LA Côte d'Ivoire

It is not uncommon to hear this country referred to as Ivory Coast in English, however the official name is La Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d'Ivoire (French for "Ivory Coast"), is a 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.
The population of Côte d’Ivoire is diverse, comprising more than 60 ethnic groups. The principal groups include the Akan-speaking peoples of the southeast, the Kru of the southwest, the Voltaic groups of the northeast, and the Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or Malinké) and southern Mande peoples found in the northwest. A significant Lebanese community also exists.

A Population Characteristics:
The population of Côte d’Ivoire (1997 estimate) is 15,074,684 . The overall population density is 47 persons per sq km (121 per sq mi).
An estimated 60 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s people follow traditional religions; about 20 percent are Christian, mainly Roman Catholic; and 20 percent are Muslim. French is the official national language; numerous African languages are also spoken.

B Political Divisions and Principal Cities:
Côte d’Ivoire is divided into 49 departments, each administered by a centrally appointed prefect and an elected council. The main cities are Abidjan, with a population (1990 estimate, greater city) of 2,700,000; and Bouaké; (1988, 329,850), an important administrative and commercial center. Other urban centers include Daloa (121,842); Gagnoa (1986 estimate, 59,500), a marketing town; and Man (59,000). Yamoussoukro (1988, 106,786), between Bouaflé and Dimbokro, 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 primary education is compulsory. A vast television education program was begun in the early 1970s. In 1995 only 69 percent of primary-school aged children and 23 percent of secondary-school aged children were enrolled in school. The National University of Côte d’Ivoire (1958), in Abidjan, has a yearly attendance of about 21,000. A substantial number of advanced Côte d’Ivoire students study abroad. An estimated 40 percent of the adult population is literate.

D Culture:
The modernized sector of Côte d’Ivoire’s population has been greatly influenced by French culture. The indigenous culture of the country remains strong, however, and is well known for its artistic creations, especially masks. The French language is almost universally used in the written literature of Côte d’Ivoire, to the exclusion of the African languages.

ECONOMY
The economy of Côte d’Ivoire is primarily agricultural, with 60 percent of the total labor force employed in farming and forestry. However, the government is attempting to diversify the economy to avoid dependence on a small number of export crops. Annual budget figures for the early 1990s show approximately $2.3 billion in revenues and $3.6 billion in expenditures.

A Agriculture:
The principal cash crops of Côte d’Ivoire are cacao, coffee, cotton, and pineapples. 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 maize; the government has initiated programs to achieve food self-sufficiency.

B Forestry and Fishing:
The production of timber is of major economic importance to the Côte d’Ivoire economy. The most important export timbers are mahogany, iroko, sipo, obeche, and makore. Some 14.8 million cu m (522 million cu ft) of timber were produced in 1995. Fishing is conducted along the coast; the catch was 70,174 metric tons in 1995.

C Mining and Manufacturing:
Offshore oil was discovered in commercial quantities in 1977, and production began in 1980; output in 1996 was 5.8 million barrels a year. Côte d’Ivoire also produces about 75,000 carats of diamonds in 1996, and gold mining began in the early 1990s. Industries include food-processing plants, lumber and textile mills, oil refineries, automobile and bicycle assembly plants, and plywood, furniture, cement, shoe, steel-container, and aluminum-sheet production.