Close ties to France following independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment all 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 an election brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivoirian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in the country being divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month resumption of violent conflict. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. The UN peacekeeping mission is drawing down and is scheduled to depart in June 2017. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure while rebuilding the security forces. GBAGBO is in The Hague on trial for crimes against humanity.

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia

8 00 N, 5 00 W

Africa

slightly larger than New Mexico

515 km

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)

mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

highest point: Monts Nimba 1,752 m

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

arable land 9.1%; permanent crops 14.2%; permanent pasture 41.5%

730 sq km (2012)

the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors

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

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

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

24,184,810

Akan 28.8%, Voltaique or Gur 16.1%, Northern Mande 14.5%, Kru 8.5%, Southern Mande 6.9%, unspecified 0.9%, non-Ivoirian 42.3% (2014 est.)

French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken

Muslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1%

Cote d’Ivoire’s population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future because almost 60% of the populace is younger than 25, the total fertility rate is holding steady at about 3.5 children per woman, and contraceptive use is under 20%. The country will need to improve education, health care, and gender equality in order to turn its large and growing youth cohort into human capital. Even prior to 2010 unrest that shuttered schools for months, access to education was poor, especially for women. As of 2015, only 53% of men and 33% of women were literate. The lack of educational attainment contributes to Cote d’Ivoire’s high rates of unskilled labor, adolescent pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevalence.

Following its independence in 1960, Cote d’Ivoire’s stability and the blossoming of its labor-intensive cocoa and coffee industries in the southwest made it an attractive destination for migrants from other parts of the country and its neighbors, particularly Burkina Faso. The HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY administration continued the French colonial policy of encouraging labor immigration by offering liberal land ownership laws. Foreigners from West Africa, Europe (mainly France), and Lebanon composed about 25% of the population by 1998.

Ongoing economic decline since the 1980s and the power struggle after HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY’s death in 1993 ushered in the politics of “Ivoirite,” institutionalizing an Ivoirian identity that further marginalized northern Ivoirians and scapegoated immigrants. The hostile Muslim north-Christian south divide snowballed into a 2002 civil war, pushing tens of thousands of foreign migrants, Liberian refugees, and Ivoirians to flee to war-torn Liberia or other regional countries and more than a million people to be internally displaced. Subsequently, violence following the contested 2010 presidential election prompted some 250,000 people to seek refuge in Liberia and other neighboring countries and again internally displaced as many as a million people. By July 2012, the majority had returned home, but ongoing inter-communal tension and armed conflict continue to force people from their homes.

1.84% (2017 est.)

27.7 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors

YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) 259,000 (2014); ABIDJAN (seat of government) 4.86 million; Bouake 762,000 (2015)

19.8 years

645 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

3.38 children born/woman (2017 est.)

18.2% (2011/12)

5.7% of GDP (2014)

0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 93.1% of population

rural: 68.8% of population

total: 81.9% of population

urban: 6.9% of population

rural: 31.2% of population

total: 18.1% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 32.8% of population

rural: 10.3% of population

total: 22.5% of population

urban: 67.2% of population

rural: 89.7% of population

total: 77.5% of population (2015 est.)

2.7% (2016 est.)

460,000 (2016 est.)

25,000 (2016 est.)

10.3% (2016)

15.7% (2012)

4.7% of GDP (2014)

presidential republic

12 districts and 2 autonomous districts*; Abidjan*, Bas-Sassandra, Comoe, Denguele, Goh-Djiboua, Lacs, Lagunes, Montagnes, Sassandra-Marahoue, Savanes, Vallee du Bandama, Woroba, Yamoussoukro*, Zanzan

7 August 1960 (from France)

Independence Day, 7 August (1960)

civil law system based on the French civil code; judicial review of legislation held in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE]

Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Pascal Affi N'GUESSAN]

Liberty and Democracy for the Republic or LIDER [Mamadou KOULIBALY]

Movement of the Future Forces or MFA [Innocent Augustin ANAKY KOBENA]

Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane Dramane OUATTARA]

Union for Cote d'Ivoire or UPCI [Gnamien KONA]

Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Albert Toikeuse MABRI]

Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Fulgene ASSI]

National Congress for the Resistance and Democracy or CNRD [Bernard DADIE]

Panafrican Congress for Justice and Peoples Equality or COJEP [Roselin BLY]

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; orange symbolizes the land (savannah) of the north and fertility, white stands for peace and unity, green represents the forests of the south and the hope for a bright future

elephant; national colors: orange, white, green

Cote d'Ivoire is heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly two-thirds of the population. 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 climatic conditions. Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country has targeted agricultural processing of cocoa, cashews, mangoes, and other commodities as a high priority. Mining gold and exporting electricity are growing industries outside agriculture.

Following the end of more than a decade of civil conflict in 2011, Cote d’Ivoire has experienced a boom in foreign investment and economic growth. In June 2012, the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. For the last 5 years Cote d'Ivoire's growth rate has been among the highest in the world.

$87.91 billion (2016 est.)

$80.59 billion (2015 est.)

$73.18 billion (2014 est.)

$35.67 billion (2016 est.)

7.7% (2016 est.)

8.9% (2015 est.)

8.8% (2014 est.)

$3,600 (2016 est.)

$3,400 (2015 est.)

$3,200 (2014 est.)

18.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

17.5% of GDP (2015 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, gold mining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity

15.2% (2016 est.)

8.542 million (2016 est.)

9.4% (2013 est.)

46.3% (2015 est.)

41.5 (2008)

36.7 (1995)

19.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

-3.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

47.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

47.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

calendar year

0.7% (2016 est.)

1.3% (2015 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2010)

4.25% (31 December 2009)

5.3% (31 December 2016 est.)

5.15% (31 December 2015 est.)

$9.438 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$8.516 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$13.88 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$12.55 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$10.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$9.812 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$12.49 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$11.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$11.82 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$-397 million (2016 est.)

$-150.6 million (2015 est.)

$11.77 billion (2016 est.)

$11.73 billion (2015 est.)

cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish

Netherlands 11.3%, US 7.4%, France 6.8%, Belgium 6.1%, Germany 5.2%, India 5.1%, Burkina Faso 4.6%, Mali 4.5%, Switzerland 4.1% (2016)

$8.524 billion (2016 est.)

$8.562 billion (2015 est.)

fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs

France 13.5%, Nigeria 13.3%, China 11.8%, US 4.2% (2016)

$4.935 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$5.516 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$11.02 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$10.03 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$NA

$NA

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

593.01 (2016 est.)

593.01 (2015 est.)

591.45 (2014 est.)

494.42 (2013 est.)

510.53 (2012 est.)

8.262 billion kWh (2015 est.)

5.669 billion kWh (2015 est.)

872 million kWh (2015 est.)

23 million kWh (2015 est.)

1.9 million kW (2016 est.)

66.9% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

33.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

30,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)

34,720 bbl/day (2014 est.)

65,540 bbl/day (2014 est.)

100 million bbl (1 January 2017 es)

67,260 bbl/day (2014 est.)

43,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

31,550 bbl/day (2014 est.)

5,975 bbl/day (2014 est.)

2.063 billion cu m (2015 est.)

2.897 billion cu m (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

28.32 billion cu m (1 January 2017 es)

8.995 million Mt (2013 est.)

2 state-owned TV stations; no private terrestrial TV stations, but satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned radio stations; some private radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

.ci

TU (2016)

27 (2013)

1 (2013)

condensate 101 km; gas 256 km; oil 118 km; oil/gas/water 5 km; water 7 km (2013)

980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2011)

1.18% of GDP (2016)

1.74% of GDP (2015)

1.48% of GDP (2014)

1.38% of GDP (2013)

1.51% of GDP (2012)

Republican Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (Force Republiques de Cote d'Ivoire, FRCI): Army, Navy, Cote d'Ivoire Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Cote d'Ivoire) (2015)

18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary male and female military service; conscription is not enforced; voluntary recruitment of former rebels into the new national army is restricted to ages 22-29 (2012)

disputed maritime border between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana

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