:: Cote d'Ivoire 
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Background | Geography | People
:: Cote d'Ivoire Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. On 25 December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Junta leader Robert GUEI held elections in late 2000, but excluded prominent opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA, blatantly rigged the polling results, and declared himself winner. Popular protest forced GUEI to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country, and in January 2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President GBAGBO and rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a three-month stalemate, but issues that sparked the civil war, such as land reform and grounds for citizenship, remain unresolved. The central government has yet to exert control over the northern regions and tensions remain high between GBAGBO and opposition leaders. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace and facilitate the disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation process.
::Geography Location: | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia | Geographic coordinates: | 8 00 N, 5 00 W | Map references: | Africa | Area: | total: 322,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km | Area - comparative: | slightly larger than New Mexico | Land 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 | Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm | 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 | Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m | Natural resources: | petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower | Land use: | arable land: 10.23%
permanent crops: 11.16%
other: 78.61% (2005) | Irrigated land: | 730 sq km (1998 est.) | Natural hazards: | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible | Environment - current issues: | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | Geography - note: | most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated |
::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.) | Age structure: | 0-14 years: 40.8% (male 3,546,674/female 3,653,990)
15-64 years: 56.4% (male 5,024,575/female 4,939,677)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 238,793/female 251,134) (2006 est.) | Median age: | total: 19.2 years
male: 19.4 years
female: 18.9 years (2006 est.) | Population growth rate: | 2.03% (2006 est.) | Birth rate: | 35.11 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | Death rate: | 14.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) | Infant mortality rate: | total: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 105.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 71.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) | Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 48.82 years
male: 46.24 years
female: 51.48 years (2006 est.) | Total fertility rate: | 4.5 children born/woman (2006 est.) | HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 7% (2003 est.) | HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 570,000 (2003 est.) | HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 47,000 (2003 est.) | Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and others are high risks in some locations
water contact: schistosomiasis (2005) | Nationality: | noun: Ivoirian(s)
adjective: Ivoirian | 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 | Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.9%
male: 57.9%
female: 43.6% (2003 est.) |
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