IVORY COAST                                                                     
(also known as Cote d'Ivoire)                                                   
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 (depth);                                               
                                                                                
Exclusive 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: arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures              
9%; forest and woodland 26%; other 52%; includes irrigated NEGL%                
                                                                                
Environment: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe                
deforestation                                                                   
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 12,977,909 (July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)                     
                                                                                
Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 97 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 6.8 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
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; foreign              
Africans, mostly Burkinabe about 2 million; non-Africans about 130,000 to       
330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)                         
                                                                                
Religion: indigenous 63%, Muslim 25%, Christian 12%,                            
                                                                                
Language: French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most               
widely spoken                                                                   
                                                                                
Literacy: 54% (male 67%, female 40%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
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 Republique de Cote d'Ivoire                                    
                                                                                
Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960                 
                                                                                
Capital: Abidjan (capital city changed to Yamoussoukro in March                 
1983 but not recognized by US)                                                  
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 49 departments (departements,                         
singular--(departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope,                  
Agboville, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou,                   
Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane,                     
Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa,                       
Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota,                           
Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro,                    
Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tengrela,                     
Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula                        
                                                                                
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 (Assemblee                     
Nationale)                                                                      
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)                                   
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Felix                      
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960); Prime Minister Allassane             
OUATTARE (since 7 November 1990)                                                
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Felix                           
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY;                                                               
Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO;                                    
Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE;                                    
Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA;                                  
over 20 smaller parties                                                         
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 21                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held October                   
1995);                                                                          
results--President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY received 81% of the vote              
in his first contested election; he is currently serving his seventh            
consecutive five-year term;                                                     
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held 25 November 1990 (next to be held                  
November 1995);                                                                 
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(175 total) PDCI 163, FPI 9, PIT 1, independents 2                       
                                                                                
Communists: no Communist party; possibly some sympathizers                      
                                                                                
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO,               
FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,          
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN,                    
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, 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 L. BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens,                  
Abidjan (mailing address is 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan); telephone  225             
21-09-79 or 21-46-72                                                            
                                                                                
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: 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 1990.                                                              
GDP: $10 billion, per capita $800; real growth rate - 2.9% (1990)               
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.8% (1990 est.)                             
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)                                                   
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $2.8 billion (1989 est.); expenditures $4.1                    
billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)                      
                                                                                
Exports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton,                 
bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton;                                          
                                                                                
partners--France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)                   
                                                                                
Imports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--manufactured goods and semifinished products 50%,                  
consumer goods 40%, raw materials and fuels 10%;                                
                                                                                
partners--France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)                           
                                                                                
External debt: $15.0 billion (1990 est.)                                        
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate - 6% (1989); accounts for                    
17% of GDP                                                                      
                                                                                
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 self-sufficient in bread grain and dairy products                 
                                                                                
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for                
the international drug trade                                                    
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356                   
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $4.9 billion                                                         
                                                                                
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc                                 
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes                             
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)                   
per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (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: 48 total, 41 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,                      
Presidential Guard                                                              
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,981,269; 1,543,412 fit for                
military service; 145,693 males reach military age (18) annually                
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $199 million, 2.3% of GDP (1988)                          
                                                                                
