Côte d’Ivoire

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural environment
  - Urban environment
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early history
- Precolonial kingdoms
- Arrival of Europeans
- March toward independence
- Côte d’Ivoire since independence
  - Houphouët-Boigny’s rule
  - Political unrest
  - Civil war and its aftermath
  - Disputed election of 2010 and protracted political standoff
    - Fall of Gbagbo
    - Prosecution of the Gbagbos and Blé Goudé
  - Return to normalcy
  - New political tensions

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images

Map of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) showing its national boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries-Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Liberia. The map highlights the capital, Yamoussoukro, and coastal cities such as Abidjan along the Atlantic Ocean. An inset locator map shows Cote d'Ivoire's position in West Africa.

Yamoussoukro Basilica

Map of West Africa highlighting Cote d'Ivoire in tan, with surrounding countries labeled, including Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. The city of Abidjan is marked near the southern coast along the Atlantic Ocean.

Map of Cote d'Ivoire showing major physical features, including rivers, lakes, national parks such as Tai, Marahoue, Comoe, and Mount Sangbe, and the highest point at Mount Nimba. Surrounding countries-Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana-are outlined, and the Atlantic Ocean borders the south. An inset locator map shows Cote d'Ivoire's position on the west coast of Africa.

Map of western Africa showing country borders, major cities, and capitals, with shaded relief indicating elevation levels. Coastal countries along the Atlantic Ocean, such as Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria, are labeled, as are inland countries like Mali, Niger, and Chad. Elevation ranges from low-lying green coastal areas to higher brown and tan regions inland.

Thematic map of the Guinea Coast region in West Africa showing the distribution of major ethnic groups and average annual rainfall. Coastal and southern areas, including parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, are shaded in green and purple to indicate higher rainfall, while northern and inland regions are shaded in yellow and orange for lower rainfall. Major ethnic groups such as Temne, Mende, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ashanti are labeled within their respective reg

Côte d'Ivoire: Ethnolinguistic composition

At a Glance

default image

Côte d’Ivoire summary

Côte d’Ivoire: Media

country, Africa

Images

Côte d'Ivoire

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) showing its national boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries-Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Liberia. The map highlights the capital, Yamoussoukro, and coastal cities such as Abidjan along the Atlantic Ocean. An inset locator map shows Cote d'Ivoire's position in West Africa.

Côte d'Ivoire

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Yamoussoukro Basilica

Yamoussoukro Basilica

Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.

De Agostini Editore/AGE fotostock

Map of West Africa highlighting Cote d'Ivoire in tan, with surrounding countries labeled, including Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. The city of Abidjan is marked near the southern coast along the Atlantic Ocean.

Côte d'Ivoire

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Cote d'Ivoire showing major physical features, including rivers, lakes, national parks such as Tai, Marahoue, Comoe, and Mount Sangbe, and the highest point at Mount Nimba. Surrounding countries-Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana-are outlined, and the Atlantic Ocean borders the south. An inset locator map shows Cote d'Ivoire's position on the west coast of Africa.

physical features of Côte d'Ivoire

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of western Africa showing country borders, major cities, and capitals, with shaded relief indicating elevation levels. Coastal countries along the Atlantic Ocean, such as Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria, are labeled, as are inland countries like Mali, Niger, and Chad. Elevation ranges from low-lying green coastal areas to higher brown and tan regions inland.

Elevation of western Africa

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mount Nimba

Mount Nimba

A view of Mount Nimba, the highest peak of the Nimba Range, which extends along the...

G. Debonnet/UNESCO

Thematic map of the Guinea Coast region in West Africa showing the distribution of major ethnic groups and average annual rainfall. Coastal and southern areas, including parts of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, are shaded in green and purple to indicate higher rainfall, while northern and inland regions are shaded in yellow and orange for lower rainfall. Major ethnic groups such as Temne, Mende, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ashanti are labeled within their respective reg

Distribution of peoples and of rainfall in the Guinea Coast region

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

© Han Xu—Xinhua/Alamy

Côte d'Ivoire: cacao tree

Côte d'Ivoire: cacao tree

Cacao tree with fruit, Côte d'Ivoire.

Hanay

Côte d'Ivoire: Senufo déblé

Côte d'Ivoire: Senufo déblé

Senufo déblé, wood, Côte d'Ivoire; in the Museum Rietberg, Zürich.

Holle Bildarchiv, Baden-Baden

Samory Touré

Samory Touré

The Muslim leader Samory Touré, who founded a powerful kingdom in western Africa...

Map of Africa highlighting the location of the historical Asante Empire in orange, centered in present-day Ghana and extending into parts of Cote d'Ivoire and Togo in West Africa. The rest of the continent is shown in gray for context, with major bodies of water and surrounding regions labeled.

Asante empire

Map of the Asante empire, which occupied what is now southern Ghana in the 18th and...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Africa highlighting the historical region of the Akan states in West Africa, shown in orange along the border of present-day Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. The map provides continental context, with major countries and bodies of water labeled.

Akan states, western Africa

Map of the Akan states, the earliest of which was established in 1450.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of western Africa in the late 19th century showing areas under French and British control in 1880, and illustrating the advance of French, British, and German colonial forces with dated arrows. French-controlled territory is shaded green and British-controlled territory is shaded purple, with major advances and key cities labeled. Boundaries between mandates established in 1919 are also marked, and an inset locates the region within Africa.

European penetration into western Africa in the late 19th century

Map showing European-controlled territories and advances in western Africa in the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Africa showing the territorial divisions and colonial possessions by European powers from the late 19th to early 20th century. Countries and regions are color-coded to indicate British, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Belgian, and German control, with independent countries and British-Egyptian condominium also marked. The map highlights the extent and timing of colonization, with most of the continent under European rule except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

Colonization of Africa by European countries

Map showing the colonization of Africa by European countries in the 19th and early...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Africa highlighting the historical territory of French West Africa in orange, covering present-day Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger in the western part of the continent. Surrounding countries and bodies of water are shown in gray and blue for geographic context.

French West Africa

Historical territory, French West Africa, 1958.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Ivorian leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny served as the first president of Côte d'Ivoire...

Courtesy of the Cote d'Ivoire Information Service

Map of Africa in 1960 showing the political status of each territory or country. Many countries gained independence that year, including Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad, and the Central African Republic. Countries already independent at that time included Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, and South Africa. More than 20 territories remained under colonial rule.

Africa: Political status in 1960

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Laurent Gbagbo speaks at a podium with a South African flag in front of him

Laurent Gbagbo

Laurent Gbagbo, 2005.

© Gianluigi Guercia—AFP/Getty Images

President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d'Ivoire speaks at a podium with microphones in front of a green marble wall at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Alassane Ouattara

Ivoirian Pres. Alassane Ouattara addresses the United Nations General Assembly, New...

Amanda Voisard/UN Photo

Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Côte d'Ivoire

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Côte d'Ivoire.

Interactives

Côte d'Ivoire: Ethnolinguistic composition

Côte d'Ivoire: Ethnolinguistic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Côte d'Ivoire: Religious affiliation

Côte d'Ivoire: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Côte d'Ivoire: Urban-rural

Côte d'Ivoire: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Côte d'Ivoire: Age breakdown

Côte d'Ivoire: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Côte d'Ivoire: Major import sources

Côte d'Ivoire: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Côte d'Ivoire: Major export destinations

Côte d'Ivoire: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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