Cote d'Ivoire




                                  Header


Affiliation:
     (also known as Ivory Coast)


                                 Geography


Location:
     Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and
     Liberia
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     322,460 sq km
land area:
     318,000 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
     total 3,110 km, Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia
     716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline:
     515 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     200-m depth
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
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, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use:
arable land:
     9%
permanent crops:
     4%
meadows and pastures:
     9%
forest and woodland:
     26%
other:
     52%
Irrigated land:
     620 sq km (1989 est.)




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


                                  People


Population:
     14,295,501 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     3.44% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     46.52 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     15.01 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     2.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     95 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     48.92 years
male:
     46.75 years
female:
     51.16 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.67 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Ivorian(s)
adjective:
     Ivorian
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)
Religions:
     indigenous 25%, Muslim 60%, Christian 12%
Languages:
     French (official), 60 native dialects Dioula is the most widely spoken
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     54%
male:
     67%
female:
     40%




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)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republique de Cote d'Ivoire
local short form:
former:
     Ivory Coast
Digraph:
     IV
Type:
     republic multiparty presidential regime established 1960
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
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
Independence:
     7 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
     National Day, 7 December
Constitution:
     3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time November
     1990
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
Suffrage:
     21 years of age; universal




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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
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
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Jean-Marie KACOU-GERVAIS
chancery:
     2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 797-0300
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
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


                                  Economy




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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $21 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     NA
National product per capita:
     $1,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     1% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     14% (1985)
Budget:
revenues:
     $2.3 billion
expenditures:
     $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $274 million (1990
     est.)
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)
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)
External debt:
     $17.3 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 6% (1990); accounts for 11% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,210,000 kW
production:
     1.97 billion kWh




consumption per capita:
     150 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile assembly,
     textiles, fertilizer, beverage
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
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
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
Currency:
     1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
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
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     660 km (Burkina border to Abidjan, 1.00-meter gauge, single track,
     except 25 km Abidjan-Anyama section is double track)
Highways:
total:
     46,600 km
paved:
     3,600 km
unpaved:
     gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 32,000 km; unimproved earth
     11,000 km
Inland waterways:
     980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Ports:
     Abidjan, San-Pedro
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
Airports:
total:
     41




usable:
     37
with permanent-surface runways:
     7
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     15
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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Republican Guard,
     Military Fire Group
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.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $200 million, 2.3% of GDP (1988)