1 History

Main article: History of Côte d'Ivoire See also: Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire

In the 19th century, Côte d'Ivoire was seized by Louis Gustave Binger, ( 1856- 1936) as a colony for France. It became independent in 1960 and was ruled by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and his party PDCI until 1993.

The government of Henri Konan Bédié was replaced in 1999 by a military coup d'état of Robert Guéï. After ten months in which Côte d'Ivoire experienced an economic downturn, failed elections, and public protest, it eventually returned to democratic rule in 2000 under Laurent Gbagbo.

In 2002 a rebellion in the North and the West came up and the country is now divided in three parts. A reconciliation process under international auspices started in 2003. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Côte d'Ivoire to maintain peace and help implement the peace accords.

2 Politics

Main article: Politics of Côte d'Ivoire

The official capital since 1983 is Yamoussoukro; however, Abidjan remains the administrative center. Most countries maintain their embassies in Abidjan. The population continues to suffer because of an on-going civil war. International human rights organizations have noted problems with the treatment of captive non-combatants by both sides and the reemergence of child slavery among workers in cocoa production.

3 Départements

Main article: Départements of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is divided into 58 départements: See the list at the foot of the page.

4 Geography

Main article: Geography of Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is a country of western Sub-Saharan Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea in the west, Mali and Burkina Faso in the north, Ghana in the east, and the Gulf of Guinea ( Atlantic Ocean) in the south.

5 Economy

Main article: Economy of Côte d'Ivoire

Maintaining close ties to France since independence in 1960, diversification of agriculture for export, and encouragement of foreign investment has made Côte d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states.

6 Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Côte d'Ivoire

76% of the population are Ivorians and are the French speaking majority. Since Cote d'Ivoire has established itself as one of the most succesful west African nations, about 20% of the population consists of workers from neighboring Liberia, Burkina Faso and Guinea. This fact has created steadily increasing tension in recent years, especially since most of these workers are Muslims while the native-born population is largely Christian, primarily Roman Catholic, and animist. Although not entirely white, there is a 4% of the population that is of non-African ancestry. Many are French, British, and Spanish citizens. There is also an American and Canadian minority of protestant missionaries.

7 Culture

Main article: Culture of Côte d'Ivoire

• Music of Côte d'Ivoire: Alpha Blondy, Gyil, Djun-djun

See also: List of writers from Côte d'Ivoire

8 The name

8.1 History

The country was originally known in English as Ivory Coast, and corresponding translations in other languages: Elfenbeinküste in German, Costa de Marfil in Spanish, and so on. Because of the disorder this could allegedly produce in international fora, in October 1985 the government requested that the country be known as Côte d'Ivoire in every language. In fact, according to national law, the name of the country cannot be translated from French.

8.2 Usage

Speakers of most languages ignore the Ivorian government's ruling. English speakers are unusual in often respecting it. However, "Ivory Coast" (sometimes with "the") is still the most commonly-used name in English. Style guides and official use vary, the tendency being for governments to use the French form for diplomatic reasons, and journalistic style guides to use the English form for reasons of clarity or correctness:

• The Guardian newspaper's Style Guide says: "Ivory Coast, not "the Ivory Coast" or Côte D'Ivoire; its nationals are Ivorians"
• The BBC uses "Ivory Coast".
• The United States Department of State uses "Côte d'Ivoire".

9 Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Côte d'Ivoire
• Transportation in Côte d'Ivoire
• Military of Côte d'Ivoire
• Foreign relations of Côte d'Ivoire
• Civil war in Ivory Coast

10 References

• Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

11 External links

• Lonely Planet country profile
• BBC country profile
• AfricaST country profile

Départements of Côte d'Ivoire

Abengourou | Abidjan | Aboisso | Adiaké | Adzopé | Agboville | Agnibilékrou | Alépé | Bocanda | Bangolo | Béoumi | Biankouma | Bondoukou | Bongouanou | Bouaflé | Bouaké | Bouna | Boundiali | Dabakala | Dabou | Daloa | Danané | Daoukro | Dimbokro | Divo | Duékoué | Ferkessédougou | Gagnoa | Grand-Bassam | Grand-Lahou | Guiglo | Issia | Jacqueville | Katiola | Korhogo | Lakota | Man | Mankono | Mbahiakro | Odienné | Oumé | Sakassou | San-Pedro | Sassandra | Séguéla | Sinfra | Soubré | Tabou | Tanda | Tiébissou | Tingréla | Tiassalé | Touba | Toulépleu | Toumodi | Vavoua | Yamoussoukro | Zuénoula

[ }|action=edit}} Edit }]	Countries in Africa
Algeria | Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Central African Republic | Chad | Comoros | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | Côte d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Equatorial Guinea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Gabon | The Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Kenya | Lesotho | Liberia | Libya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | São Tomé and Príncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Somalia | South Africa | Sudan | Swaziland | Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe
Other areas: Canary Islands | Mayotte | Réunion | Saint Helena | Western Sahara

Côte d'Ivoire

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