Ivory Coast
Country Guide

Explore Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast with its capital Yamoussoukro is located in Africa (Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean). It covers some 322,464 square kilometers (slightly larger than New Mexico) with 24,184,800 citizens. French is the official language used in Ivory Coast. Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Mali are bordering countries.

The nation appears to be returning to a state of normalcy - however, ask your Government for detailled information on travel conditions.

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is a country in West Africa. It has a southerly facing North Atlantic Ocean coast. Close ties to France since independence in 1966, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Côte d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. . The coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible. Mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest. Most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region. Apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated. Inter-city travel in Côte d'Ivoire is usually more comfortable than travel in neighboring African countries. The roads are generally in good condition and the bus service is relatively modern. The down side is the very frequent military check-points which add hours to a trip. You should get a vaccine for Hepatitis A before coming. Still, even street foods are fairly clean. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth office as well as the U.S. State Department advises against all travel to Côte d'Ivoire at this time.

Popular Destinations in Ivory Coast

Administrative regions of Ivory Coast

• Abidjan
• Bas-Sassandra
• Comoe
• Denguele
• Goh-Djiboua
• Lacs
• Lagunes
• Montagnes
• Sassandra-Marahoue
• Savanes
• Vallee du Bandama
• Woroba
• Yamoussoukro Autonomous District
• Zanzan

About the country

The topography is mostly flat to undulating plains with mountains in northwest. The average density of population is about 75 per km². The climate in Ivory Coast can be described as tropical along coast, semiarid in far north with three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October). Potential natural disasters are coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

To reach someone Ivory Coast dial +225 prior to a number. The local cellular networks are operated on 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 4G. Websites typically end with the top level domain ".ci". If you want to bring electric appliances (e.g. battery chaarger), keep in min the local 220 V - 50 Hz (plugs: C, E). The sign for the locally used currency Franc is XOF.

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.

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.

Geography

Area
Total (World Rank: 70)	322,463	sq km
Land (World Rank: 65)	318,003	sq km
Water (World Rank: 70)	4,460	sq km
Forest (World Rank: 35)	41.50	%
Comparative	slightly larger than New Mexico
Coastline
515
Landborder
3458
Elevation
Highest point (World Rank: 138)	1,752	m
Agricultural land
Total (World Rank: 34)	64.80	%
Arable (World Rank: 117)	9.10	%
Permanent crops (World Rank: 19)	14.20	%
Permanent pastures (World Rank: 35)	41.50	%
Irrigated land (World Rank: 109)	730	sq km
Map reference
Africa
Environment
Issues	- 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
Agreement party	- Biodiversity - Climate Change - Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Desertification - Endangered Species - Hazardous Wastes - Law of the Sea - Marine Dumping - Ozone Layer Protection - Ship Pollution - Tropical Timber 83 - Tropical Timber 94 - Wetlands - Whaling
Hazzards	- coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors - during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
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

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People

Population
Total (World Rank: 54)	24,184,800
Deathrate (World Rank: 53)	0.94	%
Birthrate (World Rank: 44)	2.77	%
Growthrate (World Rank: 55)	1.84	%
Fertility rate (World Rank: 44)	3.38	%
Median age
Male (World Rank: 179)	21.00
Female (World Rank: 185)	20.90
Age structure
0 14 male (World Rank: 43)	4,508,540
0 14 female (World Rank: 43)	4,431,980
15 24 male (World Rank: 47)	2,549,590
15 24 female (World Rank: 47)	2,508,320
25 54 male (World Rank: 54)	4,272,290
25 54 female (World Rank: 55)	4,091,000
55 64 male (World Rank: 72)	490,918
55 64 female (World Rank: 78)	486,702
65 x male (World Rank: 74)	403,757
65 x female (World Rank: 78)	441,717
Health
Infant mortality rate (World Rank: 21)	5.58	%
Life expectancy total (World Rank: 204)	59	years
Life expectancy female (World Rank: 206)	60	years
Life expectancy male (World Rank: 204)	58	years
Physicians per 1000 (World Rank: 156)	0.14
Hospital bed per 1000 (World Rank: 174)	0.40
Sanitation access total (World Rank: 189)	22.50	%
Obesity adult (World Rank: 139)	10.30	%
Drinking water access (World Rank: 157)	81.90	%

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Energy

Electricity
Production (World Rank: 108)	8,262,000,000	kWh
Consumption (World Rank: 117)	5,669,000,000	kWh
Export (World Rank: 58)	872,000,000	kWh
Import (World Rank: 105)	23,000,000	kWh
Source fossil (World Rank: 112)	66.90	%
Source nuclear (World Rank: 62)	33.10	%
Crude oil
Production (World Rank: 62)	30,000	bbl / day
Exports (World Rank: 45)	34,720	bbl / day
Imports (World Rank: 49)	65,540	bbl / day
Proved reserves (World Rank: 72)	100,000,000	bbl
Refined products
Production (World Rank: 73)	67,260	bbl / day
Consumption (World Rank: 109)	43,000	bbl / day
Export (World Rank: 58)	31,550	bbl / day
Import (World Rank: 159)	5,975	bbl / day
Natural gas
Production (World Rank: 57)	2,063,000,000	m³
Consumption (World Rank: 77)	2,897,000,000	m³
Carbon footprint
8995000

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Nation

Budget
Education (World Rank: 83)	5	% of GDP
Military (World Rank: 100)	1	% of GDP
Health (World Rank: 115)	6	% of GDP
Surplus (World Rank: 130)	-4	% of GDP
National symbol
elephant
National colours
white
Adjective
Ivoirian
Noun
Ivoirian(s)
Background
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.
Flag description
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

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Economy

Gdp
Purchasing power parity (World Rank: 86)	87,910,000,000	USD
Real growth rate (World Rank: 7)	7.70	%
Per capita purchasing power parity (World Rank: 179)	3,600	USD
Source agriculture (World Rank: 52)	19.50	%
Source industry (World Rank: 89)	28.30	%
Source service (World Rank: 163)	52.20	%
Labourforce
Total (World Rank: 58)	8,542,000
In poverty (World Rank: 28)	46.30	%
Products
Industries	- beverages - building materials - bus assembly - electricity - fertilizer - foodstuffs - gold mining - oil refining - textiles - truck - wood products
Agriculture	- bananas - cassava - cocoa beans - coffee - corn - cotton - manioc - palm kernels - rice - rubber - sugar - sweet potatoes - tapioca - timber
Exports	- bananas - cocoa - coffee - cotton - fish - palm oil - petroleum - pineapples - timber
Imports	- capital equipment - foodstuffs - fuel

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Communication

Phone
Landline total (World Rank: 114)	289,108
Landline per 100 (World Rank: 196)	1.00
Mobile per 100 (World Rank: 90)	116.00
Assessment	0
Internet
Users (World Rank: 66)	6,297,680
Population (World Rank: 164)	26.50	%

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Transport

Air
Airports paved (World Rank: 133)	7.00
Airports unpaved (World Rank: 105)	20.00
Heliports (World Rank: 110)	1.00
Rail
Total length (World Rank: 105)	660
Road
Total length (World Rank: 61)	81,996
Paved length (World Rank: 89)	6,502
Unpaved length (World Rank: 28)	75,494
Water
Total length (World Rank: 68)	980

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