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 West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. The war ended in 2003 with a cease fire that left the country divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces in a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month stand-off. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. Several thousand UN peacekeepers and several hundred French troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to support the transition process. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's infrastructure and military after the five months of post-electoral fighting, and faces ongoing threats from GBAGBO supporters many of whom have sought shelter in Ghana. GBAGBO is in The Hague awaiting trial for crimes against humanity.

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia

8 00 N, 5 00 W

Africa

slightly larger than New Mexico

515 km

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)

mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower

730 sq km (2003)

81 cu km (2001)

coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

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

most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated

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)

French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken

Muslim 38.6%, Christian 32.8%, indigenous 11.9%, none 16.7% (2008 est.)

21,952,093 (July 2012 est.)

2.044% (2012 est.)

30.4 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

9.96 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

ABIDJAN (seat of government) 4.009 million; YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) 808,000 (2009)

400 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

3.82 children born/woman (2012 est.)

5.1% of GDP (2009)

0.144 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 36% of population

rural: 11% of population

total: 23% of population

urban: 64% of population

rural: 89% of population

total: 77% of population

3.4% (2009 est.)

450,000 (2009 est.)

36,000 (2009 est.)

16.7% (2006)

4.6% of GDP (2008)

republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960

19 regions; Agneby, Bafing, Bas-Sassandra, Denguele, Dix-Huit Montagnes, Fromager, Haut-Sassandra, Lacs, Lagunes, Marahoue, Moyen-Cavally, Moyen-Comoe, N'zi-Comoe, Savanes, Sud-Bandama, Sud-Comoe, Vallee du Bandama, Worodougou, Zanzan

7 August 1960 (from France)

Independence Day, 7 August (1960)

approved by referendum 23 July 2000

civil law system based on the French civil code; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction under Article 12(3)of the Rome Statute

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (225 seats; members elected in single- and multi-district elections by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases, Audit Chamber for financial cases, Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases, and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit to the number of members

Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Theodore MEL EG]; Democratic Liberty for the Republic or LIDER [Mamadou KOULIBALY]; Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE]; Freedom and Democracy for the Republic or LIBRE [Mamadou KOULIBALY]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Miaka OURETO]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francois KOUABLAN]; Opposition Movement of the Future or MFA [Innocent Augustin ANAKY]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane OUATTARA]; Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Toikeuse MABRI]; over 144 smaller registered parties

Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Serges KOFFI]; National Congress for the Resistance and Democracy or CNRD [Bernard DADIE]; Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP [Alphonse DJEDJE MADY]; Young Patriots [Charles BLE GOUDE]

ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, EITI (candidate country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; orange symbolizes the land (savannah) of the north and fertility, white stands for peace and unity, green represents the forests of the south and the hope for a bright future

elephant

Cote d'Ivoire is heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 68% of the population. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products, and, to a lesser extent, in climatic conditions. Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country is also producing gold. Since the end of the civil war in 2003, political turmoil has continued to damage the economy, resulting in the loss of foreign investment and slow economic growth. In late 2011, Cote D'Ivoire's economy began to recover from a severe downturn of the first quarter of the year that was caused by widespread post-election fighting. In June 2012 the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Cote d'Ivoire's long term challenges include political instability and degrading infrastructure.

$39.64 billion (2012 est.)

$36.65 billion (2011 est.)

$38.47 billion (2010 est.)

$24.27 billion (2012 est.)

8.1% (2012 est.)

-4.7% (2011 est.)

2.4% (2010 est.)

$1,700 (2012 est.)

$1,600 (2011 est.)

$1,700 (2010 est.)

8.97 million (2012 est.)

NA%

42% (2006 est.)

41.5 (2008)

36.7 (1995)

12.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

-7.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

60.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

65% of GDP (2011 est.)

1.4% (2012 est.)

5.1% (2011 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2010 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)

4.3% (31 December 2012 est.)

4.3% (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.239 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$6.198 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$11.01 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$9.065 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.773 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$5.671 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.288 billion (31 December 2011)

$7.099 billion (31 December 2010)

$6.141 billion (31 December 2009)

coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, cassava (manioc), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber

4.5% (2010 est.)

-$1.08 billion (2012 est.)

-$257.3 million (2011 est.)

$10.99 billion (2012 est.)

$11.4 billion (2011 est.)

cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish

Netherlands 11.3%, US 11.2%, Germany 7.2%, Nigeria 5.9%, Canada 5.8%, France 5.8%, South Africa 5.3% (2011)

$8.406 billion (2012 est.)

$7.911 billion (2011 est.)

fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs

Nigeria 35.1%, France 10%, China 5.6%, Colombia 4.8% (2011)

$4.515 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.316 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.742 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$8.539 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$NA

$NA

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar -

513.1 (2012 est.)

471.87 (2011 est.)

495.28 (2010 est.)

472.19 (2009)

447.81 (2008)

calendar year

5.533 billion kWh (2009 est.)

3.576 billion kWh (2009 est.)

484 million kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

1.222 million kW (2009 est.)

50.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

49.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

45,000 bbl/day (2012 est.)

46,340 bbl/day (2009 est.)

70,610 bbl/day (2009 est.)

250 million bbl (1 January 2013 est.)

70,870 bbl/day (2008 est.)

24,630 bbl/day (2011 est.)

49,810 bbl/day (2008 est.)

3,101 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1.6 billion cu m (2010 est.)

1.6 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

28.32 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

5.936 million Mt (2010 est.)

268,200 (2011)

17.344 million (2011)

2 state-owned TV stations; no private terrestrial TV stations, but satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned radio stations; some private radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

.ci

9,115 (2012)

967,300 (2009)

27 (2012)

1 (2012)

condensate 86 km; gas 180 km; oil 92 km (2010)

980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2011)

Abidjan, Espoir, San-Pedro

Republican Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (Force Republiques de Cote d'Ivoire, FRCI): Army, Navy, Cote d'Ivoire Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Cote d'Ivoire)

18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary male and female military service; voluntary recruitment of former rebels into the new national army is restricted to ages 22-29 (2011)

1.5% of GDP (2009)

disputed maritime border between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana

illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center (2008)