Cote De Ivoire
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
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 |
| Gevernment type | republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
note: the government is currently operating under a power-sharing agreement mandated by international mediators |
| Capital |
name: Yamoussoukro
geographic coordinates: 5 19 N, 4 02 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) 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 |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Internet country code | .ci |
| Ports and terminals | Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro |
| Agriculture products | coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber |
| Industries | foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity, ship construction and repair |
| Geography |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia |
| Coordinates | 8 00 N, 5 00 W |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 322,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km water: 4,460 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km |
| Coastline | 515 km |
| 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 |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
| People |
| Population | 17,654,843
note: 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | 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) |
| Religions | Muslim 35-40%, indigenous 25-40%, Christian 20-30% (2001)
note: the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%) |
| Languages | French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken |
