Total area:
322,460 km2
Land area:
318,000 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
3,110 km; Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali
532 km
Coastline:
515 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
200 m (depth)
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
none
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
Natural resources:
crude oil, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use:
arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and
woodland 26%; other 52%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe deforestation
:Ivory Coast People
Population:
13,497,153 (July 1992), growth rate 3.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
47 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
94 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
53 years male, 57 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Ivorian(s); adjective - Ivorian
Ethnic divisions:
over 60 ethnic groups; most important are the Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou
15%, Malinke 11%, and Agni; foreign Africans, mostly Burkinabe about 2
million; non-Africans about 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese
100,000 to 300,000)
Religions:
indigenous 63%, Muslim 25%, Christian 12%,
Languages:
French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most widely spoken
Literacy:
54% (male 67%, female 40%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
5,718,000; over 85% of population engaged in agriculture, forestry,
livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage earners, nearly half in
agriculture and the remainder in government, industry, commerce, and
professions; 54% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
20% of wage labor force
:Ivory Coast Government
Long-form name:
Republic of the Ivory Coast; note - the local official name is Republique de
Cote d'Ivoire
Type:
republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
Capital:
Yamoussoukro (although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Adibjan
remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including the United
States, maintain presence in Abidjan)
Administrative divisions:
49 departments (departements, singular - (departement); Abengourou, Abidjan,
Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou,
Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane,
Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou,
Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne,
Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda,
Tingrela, Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula
Independence:
7 August 1960 (from France)
Constitution:
3 November 1960
Legal system:
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the
Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
National Day, 7 December
Executive branch:
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Dr. Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960); Prime
Minister Alassane OUATTARA (since 7 November 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY;
Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO; Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT),
Francis WODIE; Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA; over 20
smaller parties
Suffrage:
universal at age 21
Elections:
President:
last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held October 1995); results -
President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY received 81% of the vote in his first
contested election; he is currently serving his seventh consecutive
five-year term
National Assembly:
last held 25 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total) PDCI 163, FPI 9, PIT 1,
independents 2
Member of:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
:Ivory Coast Government
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Charles GOMIS; Chancery at 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 797-0300
US:
Ambassador Kenneth L. BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan (mailing
address is 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan); telephone [225] 21-09-79 or 21-46-72,
FAX [225] 22-32-59
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; 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
:Ivory Coast Economy
Overview:
Ivory Coast is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee,
cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy is highly
sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa and
to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the
economy is still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries.
The agricultural sector accounts for over one-third of GDP and about 80% of
export earnings and employs about 85% of the labor force. A collapse of
world cocoa and coffee prices in 1986 threw the economy into a recession,
from which the country had not recovered by 1990. Continuing poor prices for
commodity exports, an overvalued exchange rate, a bloated public-sector wage
bill, and a large foreign debt hindered economic recovery in 1991.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $10 billion, per capita $800; real growth rate
-2.9% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.8% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
14% (1985)
Budget:
revenues $2.8 billion (1989 est.); expenditures $4.1 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
Exports:
$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities:
cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm
oil, cotton
partners:
France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)
Imports:
$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989)
commodities:
manufactured goods and semifinished products 50%, consumer goods 40%, raw
materials and fuels 10%
partners:
France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)
External debt:
$15.0 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate - 6% (1989); accounts for 17% of GDP
Electricity:
1,210,000 kW capacity; 2,680 million kWh produced, 210 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile assembly, textiles,
fertilizer, beverage
Agriculture:
most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP and 80% to exports;
cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber, bananas, palm kernels,
rubber; food crops - corn, rice, manioc, sweet potatoes; not self-sufficient
in bread grain and dairy products
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for the international drug
trade
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $5.2 billion
Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
= 100 centimes
:Ivory Coast Economy