I | INTRODUCTION |
Côte
d’Ivoire (French for “Ivory Coast”), republic in western Africa, bounded
on the north by Mali and Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), on the east by Ghana, on
the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and on the west by Liberia and Guinea. The
country has an area of 322,462 sq km (124,503 sq mi). Yamoussoukro is the
official capital, and Abidjan is the de facto capital and largest city. A former
French colony, Côte d’Ivoire achieved independence in 1960.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
The coast of Côte d’Ivoire is fringed by a
number of large and deep lagoons, most of which are inaccessible to shipping
because of offshore shoals. Bordering the coast, a zone of dense tropical
forests extends about 265 km (about 165 mi) inland in the east and west and
about 100 km (about 60 mi) in the center. Beyond this, in the north and center,
lies an extensive savanna (grassland with a few trees). The western part
of the country is undulating, with mountain chains in the Odienné and Man
regions. Several summits rise to more than 1,500 m (5,000 ft). The principal
rivers are the Sassandra, Bandama, and Komoé, none of which is navigable for
more than about 65 km (about 40 mi) because of rapids and low water during the
dry season.
A | Climate |
The southern portion of Côte d’Ivoire has a
tropical climate, with hot and humid weather and heavy rains. Temperatures vary
from 22°C (72°F) to 32°C (90°F), and the heaviest rains fall from April to July
and in October and November. Away from the coast, in the savanna, temperature
differences become more extreme, with night lows dropping in January to 12°C
(54°F) and day highs in the summer rising above 40°C (104°F). Annual rainfall is
2,100 mm (83 in) in coastal Abidjan and 1,200 mm (48 in) in Bouaké, located on
the nation’s central plain.
B | Plants and Animals |
The central band of Côte d’Ivoire is covered
by forest with more than 225 species of trees, among which are such valuable
hardwood trees as obeche, mahogany, iroko, makore, and sipo. Animals of the
country include the jackal, hyena, panther, elephant, chimpanzee, crocodile, and
various lizards and venomous snakes.
C | Natural Resources |
The principal resources of Côte d’Ivoire are
its relatively rich soil, which favors agriculture, and the forests, which
contain dense stands of commercially valuable hardwoods. Mineral deposits
include gold, iron ore, manganese ore, diamonds, and petroleum (in offshore
fields). Hydroelectric plants are located on the Bia and Bandama rivers;
production of electricity in 2003 totaled 5.1 billion kilowatt-hours, about 32
percent (2003) of which came from hydroelectric installations.
D | Environmental Issues |
Côte d’Ivoire once had the largest rain
forests in West Africa, but decades of timber harvesting and slash-and-burn
farming practices decimated the forests. Farmers cleared vast sections of forest
to plant coffee and cacao, which thrive in the rich soil of the rain forests.
After Côte d’Ivoire was granted independence from France in 1960, an ambiguous
land-ownership policy encouraged many farmers in the country to abandon
unproductive land and clear additional forest. Tens of thousands of seedlings
have been planted since the 1960s, and deforestation rates dropped by the end of
the 20th century. In 2005 about 32 percent of the country’s land area was
forested.
Côte d’Ivoire’s economic dependence on
agriculture has led to the exploitation of the country’s natural resources in
times of economic hardship. During the 1980s, when commodity prices for cacao
and coffee collapsed worldwide, Côte d’Ivoire increased exports of wood products
to make up for decreased agricultural revenue.
About 16 percent (2007) of the country’s
area is officially protected in national parks and reserves. However, migrant
farmers continue to clear forest and plant crops in protected areas.
III | POPULATION |
The population of Côte d’Ivoire is diverse,
comprising more than 60 ethnic groups. The main groups include the Akan-speaking
peoples of the southeast (principally the Baule), the Kru of the southwest, the
Voltaic groups of the northeast, and the Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or
Malinke) and southern Mande peoples found in the northwest. A significant
Lebanese community also exists.
A | Population Characteristics |
The population of Côte d’Ivoire (2008
estimate) is 18,373,060. The overall population density is 58 persons per sq km
(150 per sq mi).
An estimated 37 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s
people follow traditional religions; 30 percent are Muslim, and 24 percent are
Christian, mainly Roman Catholic. French is the official national language;
numerous African languages are also spoken.
B | Principal Cities |
The main cities of Côte d’Ivoire are
Abidjan, the country’s traditional capital, with a population (2003 estimate,
greater city) of 3.3 million, and Bouaké (1998, 461,618), an important
administrative and commercial center. Other urban centers include Daloa
(173,107) and Yamoussoukro (2003 estimate, 416,000). Yamoussoukro was designated
the new national capital in 1983, but many government offices have remained in
Abidjan.
C | Education |
Education in Côte d’Ivoire is free, and is
compulsory for 10 years. In 2002–2003 only 78 percent of primary school-aged
children and 23 percent of secondary school-aged children were enrolled in
school. Institutes of higher education include the University of Cocody (founded
in 1958) and the University of Abobo-Adjamé (1957), both in Abidjan; and the
University of Bouaké (1960). A substantial number of advanced Côte d’Ivoire
students study abroad. An estimated 54 percent (2005) of the adult population is
literate.
D | Culture |
Traditional artistic expressions in Côte
d’Ivoire include woodcarvings (particularly masks), decorative fabrics, and
acrobatic dancing. Urban populations have been greatly influenced by French
culture. The French language is almost universally used in the written
literature of Côte d’Ivoire, to the exclusion of the African languages.
IV | ECONOMY |
About 60 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s total
labor force is employed in farming and forestry. Government efforts to avoid
dependence on a small number of export crops have led to economic
diversification in Côte d’Ivoire, but the economy is still primarily
agricultural. Annual budget figures show approximately $3.1 billion in revenues
and $3.3 billion in expenditures.
A | Agriculture |
The principal cash crops of Côte d’Ivoire
are cacao, cotton, and coffee. The country is among the world’s leading
producers of cacao, which accounts for more than 40 percent of export earnings,
and is one of Africa’s top coffee producers as well. The government encouraged
production of cotton and pineapples to diversify the economy, which had suffered
in the 1980s when commodity prices for cacao and coffee dropped sharply. Other
crops being developed for export are palm kernels and rubber. Crops grown for
local use include yams, cassava, plantains, rice, and corn. The government has
initiated programs to achieve food self-sufficiency, but Côte d’Ivoire must
import some staples, such as rice.
B | Forestry and Fishing |
The production of timber and sawn lumber
is of major economic importance to the Côte d’Ivoire economy. The most important
export timbers are mahogany, iroko, sipo, obeche, and makore. Some 10.1 million
cubic meters (356 million cubic feet) of timber were produced in 2006. Fishing
is conducted along the coast; the catch was 55,866 metric tons in 2005.
C | Mining and Manufacturing |
Offshore oil was discovered in commercial
quantities in 1977, and production began in 1980. Petroleum provides a
significant share of export earnings; output in 2004 was 12 million barrels a
year. Côte d’Ivoire also mines significant quantities of diamonds and gold.
Major industries include food-processing plants, lumber and textile mills, oil
refineries, and cement, plywood, and palm oil production.
D | Currency, Banking, and Trade |
Côte d’Ivoire is a member of the West
African Monetary Union. The currency is the CFA franc, issued by the
Central Bank for the States of West Africa (522.9 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 2006
average).
In 2003 exports totaled $5.5 billion and
imports were $3.5 billion. Principal trading partners for exports are
Netherlands, France, the United States, Mali, and Ghana; chief partners for
imports are France, Nigeria, the United States, Italy, and Netherlands.
E | Transportation and Communications |
The port of Abidjan is one of the busiest
in West Africa. A new port exists at San-Pédro, which is linked to Mali by rail.
A railroad links Abidjan to Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The
total length of operated railroad track in the country is 639 km (397 mi). Only
about 8 percent (2004) of the estimated 80,000 km (49,710 mi) of roads are
paved. The government operates several radio and television stations, and
several commercial radio stations also broadcast. More Ivoirians have mobile
telephones than telephone mainlines, and in 2006 about 300,000 people had access
to the Internet.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Côte d’Ivoire is governed under a
constitution that was adopted by public referendum in July 2000. The head of
state is an elected president and the head of government is a prime minister,
who is appointed by the president. The president and prime minister are advised
by a council of ministers that is selected by the prime minister. The president
and the 225 members of the unicameral National Assembly are all elected for
five-year terms by universal adult suffrage.
Major political parties in Côte d’Ivoire
include the Parti Démocratique de la Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI; Democratic
Party of Côte d’Ivoire), the social-democratic Front Populaire Ivoirien
(FPI; Ivorian Popular Front), and the centrist Rassemblement des
Républicains (RDR; Rally of Republicans). The PDCI was the nation’s only
legal political party from 1960 to 1990, when a multiparty system was adopted.
It retained control over the country until its leader was ousted in a military
coup in December 1999.
The judicial system includes a supreme court
that comprises constitutional, judicial, administrative, and auditing chambers.
A high court of justice is empowered to try government officials, including the
president, for high crimes. Other courts include appellate, state security, and
courts of first instance.
VI | HISTORY |
Ancestors of most of the present population
of Côte d’Ivoire seem to have moved into the area relatively late (18th to 19th
century), mostly from the northeast and east. The Kru, however, came from the
west across the Cavally River. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the
15th century and began trading in slaves and ivory. Strong tribal kingdoms
flourished in the northeastern and eastern parts of the country. Europeans did
not penetrate inland until the 1830s, when the French signed treaties with
coastal rulers. As part of the French expansion in West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire
was made a colony in 1893. The French were bitterly resisted, however, and
frequent revolts occurred. In 1904 Côte d’Ivoire became a constituent territory
of the Federation of French West Africa. Faced with dissidence, the French
resorted increasingly to direct rule, undermining traditional rulers.
A | Houphouët-Boigny’s Leadership |
In 1919 the northern part of the colony
was detached to form part of the new colony of Upper Volta, which was dissolved
in 1932, only to be reconstituted in 1948. In 1944 Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a
Baule chief, farmer, and doctor, founded a union of African farmers. From this
organization emerged the first major African political party, the
interterritorial African Democratic Rally, and its constituent section, the
PDCI, both led by Houphouët-Boigny. The party was opposed by the French
administration, and the tension flared into violence in 1949. In 1950
Houphouët-Boigny reversed his policy and began to cooperate with the French. On
December 4, 1958, Côte d’Ivoire was proclaimed a republic within the French
Community. After national elections in 1959, Houphouët-Boigny became premier and
was elected president in November 1960, following the achievement of full
independence on August 7 of that year.
Côte d’Ivoire enjoyed political stability
and great economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s, despite occasional
challenges to the generally conservative, business-oriented outlook of
Houphouët-Boigny by students and members of the armed forces. An alleged
conspiracy by army officers to stage a coup was thwarted in 1973; an attempt on
the president’s life was made in 1980; and student unrest in early 1982 caused a
temporary closing of the University of Abidjan. During the late 1980s the aging
president sponsored grandiose building projects, especially in Yamoussoukro,
while the national economy slumped. In October 1990 Houphouët-Boigny won his
seventh five-year term as president, in Côte d’Ivoire’s first multiparty
election, defeating Laurent Gbagbo of the FPI.
Houphouët-Boigny died in office in 1993
and was replaced as president by the head of the National Assembly, Henri Konan
Bédié. In 1994 Bédié oversaw the adoption of new electoral laws requiring
candidates for public office to be of direct Ivorian descent, meaning that the
candidate and both of his or her parents had to have been born in Côte d’Ivoire.
This law was widely seen as a maneuver to prevent Bédié’s principal rival,
Muslim northerner Alassane Ouattara of the newly formed RDR, from running
against him in the 1995 presidential elections. The maneuver underscored a
growing national schism between the mostly Christian south and the largely
Muslim north. Bédié, a Christian, increasingly exploited anti-Muslim sentiment
in the south for political advantage, often referring to northerners as
“foreigners.” Objecting to the new electoral restrictions, opposition parties
boycotted the October 1995 elections, and Bédié was reelected. In the December
1995 legislative elections Bédié’s PDCI won more than 80 percent of the seats in
the National Assembly despite the end of the opposition’s boycott.
B | Recent Developments |
Bédié’s suppression of political
opposition, as well as charges of corruption in his government, led to growing
unrest. In December 1999 his government was overthrown in a bloodless military
coup, the first coup in the nation’s history. General Robert Gueï, a former
military chief, assumed the presidency following the coup. A new constitution,
adopted by public referendum in July 2000, retained the electoral restrictions
regarding Ivorian descent. Ouattara and all other Islamic candidates were found
not to have been of direct Ivorian descent and were barred from running in the
October 2000 presidential elections against Gueï, a Christian from the south.
The PDCI and the RDR boycotted the election, and Islamic leaders urged the
nation’s Muslims not to vote. International electoral monitoring groups
questioned the vote’s legitimacy and refused to send observers. However, the
election proceeded in October. After early voting results showed Gueï trailing
FPI candidate Gbagbo, Gueï dissolved the official election commission and
declared himself the winner. A popular uprising swept Gueï from power, and
Gbagbo declared himself the rightful winner.
In the days after the election, at least
200 people died in clashes between security forces loyal to Gueï, Christian
supporters of Gbagbo, and Muslim supporters of Ouattara who demanded new
elections. The RDR said more than 150 of its supporters were killed, and the
party called for an international inquiry. Following the violence, Gbagbo and
Ouattara pledged to work toward national unity. Gbagbo assembled a new cabinet
made up of FPI and PDCI members.
Unrest flared again in late 2002, when a
failed military coup attempt in September led to months of violence. By 2003
three ethnic-based rebel groups controlled territories in the north and west of
the country. In a French-brokered peace accord in early 2003 Gbagbo agreed to
include rebel representatives in a new coalition government in return for the
rebels’ disarmament. The rebel groups resisted disarmament, however, and
sporadic violence continued. In April 2004 the United Nations (UN) established a
peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire to maintain security and enforce the 2003
peace accord.
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