur 17.6% Northern Mandes 16.5% Krous 11% Southern Mandes 10% other 2.8% (includes 130,000 Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998)

Languages: French (official) 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken

Religions
Note: the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 40.9% (male 4,161,238/female 4,092,593)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 5,790,503/female 5,568,621)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 285,116/female 281,531) (2008 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 19 years
Male: 19.2 years
Female: 18.9 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.156% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 32.73 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 11.17 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: NA (2008 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male/female
Total population: 1.03 male/female (2008 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 69.76 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 77.06 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 62.25 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 54.64 years
Male: 53.95 years
Female: 55.35 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.23 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 7% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 570,000 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 47,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
Water contact: schistosomiasis
Animal contact disease: rabies
Note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 4.6% of GDP (2001)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 48.7%
Male: 60.8%
Female: 38.6% (2000 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
Conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire
Local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire
Local short form: Cote d'Ivoire
Note: pronounced coat-div-whar
Former: Ivory Coast

Government type
Note: the government is currently operating under a power-sharing agreement mandated by international mediators

Capital
Name: Yamoussoukro
Geographic coordinates: 6 49 N, 5 17 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Note: although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the commercial and administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan

Administrative divisions: 19 regions; Agneby Bafing Bas-Sassandra Denguele Dix-Huit Montagnes Fromager Haut-Sassandra Lacs Lagunes Marahoue Moyen-Cavally Moyen-Comoe N'zi-Comoe Savanes Sud-Bandama Sud-Comoe Vallee du Bandama Worodougou Zanzan

Dependent areas

Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day 7 August (1960)

Constitution: approved by referendum 23 July 2000

Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Laurent GBAGBO (since 26 October 2000)
Head of government: Prime Minister Guillaume SORO (since 4 April 2007)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - under the current power-sharing agreement the prime minister and the president share the authority to appoint ministers
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 26 October 2000 (next to be held 30 November 2008; elections were to be held in 2005 but have been repeatedly postponed by the government; the UN Security Council has extended the government's mandate); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2%

Legislative branch
Elections: elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on 14 January 2001 (next to be held in November 2008 after the government postponed the elections in 2005 and 2006)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FPI 96, PDCI-RDA 94, RDR 5, PIT 4, other 2, independents 22, vacant 2
Note: a Senate that was scheduled to be created in the October 2006 elections never took place

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases Audit Chamber for financial cases Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit to the number of members

Political parties and leaders: Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Theodore MEL EG]; Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Pascale Affi N'GUESSAN]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE]; Opposition Movement of the Future or MFA [Innocent Augustin ANAKY]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane OUATTARA]; Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Toikeuse MABRI]; over 144 smaller registered parties

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB AU ECOWAS Entente FAO FZ G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ITSO ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OIC OIF OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO Union Latina UNWTO UPU WADB (regional) WAEMU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Yao Charles KOFFI
In the us chancery: 3,421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300
In the us fax: [1] (202) 244-3,088
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L. NESBITT
From the us embassy: Cocody Riviera Golf 01, Abidjan
From the us mailing address: B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01
From the us telephone: [225] 22 49 40 00
From the us fax: [225] 22 49 43 32

Flag description
Note: similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to a lesser extent in climatic conditions. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy it is still heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities engaging roughly 68% of the population. Since 2006 oil and gas production have become more important engines of economic activity than cocoa. According to IMF statistics earnings from oil and refined products were $1.3 billion in 2006 while cocoa-related revenues were $1 billion during the same period. Cote d'Ivoire's offshore oil and gas production has resulted in substantial crude oil exports and provides sufficient natural gas to fuel electricity exports to Ghana Togo Benin Mali and Burkina Faso. Oil exploration by a number of consortiums of private companies continues offshore and President GBAGBO has expressed hope that daily crude output could reach 200,000 barrels per day (b/d) by the end of the decade. Since the end of the civil war in 2003 political turmoil has continued to damage the economy resulting in the loss of foreign investment and slow economic growth. GDP grew by 1.8% in 2006 and 1.7% in 2007. Per capita income has declined by 15% since 1999.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $32.85 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1.6% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1700 (2007 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 28.1%
Industry: 21.5%
Services: 50.5% (2007 est.)

Agriculture products: coffee cocoa beans bananas palm kernels corn rice manioc (tapioca) sweet potatoes sugar cotton rubber; timber

Industries: foodstuffs beverages; wood products oil refining truck and bus assembly textiles fertilizer building materials electricity ship construction and repair

Industrial production growth rate: -1.8% (2007 est.)

Labor force: 6.907 million (68% agricultural) (2007 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 68%
By occupation industry and services: NA (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: unemployment may have climbed to 40-50% as a result of the civil war

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2%
Highest 10: 34% (2002)

Distribution of family income gini index: 44.6 (2002)

Budget
Revenues: $3.884 billion
Expenditures: $4.106 billion (2007 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 75.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.9% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 4.25% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: NA

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $4.404 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $4.155 billion (2006)

Current account balance: -$146 million (2007 est.)

Exports: $8.476 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: cocoa coffee timber petroleum cotton bananas pineapples palm oil fish
Partners: Germany 9.7% Nigeria 9.2% Netherlands 8.4% France 7.3% US 7% Burkina Faso 4.4% (2007)

Imports: $5.932 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Commodities: fuel capital equipment foodstuffs
Partners: Nigeria 31.1% France 16.7% China 7.3% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.519 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt external: $13.79 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates
Note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro


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Electricity
Production: 5.274 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Consumption: 3.177 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 1.066 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 1.3 billion m³ (2006 est.)
Consumption: 1.3 billion m³ (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 28.32 billion m³ (1 January 2008 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 730,000 (2007)
Mobile cellular: 7.05 million (2007)

Telephone system
General assessment: well developed by African standards; telecommunications sector privatized in late 1990s and operational fixed-lines have more than quadrupled since that time; with multiple cellular service providers competing in the market, cellular usage has increased sharply to roughly 40 per 100 persons
Domestic: open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized
International: country code - 225; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2007)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ci
Hosts: 5,569 (2008)
Users: 300,000 (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.6% of GDP (2005 est)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (2008)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 34 (2007)
With paved runways total: 7
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 27
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 8
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 14
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 5 (2007)

Heliports

Pipelines: condensate 102 km; gas 245 km; oil 112 km (2007)

Railways
Total: 660 km
Narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000 meter gauge
Note: an additional 622 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso (2006)

Roadways
Total: 80,000 km
Paved: 6,500 km
Unpaved: 73,500 km
Note: includes intercity and urban roads; another 20,000 km of dirt roads are in poor condition and 150,000 km of dirt roads are impassable (2006)

Waterways: 980 km (navigable rivers canals and numerous coastal lagoons) (2006)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals: Abidjan Espoir San-Pedro


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Disputes international: despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004 ethnic conflict still leaves displaced hundreds of thousands of Ivorians in and out of the country as well as driven out migrants from neighboring states who worked in Ivorian cocoa plantations; the March 2007 peace deal between Ivorian rebels and the government brought significant numbers of rebels out of hiding in neighboring states

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 25,615 (Liberia)
Idps: 709,000 (2002 coup; most IDPs are in western regions) (2007)

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis mostly for local consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center