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Ivory Coast
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The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (IPA: pronunciation: /kot
divwa/ or /kot divwar/; commonly called Ivory Coast in
English; see below about the name) is a country in West
Africa. It borders Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and
Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf
of Guinea to the south. One of the most prosperous of the
tropical West African states, its economic development has
been undermined by political turmoil spawned by official
corruption and refusal to adopt needed reforms.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Côte d'Ivoire
76% of the population are considered Ivorians. They belong
to different peoples, which linguistically are summarized
under the language groups of Kwa, Kru, Mande, and Gur.
Since Ivory Coast has established itself as one of the
most successful west African nations, about 20% of the
population consists of workers from neighbouring 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.
4% of the population is of non-African ancestry. Many are
French, British, and Spanish citizens, as well as Protestant
missionaries of American and Canadian background. In
November 2004, around 10,000 French and other foreign
nationals evacuated Ivory Coast due to attacks from
pro-government youth militias.
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, Costa
do Marfim in Portuguese, Ivoorkust in Dutch and so on. 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. Of course, this law can only apply
within the country itself.
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Background:
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Close
ties to France since independence in 1960, the
development of cocoa production for export, and
foreign investment made Ivory Coast one of the
most prosperous of the tropical African states.
Falling cocoa prices and political turmoil, however,
sparked an economic downturn in 1999 and 2000. On 25
December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in
Ivory Coast's history - overthrew the government
led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Presidential and
legislative elections held in October and December
2000 provoked violence due to the exclusion of
opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA. In October
2000, Laurent GBAGBO replaced junta leader Robert
GUEI as president, ending 10 months of military
rule. In October 2001, President GBAGBO initiated a
two-month-long National Reconciliation Forum, but
its ability to conciliate Ivorians with one another
remains unclear. |
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Location:
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Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
between Ghana and Liberia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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8 00
N, 5 00 W
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Map references:
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Africa |
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Area:
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total: 322,460 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than New Mexico |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana
668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
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Coastline:
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515
km |
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Maritime claims:
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continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Climate:
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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)
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Terrain:
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mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in
northwest |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron
ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, hydropower |
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Nationality:
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noun: Ivorian(s)
adjective: Ivorian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Akan
42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes
16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8%
(includes 130,000 Lebanese and 20,000 French) (1998)
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Religions:
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Christian 20-30%, Muslim 35-40%, indigenous 25-40%
(2001)
note: the majority of foreigners (migratory
workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%) |
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Languages:
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French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula
the most widely spoken |
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Currency:
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Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note -
responsible authority is the Central Bank of the
West African States |
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Currency code:
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XOF
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Exchange rates:
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Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US
dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001),
711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67
(1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is
pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro
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Internet country code:
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.ci
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