"text":"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 brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian 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. The war ended in 2003 with a cease-fire that left the country 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 stand-off. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. Several thousand UN peacekeepers and several hundred French troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to support the transition process. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure while rebuilding the security forces. GBAGBO is in The Hague awaiting trial for crimes against humanity."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia"
"text":"Burkina Faso 545 km, Ghana 720 km, Guinea 816 km, Liberia 778 km, Mali 599 km"
}
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"515 km"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"territorial sea":{
"text":"12 nm"
},
"exclusive economic zone":{
"text":"200 nm"
},
"continental shelf":{
"text":"200 nm"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest"
"text":"coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible"
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"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"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"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"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated"
}
},
"People and Society":{
"Nationality":{
"noun":{
"text":"Ivoirian(s)"
},
"adjective":{
"text":"Ivoirian"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Akan 42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes 16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8% (includes 130,000 Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998)"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken"
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Muslim 38.6%, Christian 32.8%, indigenous 11.9%, none 16.7% (2008 est.)",
"note":{
"text":"the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%)"
}
},
"Population":{
"text":"23,295,302",
"note":{
"text":"estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2015 est.)"
"text":"52.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Life expectancy at birth":{
"total population":{
"text":"58.34 years"
},
"male":{
"text":"57.21 years"
},
"female":{
"text":"59.51 years (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Total fertility rate":{
"text":"3.54 children born/woman (2015 est.)"
},
"Contraceptive prevalence rate":{
"text":"18.2% (2011/12)"
},
"Health expenditures":{
"text":"5.7% of GDP (2013)"
},
"Physicians density":{
"text":"0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2008)"
},
"Hospital bed density":{
"text":"0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)"
},
"Drinking water source":{
"improved":{
"text":" ++ urban: 93.1% of population ++ rural: 68.8% of population ++ total: 81.9% of population"
},
"unimproved":{
"text":" ++ urban: 6.9% of population ++ rural: 31.2% of population ++ total: 18.1% of population (2015 est.)"
}
},
"Sanitation facility access":{
"improved":{
"text":" ++ urban: 32.8% of population ++ rural: 10.3% of population ++ total: 22.5% of population"
},
"unimproved":{
"text":" ++ urban: 67.2% of population ++ rural: 89.7% of population ++ total: 77.5% of population (2015 est.)"
}
},
"HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate":{
"text":"3.46% (2014 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS":{
"text":"460,100 (2014 est.)"
},
"HIV/AIDS - deaths":{
"text":"21,800 (2014 est.)"
},
"Major infectious diseases":{
"degree of risk":{
"text":"very high"
},
"food or waterborne diseases":{
"text":"bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever"
},
"vectorborne diseases":{
"text":"malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever"
},
"water contact disease":{
"text":"schistosomiasis"
},
"animal contact disease":{
"text":"rabies"
},
"respiratory disease":{
"text":"meningococcal meningitis"
},
"note":{
"text":"highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)"
}
},
"Obesity - adult prevalence rate":{
"text":"8% (2014)"
},
"Children under the age of 5 years underweight":{
"text":"15.7% (2012)"
},
"Education expenditures":{
"text":"4.6% of GDP (2008)"
},
"Literacy":{
"definition":{
"text":"age 15 and over can read and write"
},
"total population":{
"text":"43.1%"
},
"male":{
"text":"53.1%"
},
"female":{
"text":"32.5% (2015 est.)"
}
},
"School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)":{
"total":{
"text":"9 years"
},
"male":{
"text":"10 years"
},
"female":{
"text":"8 years (2013)"
}
},
"Child labor - children ages 5-14":{
"total number":{
"text":"1,796,802"
},
"percentage":{
"text":"35% (2006 est.)"
}
}
},
"Government":{
"Country name":{
"conventional long form":{
"text":"Republic of Cote d'Ivoire"
},
"conventional short form":{
"text":"Cote d'Ivoire"
},
"local long form":{
"text":"Republique de Cote d'Ivoire"
},
"local short form":{
"text":"Cote d'Ivoire"
},
"note":{
"text":"pronounced coat-div-whar"
},
"former":{
"text":"Ivory Coast"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Yamoussoukro; note - although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the commercial and administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"6 49 N, 5 16 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in 2020); prime minister appointed by the president"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (225 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 11 December 2011 (next to be held in 2016)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"percent of vote by party - RDR 42.1%, PDCI 28.6%, UDPCI 3.1%, RDP 1.7%, other 24.5% ; seats by party - RDR 127, PDCI 76, UDPCI 7, RDP 4, other 2, independents 39"
}
},
"Judicial branch":{
"highest court(s)":{
"text":"Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into Judicial, Audit, Constitutional, and Administrative Chambers; consists of the court president, 3 vice-presidents for the Judicial, Audit, and Administrative chambers, and 9 associate justices or magistrates)"
"text":"judges nominated by the Superior Council of the Magistrature, a 7-member body consisting of the national president (chairman), 3 \"bench\" judges, and 3 public prosecutors; judges appointed for life"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Appeal (organized into civil, criminal, and social chambers); first instance courts; peace courts"
"text":"Alliance of Democratic Forces or AFD ++ Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Theodore MEL EG] ++ Democracy and Liberty for the Republic or LIDER [Mamadou KOULIBALY] ++ Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE] ++ Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Pascal AFFI NGUESSAN] ++ Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Daniel AKA AHIZ] ++ Movement of the Future Forces or MFA [Innocent Augustin ANAKY KOBENA] ++ Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane OUATTARA] ++ Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Toikeuse MABRI] ++ over 144 smaller registered parties"
"text":"Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Augustin MIAN] ++ National Congress for the Resistance and Democracy or CNRD [Bernard DADIE] ++ Panafrican Congress for Justice and Peoples Equality or COJEP [Roselin BLY] ++ Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP"
"text":"Ambassador Daouda DIABATE (since 11 February 2011)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 797-0300"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 462-9444"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Terence Patrick MCCULLEY (since 21 November 2013)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"Cocody Riviera Golf 01, Abidjan"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[225] 22 49 40 00"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[225] 22 49 42 02"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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",
"note":{
"text":"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"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"elephant; national colors: orange, white, green"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"L'Abidjanaise\" (Song of Abidjan)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Mathieu EKRA, Joachim BONY, and Pierre Marie COTY/Pierre Marie COTY and Pierre Michel PANGO"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1960; although the nation's capital city moved from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro in 1983, the anthem still owes its name to the former capital"
}
}
},
"Economy":{
"Economy - overview":{
"text":"Cote d'Ivoire is heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly two-thirds of the population. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and in climatic conditions. Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country is also mining gold. The country boasted two offshore oil finds in 2012. Following the end of more than a decade of civil conflict in 2011, Cote d’Ivoire has experienced a boom in foreign investment and economic growth. In June 2012, the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative."
"Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy":{
"text":"6.403 million Mt (2012 est.)"
}
},
"Communications":{
"Telephones - fixed lines":{
"total subscriptions":{
"text":"240,000"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"1 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephones - mobile cellular":{
"total":{
"text":"22.1 million"
},
"subscriptions per 100 inhabitants":{
"text":"97 (2014 est.)"
}
},
"Telephone system":{
"general assessment":{
"text":"well-developed by African standards; telecommunications sector privatized in late 1990s and operational fixed lines have increased since that time with two fixed-line providers operating over open-wire lines, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optics; 90% digitalized"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"with multiple mobile-cellular service providers competing in the market, usage has increased sharply to roughly 80 per 100 persons"
},
"international":{
"text":"country code - 225; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2011)"
}
},
"Broadcast media":{
"text":"2 state-owned TV stations; no private terrestrial TV stations, but satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned radio stations; some private radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)"
},
"Radio broadcast stations":{
"text":"AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (1998)"
},
"Television broadcast stations":{
"text":"14 (1998)"
},
"Internet country code":{
"text":".ci"
},
"Internet users":{
"total":{
"text":"621,500"
},
"percent of population":{
"text":"2.7% (2014 est.)"
}
}
},
"Transportation":{
"Airports":{
"text":"27 (2013)"
},
"Airports - with paved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"7"
},
"over 3,047 m":{
"text":"1"
},
"2,438 to 3,047 m":{
"text":"2"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"4 (2013)"
}
},
"Airports - with unpaved runways":{
"total":{
"text":"20"
},
"1,524 to 2,437 m":{
"text":"6"
},
"914 to 1,523 m":{
"text":"11"
},
"under 914 m":{
"text":" ++ 3 (2013)"
}
},
"Heliports":{
"text":"1 (2013)"
},
"Pipelines":{
"text":"condensate 101 km; gas 256 km; oil 118 km; oil/gas/water 5 km; water 7 km (2013)"
},
"Railways":{
"total":{
"text":"660 km"
},
"narrow gauge":{
"text":"660 km 1.000-m gauge"
},
"note":{
"text":"an additional 622 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso (2008)"
}
},
"Roadways":{
"total":{
"text":"81,996 km"
},
"paved":{
"text":"6,502 km"
},
"unpaved":{
"text":"75,494 km"
},
"note":{
"text":"includes intercity and urban roads; another 20,000 km of dirt roads are in poor condition and 150,000 km of dirt roads are impassable (2007)"
}
},
"Waterways":{
"text":"980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2011)"
},
"Ports and terminals":{
"major seaport(s)":{
"text":"Abidjan, San-Pedro"
},
"oil terminal(s)":{
"text":"Espoir Offshore Terminal"
}
}
},
"Military":{
"Military branches":{
"text":"Republican Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (Force Republiques de Cote d'Ivoire, FRCI): Army, Navy, Cote d'Ivoire Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Cote d'Ivoire) (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary male and female military service; conscription is not enforced; voluntary recruitment of former rebels into the new national army is restricted to ages 22-29 (2012)"
},
"Manpower available for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"5,247,522"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"5,047,901 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower fit for military service":{
"males age 16-49":{
"text":"3,360,087"
},
"females age 16-49":{
"text":"3,196,033 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually":{
"male":{
"text":"247,011"
},
"female":{
"text":"242,958 (2010 est.)"
}
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"1.65% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.49% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.65% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"disputed maritime border between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana"
},
"Refugees and internally displaced persons":{
"IDPs":{
"text":"300,900 (post-election conflict in 2010-2011, as well as civil war from 2002-2004; most pronounced in western and southwestern regions) (2015)"
},
"stateless persons":{
"text":"700,000 (2014); note - many Ivoirians lack documentation proving their nationality, which prevent them from accessing education and healthcare; birth on Ivorian soil does not automatically result in citizenship; disputes over citizenship and the associated rights of the large population descended from migrants from neighboring countries is an ongoing source of tension and contributed to the country's 2002 civil war; some observers believe the government's mass naturalizations of thousands of people over the last couple of years is intended to boost its electoral support base; the government in October 2013 acceded to international conventions on statelessness and in August 2013 reformed its nationality law, key steps to clarify the nationality of thousands of residents"
}
},
"Illicit drugs":{
"text":"illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center (2008)"
