# The World Factbook (1990)/Ivory Coast

pages 157–158
​Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 322,460 km²; land area: 318,000 km²
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries: 3,110 km total; Burkina 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline: 515 km
Maritime claims:
    Continental shelf: 200 m
    Extended economic zone: 200 nm
    Territorial sea: 12 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
Natural resources: crude oil, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use: 9% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures; 26% forest and woodland; 52% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe deforestation
People
Population: 12,478,024 (July 1990), growth rate 4.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 100 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.9 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Ivorian(s); adjective—Ivorian
Ethnic divisions: over 60 ethnic groups; most important are the Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, and Agni; about 2 million foreign Africans, mostly Burkinabe; about 130,000 to 330,000 non-Africans (30,000 French and 100,000 to 300,000 Lebanese)
Religion: 63% indigenous, 25% Muslim, 12% Christian
Language: French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most widely spoken
Literacy: 42.7%
Labor force: 5,718,000; 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; 54% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: 20% of wage labor force
Government
Long-form name: Republic of the Ivory Coast; note—the local official name is République de Côte d'Ivoire
Type: republic; one-party presidential regime established 1960
Capital: Abidjan (capital city changed to Yamoussoukro in March 1983 but not recognized by US)
Administrative divisions: 49 departments (départements, singular—(département); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzopé, Agboville, Bangolo, Béoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouaflé, Bouaké, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danané, Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duékoué, Ferkessédougou, Gagnoa, Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota, Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienné, Oumé, Sakassou, San-Pedro, Sassandra, Séguéla, Sinfra, Soubré, Tabou, Tanda, Tengréla, Tiassalé, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuénoula
Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)
Constitution: 3 November 1960
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
National holiday: National Day, 7 December
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Suprême)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Dr. Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960)
Political parties and leaders: only party Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections: President—last held 27 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990); results—President Félix Houphouët-Boigny was reelected without opposition to his fifth consecutive five-year term;
National Assembly—last held 10 November 1985 (next to be held 10 November 1990); results—PDCI is the only party; seats—(175 total) PDCI 175
Communists: no Communist party; possibly some sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, EAMA, EGA, ECOWAS, EIB (associate), Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Charles GOMIS; Chancery at 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 797-0300; US—Ambassador Kenneth BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan (mailing address is B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01); telephone [225] 32-09-79
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: The Ivory Coast 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 had not recovered by 1989.
GDP: $10.0 billion, per capita $900; real growth rate -6.4% (1988)
​Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)
Budget: revenues $1.6 billion (1986); expenditures S2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $504 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton; partners—France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)
Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—manufactured goods and semi-finished products 50%, consumer goods 40%, raw materials and fuels 10%; partners—France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)
External debt: $14.7 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1987)
Electricity: 1,081,000 kW capacity; 2,440 million kWh produced, 210 kWh per capita (1989)
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 selfsufficient in bread grain and dairy products
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for the international drug trade
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $344 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $4.6 billion
Currency: Communauté Financière Africaine franc (plural—francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communauté Financière Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1—287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
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: 46,600 km total; 3,600 km bituminous and bituminous-treated surface; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite, and improved earth; 11,000 km unimproved
Inland waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Ports: Abidjan, San-Pedro
Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,945 GRT/90,684 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker
Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft, including multinationally owned Air Afrique fleet
Airports: 49 total, 42 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: system above African average; consists of open-wire lines and radio relay links; 87,700 telephones; stations—3 AM, 17 FM, 11 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,874,925; 1,487,909 fit for military service; 141,193 males reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.9% of GDP (1987)