FAFN rebels are marching through an occupied village where a French armored car is standing making sure a strong relationship is kept between the French Foreign legion…
Photo: Jonathan Alpeyrie, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The countries' national dish, the yassa poulet.
Photo: KVDP at English Wikipedia, Public domain · source
Internally displaced people in Duekoue western Cote D'Ivoire. Photos are from the Catholic mission IDP camp and the Celestine Church. They were driven from their homes…
Photo: Sunset Parkerpix, CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Did you know?
Ivory Coast was traditionally home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. The area became a protectorate of France in 1843 and was consolidated as a French colony in 1893 amid the Scramble for Africa. It achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who ruled the country until 1993. Relatively stable by regional standards, Ivory Coast established close political-economic ties with its West African neighbours while maintaining close relations with the West, especially France.
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Дорога к водопаду La cascade de Man
Photo: FBilula, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
This is an image of "African people at work" from
Photo: KokoDZ, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Fontaine devant la présidence de l'université Félix Houphouët-Boigny à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)
Photo: Serein, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Etymology
Originally, Portuguese merchant-explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries divided the west coast of Africa, very roughly, into four "coasts" reflecting resources available from each coast. The coast which they named the Costa do Marfim—meaning 'coast of ivory', and translated into French as Côte d'Ivoire—lay between what was known as the Guiné de Cabo Verde, so-called "Upper Guinea" at Cap-Vert, and Lower Guinea. There was also a Pepper Coast, also known as the "Grain Coast" (present-day Liberia), a "Gold Coast" (Ghana), and a "Slave Coast" (Togo, Benin and Nigeria).
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Marché traditionnel d'Adjamé à Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Photo: Zenman, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Ausschnitt eines Fotos einer Straßenszene aus Yamoussoukro mit Blick über See; im Hintergrund die Basilika Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix
Photo: Gregor Rom, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Abidjan - Il pleut des cordes 2
Photo: WILLAV-FR, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
History
The first human presence in Ivory Coast has been difficult to determine because human remains have not been well preserved in the country's humid climate. However, newly found weapon and tool fragments (specifically, polished axes cut from shale and remnants of cooking and fishing) have been interpreted as a possible indication of a large human presence during the Upper Paleolithic period (15,000 to 10,000 BC), or at the minimum, the Neolithic period.
The earliest known inhabitants of Ivory Coast have left traces scattered throughout the territory.
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Government and politics
The government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The Parliament of Ivory Coast, consists of the indirectly elected Senate and the National Assembly which has 255 members, elected for five-year terms.
Since 1983, Ivory Coast's capital has been Yamoussoukro, while Abidjan was the administrative centre. Most countries maintain their embassies in Abidjan.
Although most of the fighting ended by late 2004, the country remained split in two, with the north controlled by the New Forces.
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Administrative divisions
Since 2011, Ivory Coast has been administratively organised into 12 districts plus two district-level autonomous cities. The districts are sub-divided into 31 regions; the regions are divided into 108 departments; and the departments are divided into 510 sub-prefectures. In some instances, multiple villages are organised into communes. The autonomous districts are not divided into regions, but they do contain departments, sub-prefectures, and communes. Since 2011, governors for the 12 non-autonomous districts have not been appointed. As a result, these districts have not yet begun to function as governmental entities.
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Geography
Ivory Coast is a country in 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. The country lies between latitudes 4° and 11°N, and longitudes 2° and 9°W. Around 64.8% of the land is agricultural land; arable land amounted to 9.1%, permanent pasture 41.5%, and permanent crops 14.2%. Water pollution is one of the biggest issues that the country is currently facing.
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Economy
Ivory Coast has, for the region, a relatively high income per capita (US$1,662 in 2017) and plays a key role in transit trade for neighbouring landlocked countries. As of the most recent survey in 2016, 46.1% of the population continues to be affected by multidimensional poverty. The country is the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, constituting 40% of the monetary union's total GDP. Ivory Coast is the fourth-largest exporter of general goods in sub-Saharan Africa (following South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola).
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Demographics
According to the 14 December 2021 census, the population was 29,389,150, up from 22,671,331 at the 2014 census. The first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants. According to a Demographic and Health Surveys nationwide survey, the total fertility rate stood at 4.3 children per woman in 2021 (with 3.6 in urban areas and 5.3 in rural areas), down from 5.0 children per woman in 2012.
It is estimated that 78 languages are spoken in Ivory Coast. French, the official language, is taught in schools and serves as a lingua franca.
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Culture
As of 2026, the country had about 190 radio stations. Only in 2019 was the first privately owned TV station allowed to compete with the government Radiodiffusion télévision ivoirienne (RTI); as of 2026 there are three. Audiovisual communications are regulated by the government's Haute Autorité de la Communication Audiovisuelle (HACA). Newspaper sales are declining and some are opening or even moving to online platforms; newspapers can be and frequently are suspended. Investigative reporters often face threats and arrests. Print and online media are regulated by the National Press Authority (ANP).
Wikipedia: Ivory Coast – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0