Islamic countries

Islamic countries

REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST)

REPUBLIQUE DE CÔTE D'IVOIRE

General Information

Total Land Area:	318,000 km²
Land boundaries:	3,110 km
Coastline:	515 km
Capital:	Yamoussoukro
Other Large Cities:	Abidjan, Bouake, Daloa
Official Language:	French
National Currency Unit:	Communauté Financière Africaine Franc (XOF)
National Day:	7 August

Location and Geography

Côte d’Ivoire is located on the coast of West Africa. It is bounded by Liberia and Guinea on the South-west, by Mali and Burkina Faso on the North, by Ghana on the East, and by the Atlantic Ocean on the South. Lying close to the Equator, Côte d’Ivoire is tropical both in surface features and climate. The Northern half of the country consists of high savannah. Most of the Western border is shaped by mountain ranges culminating in Mount Nimba. It has four natural regions; the coastal fringe, the equatorial forest zone, the cultivated forest, and the Northern savannah and four main rivers; Comoe, Bandaman, Sassandra and Cavally. The middle of the country has suffered deforestation in favour of coffee and cocoa plants. Côte d’Ivoire is a transitional zone between the moist equatorial climate and the dry tropical climate.

Demography

Population:	16.94 million (2002)
Crude Birth Rate:	37 per thousand people (2002)
Crude Death Rate:	17 per thousand people (2002)
Infant Mortality Rate:	116 per thousand (2002)
Life Expectancy:	Male: 45 years, Female: 46 years (2002)
Urban Population:	44.0 percent (2002)
Adult Literacy:	49.60 percent (2001)

Economy

Agriculture forms the backbone of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy. The geographic location of the country gives it a wonderful climatic diversity leading to a variety of lands and vegetation zones. The main products are cocoa, coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, shea, nut, cotton and rubber. Primary industries include textiles, leather, sugar, footwear, palm oil, and cocoa. The food industry sector is mainly based on flour milling, cocoa and coffee processing, and canning. Côte d’Ivoire is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans and palm oil. Natural resources of the country are petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper and hydropower.

GDP at Current Market Prices:	11717 million US$ (2002)
Per Capita GDP:	692 US$ (2002)
Share of Sectors in GDP:	26.0% Agriculture, 20.0% Industry, 54.0% Services, (2002)
Total Exports:	4761 million US$ (2002)
Total Imports:	3056 million US$ (2002)
Major Exports Items:	Cocoa, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton and bananas
Major Imports Items:	Food, consumer goods, capital goods, fuel and transportation equipment
Major Trading Partners:	France, Togo, Singapore, Netherlands and China