1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 322,460 km2 land area: 318,000 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
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)
Coastline
515 km
Environment
coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe deforestation
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
620 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 3,110 km, Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Land use
arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 26% other: 52%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and Liberia
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
continental shelf: 200 m depth exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Terrain
mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
People and Society
Birth rate
46.88 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
15.07 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, Agni, foreign Africans (mostly Burkinabe about 2 million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)
Infant mortality rate
97 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
5.718 million by occupation: over 85% of population engaged in agriculture, forestry, livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are wage earners, nearly half in agriculture and the remainder in government, industry, commerce, and professions note: 54% of population of working age (1985)
Languages
French (official), 60 native dialects Dioula is the most widely spoken
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 48.97 years male: 46.98 years female: 51.03 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 54% male: 67% female: 40%
Nationality
noun: Ivorian(s) adjective: Ivorian
Net migration rate
3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
13,808,447 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
3.5% (1993 est.)
Religions
indigenous 63%, Muslim 25%, Christian 12%
Total fertility rate
6.73 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
49 departments (departements, singular - (departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tingrela, Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula
Capital
Yamoussoukro note: although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Adibjan remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including the United States, maintain presence in Abidjan
Chief of State
President Dr. Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960)
Constitution
3 November 1960
Digraph
IV
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles GOMIS chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 797-0300
Executive branch
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
FAX
[225] 22-32-59
Flag
three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; 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
Head of Government
Prime Minister Alassane OUATTARA (since 7 November 1990)
Independence
7 August 1960 (from France)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Legal system
based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Member of
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire local short form: Cote d'Ivoire former: Ivory Coast
National Assembly
last held 25 November 1990 (next to be held November 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (175 total) PDCI 163, FPI 9, PIT 1, independents 2
National holiday
National Day, 7 December
Political parties and leaders
Democratic Party of the Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), Dr. Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY; Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO; Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE; Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA; over 20 smaller parties
President
last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held October 1995); results - President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY received 81% of the vote in his first contested election; he is currently serving his seventh consecutive five-year term
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
Type
republic multiparty presidential regime established 1960
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Hume A. HORAN embassy: 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan mailing address: 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan telephone: [225] 21-09-79 or 21-46-72
Economy
Agriculture
most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP and 80% to exports; cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber, bananas, palm kernels, rubber; food crops - corn, rice, manioc, sweet potatoes; not self-sufficient in bread grain and dairy products
Budget
revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $274 million (1990 est.)
Currency
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $5.2 billion
Electricity
1,210,000 kW capacity; 1,970 million kWh produced, 150 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January 1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988)
Exports
$2.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton partners: France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)
External debt
$15 billion (1990 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis; mostly for local consumption; some international drug trade; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe
Imports
$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: food, capital goods, consumer goods, fuel partners: France 29%, other EC 29%, Nigeria 16%, US 4%, Japan 3% (1989)
Industrial production
growth rate 6% (1990); accounts for 11% of GDP
Industries
foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverage
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1% (1991 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $10 billion (1991)
National product per capita
$800 (1991)
National product real growth rate
-0.6% (1991)
Overview
Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for coffee and cocoa and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the government to diversify, the economy is still largely dependent on agriculture and related industries. The agricultural sector accounts for over one-third of GDP and about 80% of export earnings and employs about 85% of the labor force. A collapse of world cocoa and coffee prices in 1986 threw the economy into a recession, from which the country had not recovered by 1990. Continuing low prices for commodity exports, an overvalued exchange rate, a bloated public-sector wage bill, and a large foreign debt hindered economic recovery in 1991. The government, which has sponsored various economic reform programs, especially in agriculture, projected an increase of 1.6% in GNP in 1992.
Unemployment rate
14% (1985)
Communications
Airports
total: 42 usable: 37 with permanent-surface runways: 7 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 15
Highways
46,600 km total; 3,600 km paved; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite, and improved earth; 11,000 km unimproved
Inland waterways
980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Merchant marine
7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,945 GRT/ 90,684 DWT; includes 1 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 3 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off
Ports
Abidjan, San-Pedro
Railroads
660 km (Burkina border to Abidjan, 1.00-meter gauge, single track, except 25 km Abidjan-Anyama section is double track)
Telecommunications
well-developed by African standards but operating well below capacity; consists of open-wire lines and radio relay microwave links; 87,700 telephones; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 17 FM, 13 TV, 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station; 2 coaxial submarine cables
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, Military Fire Group
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $200 million, 2.3% of GDP (1988)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 3,131,016; fit for military service 1,624,401; reach military age (18) annually 145,827 (1993 est.)