Ivory Coast

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Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

area:	322,460 sq km (124,502 sq mi)
population:	17,676,000
capital (population):	Yamoussoukro (195,500)
government:	Multiparty republic
ethnic groups:	Akan 41%, Kru 17%, Voltaic 16%, Malinke 15%, Southern Mande 10%
languages:	French (official)
religions:	Islam 38%, Christianity 28%, traditional beliefs 17%
currency:	CFA franc = 100 centimes

Republic in w Africa; the capital is Yamoussoukro. The se coast features lagoons enclosed by sandbars, on one of which the former capital and chief port of Abidjan is situated. Rocky cliffs line the sw coast. Coastal lowlands give way to a plateau. The nw highland borders with Liberia and Guinea are an extension of the Guinea Highlands.

Climate

Ivory Coast has a hot and humid tropical climate. The s has two distinct rainy seasons, May to July and October to November. Inland, rainfall decreases and the n has a dry season and only one rainy season.

Vegetation

Rainforests once covered the s lowlands, but much of the land has been cleared for farming. Tropical savanna covers the plateau, and forests occupy much of the Guinea Highlands.

History and politics

European contact with the region dates back to the late 15th century, and trade in ivory and slaves soon became important. French trading posts were founded in the late 17th century, and Ivory Coast became a French colony in 1893. From 1895 Ivory Coast was governed as part of French West Africa, a massive union that also included modern-day Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. In 1958 Ivory Coast voted to remain within the French Community, but achieved full independence in 1960. Its first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was the longest-serving African head of state, with an uninterrupted 33-year presidency until his death in 1993. He was a paternalistic, pro-Western leader. His dialogue with South Africa's apartheid government enraged many fellow African states. In 1983, the National Assembly agreed to move the capital from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro, the president's birthplace, but economic setbacks delayed the completion of the transfer, and government offices remained in Abidjan until 1990. Civil unrest continued throughout the 1980s and led to the adoption of a new constitution (1990) that legalized opposition parties. Henri Konan Bédié succeeded Houphouët-Boigny. Re-elected in 1995, Bédié was deposed in a military coup led by General Robert Guei. Laurent Gbagbo became president in 2000 elections. The disputed result renewed civil unrest.

Economy

Agriculture employs c.66% of the workforce and accounts for c.50% of Ivory Coast's exports. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa beans and fourth-largest producer of coffee (2000 GDP per capita, US$1600). Other exports include cotton, bananas, palm oil, pineapples, and hardwoods. Food crops include cassava, rice and yams. Manufactures include fertilizers, refined oil, textiles, and timber.