1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Administrative divisions
50 departments (departements, singular - departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope, Agboville, Agnibilckrou, 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
Affiliation
(also known as Ivory Coast)
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
Airports
total: 41 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
Area
total area: 322,460 sq km land area: 318,000 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Birth rate
46.52 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Republican Guard, Military Fire Group
Budget
revenues: $2.3 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $274 million (1990 est.)
Capital
Yamoussoukro note: although Yamoussoukro has been the capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the administrative center; foreign governments, including the United States, maintain presence in Abidjan
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
Constitution
3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time November 1990
Currency
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Death rate
15.01 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $200 million, 2.3% of GDP (1988)
Digraph
IV
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean-Marie KACOU-GERVAIS chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 797-0300
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $5.2 billion
Electricity
capacity: 1,210,000 kW production: 1.97 billion kWh consumption per capita: 150 kWh (1991)
Environment
current issues: deforestation; water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Tropical Timber
Ethnic divisions
Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, Agni, foreign Africans (mostly Burkinabe and Malians, about 3 million), non-Africans 130,000 to 330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)
Exchange rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 592.05 (January 1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Executive branch
chief of state: President Henri Konan BEDIE (since 7 December 1993) constitutional successor who will serve during the remainder of the term of former President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY who died in office after continuous service from November 1960 (next election October 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Kablan Daniel DUNCAN (since 10 December 1993) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
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
$17.3 billion (1993 est.)
FAX
[225] 22-32-59
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
Highways
total: 46,600 km paved: 3,600 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 32,000 km; unimproved earth 11,000 km
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis; mostly for local consumption; some international drug trade; transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US
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)
Independence
7 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production
growth rate 6% (1990); accounts for 11% of GDP
Industries
foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverage
Infant mortality rate
95 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1% (1991 est.)
Inland waterways
980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
620 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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)
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%
Languages
French (official), 60 native dialects Dioula is the most widely spoken
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
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 48.92 years male: 46.75 years female: 51.16 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 54% male: 67% female: 40%
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and Liberia
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 3,224,673; fit for military service 1,674,127; reach military age (18) annually 149,991 (1994 est.)
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
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, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 92,828 GRT/ 134,606 DWT, bulk 1, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3
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 (Assemblee Nationale)
elections 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
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $21 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$1,500 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
NA
Nationality
noun: Ivorian(s) adjective: Ivorian
Natural resources
petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Net migration rate
2.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
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 has yet to fully recover. Continuing weak prices for commodity exports, a bloated public-sector wage bill, and a large foreign debt will continue to constrain economic development, this despite the 50% currency devaluation in January 1994 designed to restore international price competitiveness. A large, non-competitive import-substitution sector continues to thrive under steep tariff and import quota barriers.
Political parties and leaders
Democratic Party of the Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), Henri Konan BEDIE; Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO; Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE; Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA; over 20 smaller parties
Population
14,295,501 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
3.44% (1994 est.)
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)
Religions
indigenous 25%, Muslim 60%, Christian 12%
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
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
Terrain
mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Total fertility rate
6.67 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic multiparty presidential regime established 1960
Unemployment rate
14% (1985)
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