Côte d'Ivoire

Various small kingdoms ruled the area of Cote d'Ivoire between the 15th and 19th centuries, when European explorers arrived and then began to expand their presence. In 1844, France established a protectorate. During this period, many of these kingdoms and tribes fought to maintain their cultural identities -- some well into the 20th century. For example, the Sanwi kingdom -- originally founded in the 17th century -- tried to break away from Cote d’Ivoire and establish an independent state in 1969.  <br><br>Cote d’Ivoire achieved independence from France in 1960 but has maintained close ties. Foreign investment and the export and production of cocoa drove economic growth that led Cote d’Ivoire to become one of the most prosperous states in West Africa. Then in 1999, a military coup overthrew the government, and a year later, junta leader Robert GUEI held rigged elections and declared himself the winner. Popular protests forced him to step aside, and Laurent GBAGBO was elected. Ivoirian dissidents and members of the military launched a failed coup in 2002 that developed into a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in rebels holding the north, the government holding the south, and peacekeeping forces occupying a buffer zone in the middle. In 2007, President GBAGBO and former rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister. The two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. <br><br>In 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in five months of violent conflict. Armed OUATTARA supporters and UN and French troops eventually forced GBAGBO to step down in 2011. OUATTARA won a second term in 2015 and a controversial third term in 2020 -- despite the two-term limit in the Ivoirian constitution -- in an election boycotted by the opposition. Through political compromise with OUATTARA, the opposition participated peacefully in 2021 legislative elections and won a substantial minority of seats. Also in 2021, the International Criminal Court in The Hague ruled on a final acquittal for GBAGBO, who was on trial for crimes against humanity, paving the way for GBAGBO’s return to Abidjan the same year. GBAGBO has publicly met with OUATTARA since his return as a demonstration of political reconciliation.

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia

8 00 N, 5 00 W

Africa

slightly larger than New Mexico

515 km

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)

mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower

730 sq km (2012)

the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated, with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors, as shown in this population distribution map

coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated

Akan 38%, Voltaique or Gur 22%, Northern Mande 22%, Kru 9.1%, Southern Mande 8.6%, other 0.3% (2021 est.)

Muslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1% (2014 est.)

2.33% (2025 est.)

29.87 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.93 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated, with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors, as shown in this population distribution map

231,000 YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) (2018), 5.686 million ABIDJAN (seat of government) (2023)

19.6 years (2011/12 est.)

359 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

3.85 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.9 (2025 est.)

0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

10.3% (2016)

13.6% (2021 est.)

62.7% (2021 est.)

deforestation; water pollution from sewage and from industrial, mining, and agricultural effluents

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)

36 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

84.14 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

presidential republic

12 districts and 2 autonomous districts*; Abidjan*, Bas-Sassandra, Comoe, Denguele, Goh-Djiboua, Lacs, Lagunes, Montagnes, Sassandra-Marahoue, Savanes, Vall&eacute;e du Bandama, Woroba, Yamoussoukro*, Zanzan

civil law system based on the French civil code; Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court reviews legislation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

African Peoples' Party-Cote d'Ivoire or PPA-CI <br>Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI <br>Ivorian Popular Front or FPI <br>Liberty and Democracy for the Republic or LIDER <br>Movement of the Future Forces or MFA <br>Pan-African Congress for People's Justice and Equality or COJEP <br>Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP <br>Rally of the Republicans or RDR<br>Together for Democracy and Sovereignty or EDS <br>Together to Build (UDPCI, FPI,and allies) <br>Union for Cote d'Ivoire or UPCI <br>Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMISS, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

7 August 1960 (from France)

Independence Day, 7 August (1960)

<strong>description:</strong> three equal vertical bands of orange (left side), white, and green<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> orange stands for the savannah and fertility, white for peace and unity, green for the forests of the south and the hope for a bright future; design based on France's flag

elephant

orange, white, green

one of West Africa&rsquo;s most influential, stable, and rapidly developing economies; poverty declines in urban but increases in rural areas; strong construction sector and increasingly diverse economic portfolio; increasing but manageable public debt; large labor force in agriculture

$86.538 billion (2024 est.)

yams, cassava, oil palm fruit, cocoa beans, sugarcane, plantains, rice, rubber, maize, cashews (2023)

foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, gold mining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity

2.8% (2024 est.)

12.595 million (2024 est.)

37.5% (2021 est.)

13.2% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Switzerland 17%, Netherlands 9%, Mali 7%, USA 5%, Malaysia 4% (2023)

gold, cocoa beans, rubber, refined petroleum, coconuts/brazil nuts/cashews (2023)

China 16%, Nigeria 12%, France 6%, India 5%, USA 4% (2023)

crude petroleum, ships, refined petroleum, fish, rice (2023)

state-controlled Radiodiffusion T&eacute;l&eacute;vision Ivoirienne (RTI) is made up of 2 radio stations (Radio Cote d'Ivoire and Fr&eacute;quence2) and 2 TV stations (RTI1 and RTI2) with nationwide coverage, broadcasting mainly in French; 178 proximity radio stations, 16 religious radio stations, 5 commercial radio stations, and 5 international radio stations; government now runs radio station UNOCIFM, previously owned by the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire; in 2016, 4 media companies were granted licenses: Live TV, Optimum Media Cote d'Ivoire, the Audiovisual Company of Cote d'Ivoire (Sedaci), and Sorano-CI (2019)

.ci

TU

29 (2025)

1 (2025)

Armed Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (Forces Armees de Cote d'Ivoire, FACI; aka Republican Forces of Ivory Coast, FRCI): Army, National Navy, Air Force, Special Forces; National Gendarmerie <br><br>Ministry of Security and Civil Protection: National Police (2025)

approximately 25-30,000 active FACI, including Gendarmerie personnel (2025)

the inventory of the FACI consists mostly of older or secondhand armaments, typically of French or Soviet-era origin; in recent years, it has received small quantities of newer and secondhand equipment from a variety of suppliers, including Bulgaria, China, France, Israel, South Africa, and the US (2025)

18-26 (up to 35 for healthcare professionals) years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription is authorized but reportedly not enforced (2025)

180 Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (2025)

the military (FACI) is responsible for external defense but also has a considerable internal role supporting the National Gendarmerie and other internal security forces; key areas of focus for the FACI are the country's porous international borders and the threat posed by Islamic militants associated with the al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorist group operating across the border in Burkina Faso and Mali; AQIM militants conducted attacks in the country in 2016 and 2020; Côte d’Ivoire since 2016 has stepped up border security and completed building a joint counter-terrorism training center with France near Abidjan in 2020; Cote d'Ivoire has long maintained a close security relationship with France <br><br>the FACI has mutinied several times since the late 1990s, most recently in 2017, and has had a large role in the country’s political turmoil; it was established in 1960 from home defense units the French colonial government began standing up in 1950 (2025)

National Office for Technical Studies and Development (Bureau d'Études Techniques et de Développement or BNETD); Côte d’Ivoire Geographic and Digital Information Center (CIGN) (2025)

has a small, nascent program focused on satellite technology and geospatial information systems, as well as exploitation for resource management, environmental challenges, agricultural sector support, and national security; member of the African Space Agency and cooperates bilaterally with member states such as Tanzania (2025)

2023 - hosted an Africa-wide space industry conference; announced plans to acquire and launch first small remote sensing satellite (Yam-Sat- CI 01) <br><br>2024 - began joint project with Tanzania to build a technology-demonstrator cube satellite (TanSat-1)

al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM); Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM)