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COTE D'IVOIRE

 (also known as Ivory Coast) 

@Cote D'ivoire:Geography

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

 Map references: Africa
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COTE D'IVOIRE - MAJOR CITIES 
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                                        Latitude,      Internat'l     Time   
                        Population      Longitude      Phone Code     Zone   
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Abidjan                  1,850,000     5.19N,  4.01W     225-         GMT    
Bouake                     220,000     7.42N,  5.00W     225-         GMT    
YAMOUSSOUKRO               120,000     6.49N,  5.17W     225-         GMT    
Daloa                       80,000     6.56N,  6.28W     225-         GMT    
Port-Bouet                  60,000     5.14N,  3.58W     225-         GMT    
Man                         55,000     7.24N,  7.37W     225-         GMT    
Korhogo                     53,000     9.22N,  5.31W     225-         GMT    
Gagnoa                      42,000     6.08N,  5.56W     225-         GMT    
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 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 nm
 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 (most of the country's forests - once
 the largest in West Africa - have been cleared by the timber
 industry); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural
 effluents
 natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during
 the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
 international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
 Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
 Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
 Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

@Cote D'ivoire:People

 Population: 14,791,257 (July 1995 est.)

 Age structure:
 0-14 years: 48% (female 3,506,147; male 3,534,751)
 15-64 years: 50% (female 3,619,759; male 3,820,999)
 65 years and over: 2% (female 142,366; male 167,235) (July 1995 est.)

 Population growth rate: 3.38% (1995 est.)

 Birth rate: 46.17 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Death rate: 14.95 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

 Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
 note: since 1989, over 350,000 refugees have fled to Cote d'Ivoire to
 escape the civil war in Liberia; if a lasting peace is achieved in
 Liberia in 1995, large numbers of refugees can be expected to return
 to their homes

 Infant mortality rate: 93.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

 Life expectancy at birth:
 total population: 48.87 years
 male: 46.52 years
 female: 51.29 years (1995 est.)

 Total fertility rate: 6.61 children born/woman (1995 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 (1988)
 total population: 34%
 male: 44%
 female: 23%

 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

@Cote D'ivoire:Government

 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

 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,
 Agnibilekrou, 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 Daniel Kablan 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; Rally of the Republicans (RDR), Djeny
 KOBINA; 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, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
 ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD,
 UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

 Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Moise KOUMOUE-KOFFI
 chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone: [1] (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, 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. After several years
 of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994,
 due to improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in non-traditional
 primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, trade and banking
 liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous
 external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and
 France. The 50% devaluation in January 1994 caused a one time jump in
 the inflation rate. Government adherence to a renewed structural
 adjustment program has led to a budget surplus for the first time in
 several years, a smaller personnel budget, and an increase in public
 investment. While real growth in 1994 was only 1.5%, the IMF and World
 Bank expect it will surpass 6% in 1995.

 National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $20.5 billion (1994
 est.)

 National product real growth rate: 1.5% (1994 est.)

 National product per capita: $1,430 (1994 est.)

 Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

 Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)

 Budget:
 revenues: $1.9 billion
 expenditures: $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $408
 million (1993)

 Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
 commodities: cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, petroleum,
 cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton
 partners: France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Burkina, US, Belgium,
 UK (1992)

 Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
 commodities: food, capital goods, consumer goods, fuel
 partners: France, Nigeria, Japan, Netherlands, US (1992)

 External debt: $17.3 billion (1993 est.)

 Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of
 GDP, including petroleum

 Electricity:
 capacity: 1,170,000 kW
 production: 1.8 billion kWh
 consumption per capita: 123 kWh (1993)

 Industries: foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refining, automobile
 assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverages

 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
 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992),
 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990)
 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

@Cote D'ivoire:Transportation

 Railroads:
 total: 660 km (25 km double track)
 narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge

 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, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro

 Merchant marine:
 total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 49,671 GRT/69,216 DWT
 ships by type: chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 1,
 roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

 Airports:
 total: 40
 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
 with paved runways under 914 m: 11
 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 6
 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16

@Cote D'ivoire:Communications

 Telephone system: 87,700 telephones; well-developed by African
 standards but operating well below capacity; consists of open-wire
 lines and radio relay microwave links
 local: NA
 intercity: NA microwave radio relay
 international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth
 stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables

 Radio:
 broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13
 radios: NA

 Television:
 broadcast stations: 18
 televisions: NA

@Cote D'ivoire:Defense Forces

 Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie,
 Presidential Guard, Military Fire Group

 Manpower availability: males age 15-49 3,318,314; males fit for
 military service 1,724,020; males reach military age (18) annually
 154,120 (1995 est.)

 Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $140 million, 1.4% of
 GDP (1993)


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