TODAY'S
IVORY COAST
Introduction
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.
Geography
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 322,460 sq km land:
318,000 sq km water:
4,460 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 3,110 km border
countries: 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 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 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
81 cu km (2001)
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.93 cu km/yr (24%/12%/65%) per
capita: 51 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors;
during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
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
Environment - 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 signed,
but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
most of the inhabitants live along the sandy
coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested
interior is sparsely populated
People
Top of Page
Population:
20,179,602 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.)
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.)
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/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
11.17 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under
15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65
years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total
population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 69.76 deaths/1,000 live births male:
77.06 deaths/1,000 live births female:
62.25 deaths/1,000 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.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
570,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - 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)
Nationality:
noun: Ivoirian(s)
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)
Religions:
Muslim 38.6%, Christian 32.8%, indigenous 11.9%,
none 16.7% (2008 est) note:
the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim
(70%) and Christian (20%)
Languages:
French (official), 60 native dialects with
Dioula the most widely spoken
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and
write total
population: 48.7% male:
60.8% female:
38.6% (2000 est.)
Education expenditures:
4.6% of GDP (2001)
Government
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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:
republic; multiparty presidential regime
established 1960 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
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
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:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee
Nationale (225 seats; members are elected in single- and
multi-district elections by direct popular vote to serve
five-year terms)
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
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Federation of University and High School
Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Serges KOFFI]; Rally of
Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP [Alphonse DJEDJE
MADY]; Young Patriots [Charles BLE GOUDE]
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
chancery: 3421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300 FAX:
[1] (202) 244-3088
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda L.
NESBITT
embassy: Riviera Golf 01, Abidjan mailing
address: B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01
telephone: [225] 22 49 40 00 FAX:
[225] 22 49 43 23
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist
side), white, and green 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
Economy
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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.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$32.85 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$19.6 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 28.1%
industry: 21.5%
services: 50.5% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
6.907 million (68% agricultural) (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 68%
industry and services: NA (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
unemployment may have climbed to 40-50% as a
result of the civil war
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2% highest
10%: 34% (2002)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.6 (2002)
Investment (gross fixed):
8.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.884 billion
expenditures:
$4.106 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt: 75.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.9% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
4.25% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$4.451 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$1.915 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$4.404 billion (31 December 2007)
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.)
Electricity - production:
5.305 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
2.9 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
1.397 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
48,370 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
27,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
85,780 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
76,730 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
250 million bbl (1 January 2007 est.)
Natural gas - production:
1.247 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
1.247 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
27.16 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
-$146 million (2007 est.)
Exports:
$8.476 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton,
bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish
Exports - partners:
Germany 9.6%, Nigeria 9.1%, Netherlands 8.3%,
France 7.2%, US 6.9%, Burkina Faso 4.4% (2007)
Imports:
$5.932 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Nigeria 30.3%, France 16.3%, China 7.1% (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
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$4.155 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF);
note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West
African States
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per
US dollar - 481.83 (2007), 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003) note:
since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc has been pegged to the
euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per euro
Communications
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Telephones - main lines in use:
730,000 (2007)
Telephones - 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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
14 (1998)
Internet country code:
.ci
Internet hosts:
5,569 (2008)
Internet users:
300,000 (2006)
Transportation
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Airports:
34 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 7 over
3,047 m: 1 2,438
to 3,047 m: 2 1,524
to 2,437 m: 4 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 27 1,524
to 2,437 m: 8 914 to
1,523 m: 14 under
914 m: 5 (2007)
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)
Ports and terminals:
Abidjan, Espoir, San-Pedro
Military
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Military branches:
Cote d'Ivoire Defense and Security Forces (FDSC):
Army, Navy, Air Force (2006)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary
military service (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 4,369,735 females
age 16-49: 4,287,042 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,393,104 females
age 16-49: 2,381,607 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age
annually:
male: 234,032 female:
230,799 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.6% of GDP (2005 est)
Trans-national
Issues
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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)
Trafficking in persons:
Cote d'Ivoire is a source, transit, and
destination country for women and children trafficked for forced
labor and commercial sexual exploitation; trafficking within the
country is more prevalent than
international trafficking and the majority of
victims are children; women and girls are trafficked from
northern areas to southern cities for domestic servitude,
restaurant labor, and sexual exploitation; boys are trafficked
internally for agricultural and service labor and
transnationally for forced labor in agriculture, mining,
construction, and in the fishing industry; women and girls are
trafficked to and from other West and Central African countries
for domestic servitude and forced street vending tier
rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Cote d'Ivoire is on the Tier 2
Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing
efforts to eliminate trafficking in 2007, particularly with
regard to its law enforcement efforts and protection of sex
trafficking victims; in addition, Ivoirian law does not prohibit
all forms of trafficking, and Cote d'Ivoire has not ratified the
2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
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
This page was last reported on March 17th,
2009.
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