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Cote d'Ivoire

Republic of Cote d'Ivoire

Geography
Area: 322,500 sq. km. (124,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.
Cities: Principal city--Abidjan (economic capital, de facto political capital). Capital--Yamoussoukro (official). Other cities--Bouake, Daloa, Gagnoa, Korhogo, Man, San Pedro.
Terrain: Forested, undulating, hilly in the west.
Climate: Tropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Ivoirian(s).
Population (2004 est.): 18,700,000.
Annual growth rate: 3.8%, with immigration.
Ethnic groups: More than 60.
Religions: Indigenous 10%-20%, Muslim 35%-40%, and Christian (Catholic, Protestant, and other denominations) 25%-35%.
Languages: French (official); five principal language groups.
Education: Years compulsory--school is not compulsory at this time. Attendance--57%. Literacy--51%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--111/1,000. Life expectancy--46 years.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: August 7, 1960.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state and head of government). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court (3 chambers: judicial, administrative, auditing); Constitutional Council.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 regions, 58 departments, 196 communes.
Political parties: Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), Parti Democratique de la Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR), Union pour la Democratie et pour la Paix en Cote d'Ivoire (UDPCI), numerous other smaller political parties operate in Cote d'Ivoire.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2005 est.): $15.9 billion.
Annual real growth rate (2005 est.): 0.8%. Real GDP declined by 3.8% in 2003 and rose by 1.6% in 2004.
Natural resources: Petroleum (offshore) discovered in 1977, production began in 1980; output in 2004 was 22,000 barrels per day. Gold mining began in early 1990s.
Agriculture (27% of GDP, 2004): Products--cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, corn, rice, tropical foods.
Industry (21% of GDP, 2004): Types--food processing, textiles.
Services (2004): 52% of GDP.
Trade (2004): Exports (41% of GDP)--cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, cotton, palm oil, pineapples, bananas. Major markets--U.S., France, Germany, Netherlands. Total imports (28% of GDP; U.S. imports, in 2003 $113.6 million)--consumer goods, basic foodstuffs (rice, wheat), capital goods. Major suppliers--France, Nigeria, Italy, U.S., Germany.

PEOPLE
Cote d'Ivoire has more than 60 ethnic groups, usually classified into five principal divisions: Akan (east and center, including Lagoon peoples of the southeast), Krou (southwest), Southern Mande (west), Northern Mande (northwest), Senoufo/Lobi (north center and northeast). The Baoules, in the Akan division, probably comprise the single largest subgroup with 15%-20% of the population. They are based in the central region around Bouake and Yamoussoukro. The Betes in the Krou division, the Senoufos in the north, and the Malinkes in the northwest and the cities are the next largest groups, with 10%-15% each of the national population. Most of the principal divisions have a significant presence in neighboring countries.

Of the more than 5 million non-Ivoirian Africans living in Cote d'Ivoire, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania. The non-African expatriate community includes roughly 10,000 French and possibly 60,000 Lebanese. As of mid-November 2004, thousands of expatriates, African and non-African, had fled from the violence in Cote d’Ivoire. The number of elementary school-aged children attending classes increased from 22% in 1960 to 67% in 1995.

Cote d'Ivoire