CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

République de Côte d'Ivoire

CAPITAL: Yamoussoukro

FLAG: The flag is a tricolor of orange, white, and green vertical stripes.

ANTHEM: L'Abidjanaise, beginning: "Greetings, O land of hope."

MONETARY UNIT: The Communauté Financière Africaine franc (CFA Fr), which was originally pegged to the French franc, has been pegged to the euro since January 1999 with a rate of 655.957 CFA francs to 1 euro. The CFA franc is issued in coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 500 CFA francs, and notes of 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 CFA francs. CFA Fr1 = $0.00192 (or $1 = CFA Fr521.74) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Labor Day, 1 May; Assumption, 15 August; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Independence Day, 7 December; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, Pentecost Monday, 'Id al-Fitr, and 'Id al-'Adha'.

TIME: GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, on the south coast of the western bulge of Africa, has an area of 322,460 sq km (124,502 sq mi). Comparatively, the area occupied by Côte d'Ivoire is slightly larger than the state of New Mexico. Roughly rectangular in shape, it extends 808 km (502 mi) se–nw and 780 km (485 mi) ne–sw. It is bordered on the n by Mali and Burkina Faso, on the e by Ghana, on the s by the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the w by Liberia and Guinea, with a total boundary length of 3,110 km (1,932 mi) and a coastline of 515 km (322 mi).

In 1983, Côte d'Ivoire's capital was moved to Yamoussoukro, about 225 km (140 mi) northwest of the former capital, Abidjan, in the south-central part of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

Except for the prolongation of the Guinea Highlands (in the northwest, from Man to Odienné), which has peaks of over 1,000 m (3,280 ft), the greater part of Côte d'Ivoire is a vast plateau, tilted gently toward the Atlantic. It is drained by four major rivers running roughly parallel from north to south—the Cavally (on the Liberian frontier), Sassandra, Bandama, and Komoé. They are not of much value for transportation, since they are sluggish in the dry season, broken by numerous falls and rapids, and subject to torrential flooding in the rainy season. Lake Kossou (Lac de Kossou), in the center of the country, has been formed by the impoundment of the Bandama. From Ghana to Fresco, the coast is almost a straight line, flat and sandy, with a series of deep lagoons behind it; from Fresco to the Liberian frontier, it is more broken, with small cliffs and rocky outcrops.

CLIMATE

The greatest annual rainfall, about 200 cm (79 in), is along the coast and in the southwest. The coastal region has a long dry season from December to April, followed by heavy rains from May to September. Farther north, there is only one wet and one dry season, with rainfall heaviest in summer, culminating in September, and lightest in January. The country's lightest rainfall is in the northeast, averaging 109 cm (43 in) annually. Average temperatures along the coast range from 24° to 32°c (75° to 90°f) in January and from 22° to 28°c (72° to 82°f) in July. At Bouaké, in the center of the country, minimum and maximum temperatures in November, the hottest month, average 21° and 35°c (70° and 95°f); the range is from 20° to 29°c (68° to 84°f) in July, the coolest month. At Ferkéssédougou, in the far north, temperatures range from 21° to 36°c (70° to 97°f) in March and from 17° to 30°c (63° to 86°f) in November.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The southern Côte d'Ivoire forest is a typical rain forest; it has a canopy at around 21–24 m (70–80 ft), with isolated trees pushing up above 37 m (120 ft). Farther north, the rain forest gives way to scattered stands of deciduous trees, and mahogany is widespread. Still farther north, oil palm, acacia, breadfruit, and baobab characterize the transition to true savanna, where shea nut and traveler's palm are common.

The jackal, hyena, panther, elephant, hippopotamus, numerous monkeys, and many other mammals are widely distributed. Crocodiles and chameleons, as well as venomous serpents (horned vipers, mambas, and many others) and pythons, are numerous. Among indigenous birds are vultures, cranes, pigeons, turtle doves, parrots, and herons. Venomous spiders and scorpions abound. As of 2002, there were at least 230 species of mammals, 252 species of birds, and over 3,600 species of plants throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

Most of Côte d'Ivoire's forests, once the largest in West Africa, have been cut down by the timber industry, with only cursory attempts at reforestation. During the first half of the 1980s, deforestation averaged 290,000 ha (717,000 acres) per year, while reforestation was only 6,000 ha (15,000 acres) per year. Between 1983 and 1993, the country's forest and woodland was reduced by nearly 25%. In 2000, about 22% of the total land area was forested.

The land is also affected by desertification and climate changes, including decreased rainfall. In 2000, Côte d'Ivoire had 76.7 cu km of renewable water resources, of which 67% was used for farming and 22% for urban and domestic use. Water pollution is a significant environmental problem in Côte d'Ivoire due to chemical waste from agricultural, industrial, and mining sources: about 92% of the country's city dwellers and 72% of the rural population have safe water. Reports indicate that in the mid-1990s, the nation was using approximately 6,000 tons of pesticides and 78,000 tons of fertilizers per year. The country's lack of sanitation facilities also contributes to the pollution problem. Only about 39% of the population has access to sanitation systems.

In 2003, about 6% of the total land area was legally protected. There were three natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and six Ramsar wetland sites. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 23 types of mammals, 11 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 14 species of amphibians, 11 species of fish, 1 type of mollusk, and 105 species of plants. Threatened species include Pel's flying squirrel, the white-breasted guinea fowl, the thresher shark, and the red capped monkey.

POPULATION

The population of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 18,154,000, which placed it at number 56 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 41% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2005–10 was expected to be 2.2%, a rate the government viewed as too high. Factors the government planned to address included the high fertility rates (5.5 births per woman) and low contraceptive use. The projected population for the year 2025 was 25,114,000. The population density was 56 per sq km (146 per sq mi).

Movement to the cities has been a problem in recent decades. The UN estimated that 46% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005 (up from 13.2% in 1950), and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 2.58%. The capital city, Yamoussoukro, had a population of 416,000 in that year, while the metropolitan population of the former capital, Abidjan, was estimated at 3,660,682. Other major urban areas are Bouaké (estimated at more than 461,618) and Daloa (206,200); towns with populations of more than 20,000 include Gagnoa, Korhogo, Agboville, Abengourou, Dimbokro, Man, and Grand Bassam.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on the population of Côte d'Ivoire. The UN estimated that 9.6% of adults between the ages of 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001. The AIDS epidemic causes higher death and infant mortality rates, and lowers life expectancy.

MIGRATION

Flourishing economic activity in Côte d'Ivoire attracts large numbers of workers from neighboring countries. In 1988 foreign workers constituted 28% of the national total. Migratory laborers from Burkina Faso, estimated at more than one million, work chiefly on the cocoa and coffee plantations. In addition, several hundred thousand Ghanaians, Guineans, Malians, Senegalese, and Mauritanians live in Côte d'Ivoire. As of September 1998, Côte d'Ivoire was harboring 85,000 of the more than 350,000 Liberian war refugees who started coming to Côte d'Ivoire in 1989 with the start of the civil war in Liberia. Following a 1997 census, it was discovered that some 1,500 Sierra Leonean refugees had been living in Côte d'Ivoire disguised as Liberian refugees. The government has since agreed to recognize them as Sierra Leonean refugees. A mass voluntary repatriation program for the Liberian refugees was implemented between June 1997 and December 1999, after which remaining Liberian refugees were to receive assistance in local integration. In 2004, there were 72,088 refugees living in Côte d'Ivoire along with 2,111 asylum seekers, and an official 38,039 displaced persons. Another 7,594 refugees returned to Liberia that year.

In 2005, the net migration rate for Côte d'Ivoire was estimated as zero migrants per 1,000 population, down from 3.0 in 1990. Most of the non-African population consists of French and other Europeans, and Lebanese and Syrians. Foreigners can buy land and vote in Côte d'Ivoire; some cabinet ministers are foreign born. In 2004 an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 internally displaced persons lived in Côte d'Ivoire.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The ethnic composition of Côte d'Ivoire is complex with more than 60 ethnic groups represented. The Akan group, which primarily occupies the eastern and central regions of the country, accounts for about 42.1% of the population. The Baoulé are the single largest subgroup of the Akan people, accounting for about 20% of the total population. The Voltaiques (Gur) account for about 17.6% of the population. The Northern Mandes from the northwest region of the country make up about 16.5% of the population. The Krou people in the southwest account for about 11%; the Bété are the largest subgroup. The Southern Mandes from the western regions account for about 10% of the population. Non-Africans include about 14,000 French and 130,000 Lebanese expatriates.

LANGUAGES

The official language is French. Of the more than 60 African languages spoken by different ethnic groups, the most important are Agni and Baulé, spoken by the Akan group; the Kru languages; the Sénoufo languages; and the Mandé languages (especially Malinké-Bambura-Dioula).

RELIGIONS

Approximately 38.6% of the total population are Muslims. The next largest group is the Roman Catholic Church, with membership accounting for about 19.4% of the population. About 11.9% of the people practice traditional indigenous religions, about 6% are Protestant, and 3.1% follow other Christian faiths. About 1.3% belong to the Harrist Church, a Protestant denomination founded in 1913 by the Liberian minister William Hade Harris. There are also a number of syncretic religions combining Christian tenets with African traditional customs and beliefs. These include the Church of the Prophet Papa Nouveau and Eckankar. About 16.7% of the population do not claim any religious affiliation or preference.

A large variety of denominations are represented in the country, including Methodists, Southern Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Assemblies of God, the Union of the Evangelical Church of Services and Works of Côte d'Ivoire, the Autonomous Church of Celestial Christianity of Oschoffa, the Yoruba First Church, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are a small number of Buddhists.

Religious and political affiliation often follows ethnic and regional lines. Most Muslims live in the north and most Christians live in the south. Traditionalists are generally concentrated in rural areas in the north and across the center of the country. The Akan ethnic group traditionally practices a religion called Bossonism.

The constitution implemented in 2000 provides for freedom of religion, however, Christianity has historically enjoyed a privileged status in national life with particular advantage toward the Catholic Church. For instance, Christian schools have long been considered official schools and so have received subsidies through the Ministry of Education; however, Muslim schools were considered religious institutions and were not considered for similar subsidies until 1994.

In 2001, the government initiated the Forum for National Reconciliation, designed in part to ease relationships between religious and ethnic groups. Through the Forum, Muslims accused the government of attempting to create a Christian state. Since then, the president has met with Muslim leaders to discuss their concerns and government leaders have made greater attempts towards interfaith understanding and acceptance. The Forum of Religious Confessions serves to improve relations and understanding between faiths. The Ministry of Religion promotes dialogue between religious groups and the government. All religious groups must register through the Ministry of the Interior. Muslim and Christian holidays are recognized as national holidays.

TRANSPORTATION

Côte d'Ivoire has one of the best-developed and best-maintained transportation systems in Africa. As of 2004, the nation's railway system consisted of a state-controlled 660-km (410-mi) section of a 1,146-km (712-mi) narrow gauge railroad that ran north from Abidjan through Bouaké and Ferkéssédougou to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. In 2002, Côte d'Ivoire had 50,400 km (31,318 mi) of roads, of which 4,889 km (3,038 mi) were paved. In 2003, there were 19,450 registered passenger automobiles and 94,900 registered commercial automobiles, trucks, and buses.

Harbor activity is concentrated at Abidjan (West Africa's largest container port), which has facilities that include a fishing port and equipment for handling containers, and San Pedro, a deepwater port that began operations in 1971. There are also small ports at Sassandra and Tabou. Two nationalized shipping lines serve West Africa and Europe. As of 1998, the merchant marine had one oil tanker (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,200 GRT. However, in 2002, there is no merchant marine. There are 980 km (56 mi) of navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons.

Air Ivoire, government-owned since 1976, operates domestic services and also flies to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Bamako, Mali. International flights to Paris, Dakar, and other African and European capitals are handled by Air Afrique, a joint venture owned by Côte d'Ivoire and other participating Yaoundé Treaty countries (72%) and by Air France and Union des Transports Aériens (28%). Côte d'Ivoire's principal airport, F.H. Boigny, is located in Abidjan. Secondary airports are located at Bérébi, Bouaké, Daloa, Man, Sassandra, Korhogo, Tabou, San Pedro, Guiglo, Bondoukou, Yamoussoukro, and Odienné. In 2004 there were an estimated 37 airports, 7 of which had paved runways as of 2005. In 2003, about 46,000 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international flights.

HISTORY

Little is known of the early history of the area now called Côte d'Ivoire. Most of its peoples entered the country in comparatively recent times, mostly from the northwest and the east, although the Kru-speaking peoples came from west of the Cavally River (modern Liberia). European travelers described flourishing and well organized states in the north and east, with strongly hierarchical social organization and elaborate gold weights and ornaments. These states, such as the Agni kingdom of Indénié and the Abron kingdom of Bondoukou, were closely related linguistically and socially to the neighboring Ashanti of modern Ghana and formed with them, and with the Fon of Dahomey (now Benin) and the Yoruba and Bini kingdoms in Nigeria, an almost continuous string of relatively rich and developed states of the Guinea forest zone. Nearer the coast, the scale of social organization was much smaller, and innumerable small units recognized no political superior.

Modern European acquaintance with the west coast of Africa began with the Portuguese discoveries of the 15th century, culminating in the discovery of the route to India around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 and the establishment of trading posts along the Senegal coast and the Gulf of Guinea. The Portuguese and Spanish were soon followed by the Dutch and English. Gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, gum arabic, and pepper were succeeded by slaves as the major trading commodities. French activity in what is now Côte d'Ivoire began in 1687, when missionaries landed at Assinié. In 1843, Adm. Louis-Édouard Bouet-Willaumez established French posts at Assinié and Grand Bassam, where treaties with the local chiefs provided for the cession of land for forts in exchange for tribute to the chiefs (coutumes ) at fixed rates and regular intervals.

After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the small garrisons of Assinié, Grand Bassam, and Dabou were withdrawn. French interests were confided to a resident trader named Verdier. He and a young assistant, Treich-Laplène, consolidated the French position along the coast. In 1887, Treich-Laplène signed treaties with Indénié, Bettié, Alangoa, and other chiefdoms of the interior, thus preventing British advances into eastern Côte d'Ivoire from Ashanti. Continuing northward to Kong, he joined forces with Col. Louis Binger, who had made his way from Bamako in French Sudan (Soudan Française, now Mali) to Kong and from there northeast to Ouagadougou in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and back to Kong through Bondoukou. French claims to Upper Volta and northern Côte d'Ivoire, joining French Sudan and Niger in a continuous territory, were thus established. In 1893, the territory was renamed Côte d'Ivoire, and Col. Binger was appointed the first French governor. The new colony's frontier with Liberia was settled by a convention in 1892, and that with the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) by the Anglo-French agreement of 1893. The northern border was not defined until 1947.

French control of Côte d'Ivoire was, however, far from secured. Much of the region remained unexplored, and administrative control had still to be effectively organized in those areas whose chiefs had concluded treaties with the French. More serious still, Samory Touré, a Malinké from Guinea who periodically fought the French, had moved southeast after the French capture of Sankoro in 1892 and was continuing his struggle against the invaders in the region of Kong. Not until 1898, after prolonged fighting, was he finally captured near Man. Systematic military operations in the densely forested area between the upper Cavally and the upper Sassandra were carried out from 1908 onward before French rule was finally established in Côte d'Ivoire on the eve of World War I. In other parts of the colony, intermittent revolts continued throughout this period, stimulated by the imposition of a poll tax and opposition of many of the chiefs to the substitution of a tax rebate for the coutumes promised in the treaties. Nevertheless, some 20,000 Ivoirian troops were raised in the colony during World War I, when the greater part of the French forces was withdrawn.

In the interwar years, Côte d'Ivoire became a considerable producer of cocoa, coffee, mahogany, and other tropical products. Although European planters produced about one-third of the cocoa and coffee and most of the bananas, the share of African planters rapidly increased throughout this period. The railroad, begun in 1904, did not reach the northern part of the colony until 1925. Until 1954, Grand Bassam (opened 1901) and Port Bouet (opened 1932) were the principal ports; that year the deepwater port of Abidjan opened, following the cutting of the Ébrié Lagoon in 1950.

During World War II, Côte d'Ivoire, like the rest of French West Africa, remained under control of the Vichy government between 1940 and 1943. In 1941, the king of Bondoukou and thousands of his people made their way into the Gold Coast to join Gen. Charles de Gaulle's resistance forces. At the end of the war, Côte d'Ivoire was established as an overseas territory under the 1946 French constitution and given three deputies and three senators in the French parliament and an elected territorial assembly. By 1956, it produced 45% of all French West African exports, took in 30% of the imports, and seemed assured of continued economic advance.

In 1958, Côte d'Ivoire accepted the new French constitution in a referendum on 28 September and opted for the status of an autonomous state within the new French Community. On 4 December 1958, the Territorial Assembly, which had been elected by universal suffrage on 31 March 1957, formed itself into the Constituent Assembly and proclaimed the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire as a member state of the French Community. On 26 March 1959, the assembly adopted the first constitution of the new country. The legislature provided for in this constitution was chosen by a national election held on 17 April, and Félix Houphouët-Boigny was unanimously selected by the Assembly as prime minister on 27 April.

On 7 August 1960, the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire proclaimed its complete independence. On 31 October, a new constitution providing for a presidential system was adopted. In elections held on 27 November, Houphouët-Boigny was unanimously elected the country's first president. Although two plots to overthrow him, organized by government and party officials, were discovered in 1963, both failed, and in that year Houphouët-Boigny took over most key ministerial portfolios and consolidated his control over the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI).

Outbreaks of unrest plagued the Houphouët-Boigny government during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1969, some 1,500 unemployed youths were arrested in the course of widespread rioting. In 1970, disturbances broke out in Gagnoa, Bouaké, and Daloa. These incidents were followed in 1973 by an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government. Following a brief trial, two army captains and five lieutenants were sentenced to death, while others were given jail sentences ranging from 15 to 20 years of hard labor. Before the sixth PDCI congress in 1975, President Houphouët-Boigny pardoned some 5,000 persons, among who were 145 political prisoners, some associated with the Gagnoa disturbances. All death sentences were also commuted to 20 years of hard labor. Throughout this period, the government used a series of mass meetings called "dialogues" to win over new adherents. These public discussions were usually led by prominent members of the administration, and President Houphouët-Boigny often presided over them personally. During the second half of the 1970s, Houphouët-Boigny and the PDCI remained firmly in control, and Côte d'Ivoire became one of black Africa's most prosperous nations.

Houphouët-Boigny was reelected unopposed to his fifth five-year term as president in October 1980. The nation's first competitive National Assembly elections were held in the following month, as the ruling PDCI allowed 649 candidates to compete for the 147 seats, with a runoff between the two best-placed candidates in each constituency where there was no majority choice. A total of 121 new members were elected, while 54 of the 80 deputies who ran for reelection were defeated. Relations with neighboring countries have generally been favorable; in 1981, however, the death by suffocation of 46 Ghanaians who had been jailed near Abidjan on suspicion of drug smuggling led to friction with Ghana, which was resolved through Togolese mediation. Declining economic prospects in the early 1980s led to a series of strikes among professional workers, which Houphouët-Boigny accused a foreign power (presumed to be Libya) of fomenting.

Houphouët-Boigny won an unopposed sixth term as president in October 1985, reportedly receiving 100% of the vote in a turnout of over 99% of the eligible voters. In the following month, fewer than 30% turned out for the National Assembly elections, in which 546 candidates—all members of the PDCI but not screened—competed for 175 seats. Only 64 deputies were returned to office. Côte d'Ivoire celebrated the 25th anniversary of its independence on 7 December 1985 by releasing 9,500 convicted criminals from prisoners.

In 1990, Côte d'Ivoire entered a new political era as months of prodemocracy demonstrations and labor unrest led to the legalization of opposition parties, previously banned. Even within the PDCI, a progressive wing called for further liberalization. The first multiparty presidential and legislative elections were held on 28 October 1990 and 25 November 1990, respectively. HouphouëtBoigny was reelected as president with 81% of the vote. The PDCI carried 161 of the 175 seats and the Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI), 9 seats. Yet, outside observers saw the elections as less than free and fair. That November, the National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment to allow the Speaker to take over the presidency in the event of a vacancy (a provision eventually invoked on Houphouët-Boigny's death on 7 December 1993).

Meanwhile, popular disillusionment grew. Early in 1992, the president rejected the findings of his own investigative commission, which had found army chief of staff Gen. Robert Guei responsible for the shootings at Yopougon University in May 1991. Then Houphouët-Boigny left for a four-month "private visit" to France. Rioting followed a mass demonstration in February 1992, and the government used this as a pretext to jail opposition leaders. In protest, the FPI withdrew from the National Assembly, leaving it a PDCI exclusive preserve. Houphouët-Boigny continued to manage affairs from Paris. He returned in June to release the opposition leaders as part of an amnesty that also shielded the soldiers.

After Houphouët-Boigny's death, power was transferred smoothly to Henri Konan Bédié, who became president until the 1995 elections. Born in 1934 in Dadiekro, Côte d'Ivoire, Henri Konan Bedié was of the Baoulé ethnic group. Bedié's ties to his idol Boigny began at a young age. During his initial schooling in Bokanda, Guiglo, and Dabopu, Côte d'Ivoire, he distributed newspapers of Boigny's political party—the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain. As he grew up, Bedié's aspirations became clearer. He traveled to France to study law at the University of Poitiers after reconsidering a career in education; he worked his way through law school. He also obtained advanced degrees in economics and political science, as well as a doctorate in economics, and was appointed the first Ivoirian ambassador to the United States in his 20s. He opened the Ivoirian embassy in Washington, DC, during the last months of the Eisenhower administration and also established the Ivoirian mission to the United Nations when he was only 27. Bedié also served as Minister of Finance and National Assembly President, as well as an advisor to the International Bank on Reconstruction and Development. Throughout his posts, Boigny was his most significant supporter.

Bédié proved to be a controversial leader. A split in the PDCI occurred on his watch, as departing Assembly members formed the Rally of the Republicans (RDR) and, later, the Republican Front. Bédié, meanwhile, began cracking down on dissent, briefly imprisoning and exposing to beatings the editor of a prominent newspaper. In the year preceding the scheduled elections, Bédié also instigated electoral reforms strictly limiting candidates who desired to run for president. Opposition parties decried the new electoral code and vowed to boycott the elections.

The presidential elections held on 22 October 1995 were boycotted by the opposition in protest of Bédié's antidemocratic maneuvering since assuming office. Bédié was reported by government officials to have won 95% of the vote. Legislative elections were held in December. The opposition threatened to extend their boycott to these elections as well, but Bédié engaged the major parties in negotiations and agreed to allow representatives from the two largest parties to serve on the electoral commission overseeing the balloting. The elections were seen as relatively fair and resulted in a National Assembly with 146 seats held by the PDCI, 14 by the RDR, and 9 by the FPI. Presidential, legislative, and municipal elections were held, and Bédié was officially elected president.

Though Bédié's presidential win was seen as a significant accomplishment for the Baulé ethnic group, allegations of his corruption and discontent among Ivoirians continued to increase. After becoming president, Bédié maintained a low profile and granted few interviews to the press. Facing opposition from other politicians, Bédié invited members of some opposition parties to join his government. Only Bernard Zadi of the Union des Socieaux Démocrates party accepted and became minister of culture. Even though Bédié appointed nine ministers from his party, Alassane Ouattara-a Mandé from the northern tribes continued to be Bédié's most harsh enemy. Bédié had banned Ouattara's participation in the 1995 elections by claiming him a foreigner from neighboring Burkina Faso. Bédié subsequently stripped Ouattara of all outward signs of power and began a campaign against Ouattara's northern Dioulla-speaking tribes. Further, Bédié became very strict against any political opposition and went as far as to name a new director of the main television station to support his own agenda. Criticisms of corruption under his rule began to grow.

Therefore, as many believe, all of these actions could only lead to one outcome: a coup. Regardless, what occurred on 24 December 1999 nonetheless shocked many watchers of Côte d'Ivoire around the world. On that day, Gen. Robert Gueï led a coup d'etat and overthrew Bédié. Familiar scenes ensued: gunfire, occupation of the public television station, and the president fleeing the country. However, never before had such an event occurred in the country that was often referred to as the "Ivoirian miracle." Bédié immediately sought refuge in the French ambassador's residence, who, along with the French government, denounced the coup. Bédié, who mistakenly assumed the loyalty of the military, was evacuated from Côte d'Ivoire soon after. While many people around the world, including numerous African leaders, condemned the coup, the streets of Abidjan filled with celebrations. The fact was that Bédié had become increasingly unpopular after the 1995 elections. Gueï rallied his supporters by pledging to honor all Ivoirians, no matter where they were born.

However, many see Gueï's rise to power as a pro-Ouattara and pro-northern movement. Though he pledged to create conditions for democracy, fair elections, and a quick hand-over of civilian rule, many were skeptical. The ruling party for 39 years did not yet have time to recuperate from the shock.

Regardless of in-country support, Gueï and his office remained unstable. Many soldiers originally protested out of anger for lack of pay, but Gueï did not find a way to address their concerns and offer payment. This resulted in increased corruption and bribery—soldiers and police officers are known to stop motorists at random and demand payment through threats. As of 2000, all foreign debt repayment had been suspended. Gen. Gueï promised that as soon as political parties were formed, he would hold elections. They were tentatively set for October 2000, but the international community was concerned that Gueï had not ruled out his own presidential bid. Increasing military power and more defiance against Gueï's orders added to tensions in Côte d'Ivoire. Regional leaders, including US and French diplomats, warned Gueï against trying for the presidential bid, using the reasoning that international support for Côte d'Ivoire would be in jeopardy.

Presidential elections in which the principal candidates were excluded—including Ouattara and Bédié—were held on 22 October, which Gueï, who stood for election, proclaimed he had won. (In all, 15 of 19 presidential candidates were barred from running). In response to criticism that he had rigged the election, a violent popular uprising caused him to flee, and Laurent Gbagbo of the FPI, who was believed to be the actual winner, was proclaimed president. The results were eventually determined to be 59.4% for Gbagbo and 32.7% for Gueï. The main opposition parties, Ouattara's RDR and Bédié's PDCI, boycotted the elections. Although they joined Gbagbo's supporters in demanding Gueï's departure, they also called for the election to be annulled. In addition, that month fighting had erupted between the mainly southern Christian supporters of Gbagbo and the mainly northern Muslim supporters of Ouattara.

Parliamentary elections were held on 10 December 2000 and 14 January 2001; voter turnout was a mere 33.1%, as the elections were boycotted by the RDR. Gbagbo's FPI took 96 of the 225 seats in the National Assembly, to the PDCI/RDA's (African Democratic Rally) 94.

In March 2001, Gbagbo and Ouattara met for the first time since violence erupted between their supporters in October 2000, and agreed to work towards national reconciliation. Also in March, Ouattara's RDR gained a majority in local elections, taking 64 communes while the PDCI won 58. The FPI secured 34 communes and 38 went to independent candidates. There were calls for new presidential and legislative elections. In the 7 July 2002 county elections, the FPI and the PDCI each won 18 of the 58 departments. In August 2002, the RDR was awarded four ministerial positions in the new government.

On 19 September 2002, as Gbagbo was out of the country, an attempted military coup took place, destabilizing Abidjan and Bouaké, among other cities. Assumedly involved in plotting the coup, Gueï was killed; in addition, the Interior Minister and the former military commander of Bouaké were killed. France increased its military presence in Côte d'Ivoire to protect its large French community, and ECOWAS planned to send a peacekeeping force. Approximately 200 US Special Forces were sent to assist the government in putting down the mutineers. The original mutiny spread quickly into a general uprising in the Muslim north, against Gbagbo's southerner-dominated government. A ceasefire brokered by ministers from six African countries was signed by the government and rebels in Bouaké on 17 October, and direct negotiations between the Côte d'Ivoire Patriotic Movement (MPCI) and the government began on 30 October. The government agreed in principle to the idea of an amnesty and the reintegration of the mutineers into the army, but a political accord was not agreed upon. In what exacerbated the situation, two new rebel groups in the west emerged on 28 November—the Far Western Ivoirian People's Movement (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MPJ). The MPCI continued to control the north while these two new groups controlled the southwest; the government continued to hold the majority of the south. France increased its troop presence; by the end of December, close to 2,500 French troops were in Côte d'Ivoire.

A succession of unification attempts and agreements have been characterized by broken promises, missed deadlines, deadlock, incomplete implementation, and failure to achieve lasting peace. Following incidents between the MPIGO, MPJ, and French troops in January 2003, the two rebel groups agreed to participate in talks outside Paris on 15 January. Attending the talks were the three rebel movements, a government delegation, the political parties represented in the National Assembly, and the RDR. The talks resulted in a settlement to create a government of national unity and reconciliation in which the rebels would be represented, and Gbagbo would remain as head of state but with diminished powers. Gbagbo signed the French-brokered Linas-Marcoussis Accord on 24 January, but tens of thousands of Ivoirians in Abdijan protested the deal on his return, attacking the French embassy and French-owned businesses, as the protesters accused France of imposing the agreement. In Accra, Ghana, in March, the parties involved in the power-sharing agreement finalized their plan for the creation of the government of national reconciliation: 10 cabinet posts were reserved for President Gbagbo's FPI; the PDCI, RDR, and MPCI each were granted 7 posts; and 7 posts were shared by the MJP and the MPIGO. Representatives of the rebel movements and those from the RDR failed to attend the inaugural cabinet meeting in Yamoussoukro on 13 March; only 21 of the newly appointed ministers attended. As of the middle of March 2003, some 3,000 people had been killed in the fighting, and more than one million had been displaced. The first meeting of cabinet ministers in the new government was held on 17 April 2003.

The UN news network IRIN characterizes the time since the Linas-Marcoussis Accord as a period of "no war, no peace." The peace accord faced major challenges. Political deadlock was punctuated with sporadic outbreaks of violence. The unity government was considerably volatile. The government lifted the curfew, French troops cracked down on lawlessness on the western side of the country, and a semblance of law and order was secured, albeit short-lived. Yet core problems of identity and citizenship, disarmament, and power sharing remained. Fresh fighting broke out soon after, followed by a trail of additional peace talks and broken promises. A total cease-fire was agreed on 1 May 2003, and an "End of the War" declaration issued on July 4. Both were broken, leading to the Accra, Ghana, round of talks and the signing, on 30 July 2004, of the Accra III Agreement. Yet again, September and October deadlines for legislative reform and rebel disarmament were not met by the parties. By 2004, a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force that included 4,000 French troops already in-country was deployed as part of the blueprint Linas-Marcoussis agreement to control the "zone of confidence" separating rebel-held north and government-controlled south. Still, tensions continued to escalate, and violence at an opposition rally in March 2004, later reported to have been planned, killed 120 people.

Gbagbo tried to crush the rebellion, but failed. Some experts on Côte d'Ivoire have linked Gbagbo to public statements to the effect that he never really accepted the Linas-Marcoussis agreement, but was forced to accept it because he lacked the military capacity to crush the rebellion. On 4 November 2004 the Côte d'Ivoire air force launched a campaign against rebel positions which shattered terms of the cease-fire agreement of 2003. Two days later a government aircraft bombed French barracks in Bouaké, killing nine French soldiers and one American civilian. The French brushed aside government claims that the attack was accidental, and launched a retaliation attack that decimated the small Côte d'Ivoire air force. This sparked several days of violent anti-French riots in Abidjan and elsewhere. On 15 November 2004 the UN Security Council placed Côte d'Ivoire under an immediate arms embargo and gave the government a month to get the peace process moving again. Ensuing talks sponsored by the African Union and mediated by South African president Thabo Mbeki culminated in the Pretoria Agreement, signed April 6, 2005 and a follow-up Pretoria II agreement in June 2005. The Pretoria agreements formally ended Côte d'Ivoire's state of war, and tackled sticky issues such as disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR); return of New Forces Ministers to government; legal issues surrounding national identity; establishment of an independent electoral commission; and re-affirmed legislative, elections, and disarmament requirements of the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. The legal issues surrounding identity are reported to have been resolved, on paper at least, through constitutional amendments and presidential decrees following Pretoria II. The major challenge remained implementation.

The former colonial master, France, has enjoyed a complex lovehate, and often self-conflicting relationship with the country. On the one hand France has provided military support for Gbagbo against the rebels. On the other hand analysts see French support within the 2003 accord for the rebel's uncompromising demand to change the Ivorian nationality legislation, as legitimizing the rebellion. The change included removing the concept of the ethnic identity (Ivoirité) that denied electoral and land-ownership rights to a substantial minority, particularly from the north. In November 2004 and early 2005 anti-French riots swept through the government-run south. The French retaliated, attacking and destroying Gbagbo's air force. Since the 2003 accord, the former colonial power has apparently withdrawn from negotiations.

The much-anticipated presidential elections scheduled for 30 October 2005, when President Laurent Gbagbo's mandate expired, were postponed in September. Disarmament initiatives agreed under the series of peace accords never materialized. On 14 October, the UN Security Council endorsed African Union proposals postponing the elections and allowed Gbagbo to remain in office for up to 12 more months. President Laurent Gbagbo accepted the UN resolution 1633 under which he would have to hand much of his power over to a new consensus prime minister. The prime minister was charged with broad responsibilities for security and defense, and was given the task of organizing credible elections by the end of October 2006.

Six weeks behind schedule because of bitter political bickering among the rebels and opposition parties, and at the third such attempt in one month, a high-powered African Union delegation consisting of Olusegun Obasanjo, Thabo Mbeki, and Niger's president Mamadou Tandja, finally announced the appointment of Charles Konan Banny, governor of West Africa's central bank, as interim prime minister on 5 December 2005. The appointment of Banny, who is seen as independent-minded and potentially neutral, was broadly welcomed by parties to the conflict. Even the New Forces rebels who had previously said that they would accept no one other than their own leader, Guillaume Soro express support for Banny. This appointment finally gave some hope for the war-torn country after more than three years of conflict. Côte d'Ivoire won strong endorsements from parties to the conflict, raising a new glimmer of hope for peace. Banny is said to have international standing and good relations with Gbagbo and Ivoirian opposition leaders, assets that diplomats hope will help him to turn his war-weary country around.

GOVERNMENT

Under the constitution of 31 October 1960, as subsequently amended, executive power is exercised by a president, elected for a five-year term by direct universal suffrage (from age 18). The president, who appoints the Council of Ministers (cabinet), may initiate and veto legislation; the veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the legislature. A 1980 constitutional amendment created the new post of vice president, to be elected with the president and to become head of state automatically in the case of vacancy by death, resignation, or "absolute hindrance"; the post was left vacant, however. A 1985 constitutional amendment eliminated it, making the president of the National Assembly the interim successor for 45-90 days in the event of a vacancy, and is tasked with organizing new elections in which the winner completes the remainder of the deceased president's term. In January 2003, Seydou Diarra was appointed as transitional prime minister by President Gbagbo as part of the French-brokered peace plan to create a national government of reconciliation and unity, after civil war began in September 2002. A 41-member cabinet was agreed upon, which was to include 9 ministers from 3 rebel groups: the MPCI, MPIGO, and MPJ. As of December 2005, Banny remained the prime minister, pending yet another transitional premier to oversee transition to peace under a UN-sponsored one-year postponement of elections scheduled for 30 October 2005, and conduct of fresh elections by 30 October 2006. The president is currently the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces with wide-sweeping powers, and selects the prime minister, who is the head of government. However, the UN Security Council resolution of October 2005 that endorsed postponement of 2005 elections for a year requires the president to hand over much of his powers, including military resources and organizing elections for a more powerful transitional prime minister.

The unicameral National Assembly consists of 225 members, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term in the same year as the president. The country had a de facto one-party system until May 1990, when opposition parties were allowed. The post of prime minister was created after the November 1990 elections. Controversial electoral reforms were instituted in 1995, just prior to elections. The Pretoria Agreement of April 2005 provided for reorganization of the electoral commission. However, in late November 2005 a quarrel brewed over composition of the National Electoral Commission that will organize the polls expected in October 2006. The quarrel spilled into the courts where the Supreme Court nullified the election of its chairman on grounds that several members were unfairly excluded from the vote.

POLITICAL PARTIES

From 1959 to 1990, the only political party in Côte d'Ivoire was the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (Parti Démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire—PDCI), headed by President Félix HouphouëtBoigny. The PDCI developed from the Côte d'Ivoire section of the African Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Démocratique Africain), formed in 1946. In the 1959 elections, Houphouët-Boigny made it clear that no party that did not fully accept Côte d'Ivoire membership in the French Community would be tolerated. After the elections, the number of constituencies was reduced to four for the whole country, and later a single nationwide constituency was established, with a single list of candidates for the National Assembly. In 1980, members of the National Assembly were chosen in 147 separate districts; in 1985, they were chosen from 175 districts.

In May 1990, opposition parties were legalized and contested the 1990 elections. Among the two-dozen parties registered were the Ivoirian Popular Front (FPI), the Ivoirian Workers' Party (PIT), the Ivoirian Socialist Party (PSI), and the Ivoirian Human Rights League. In April 1994, some 19 parties formed a center left opposition alliance, the Groupement pour la Solidarité (GPS). Also formed in 1994 was the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), a coalition of defectors from the PDCI. The 1995 legislative elections resulted in a National Assembly constituted as follows: PDCI, 146 seats; RDR, 14; and FPI, 9. The year 2000 marked the first time in almost 40 years that the PDCI was not in power. The 10 December 2000 and 14 January 2001 parliamentary elections were boycotted by the RDR. The FPI won 96 of 225 seats; the PDCI took 94; the RDR won 5, although it boycotted the elections; the PIT won 4; the Union of Democrats of Côte d'Ivoire (UDCI) took 1 seat; the Movement of Future Forces (MFA) won 1 seat; and independents secured 22 seats. Two seats were vacant.

Elections scheduled for 30 October 2005 were postponed with UN endorsement. The Security Council resolution 1633 of 2005 requires transparent, free, and fair elections. The elections were scheduled to for 30 October 2006.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Côte d'Ivoire is divided into 19 regions, 58 departments, and 196 communes, each headed by an elected mayor, plus the city of Abidjan with 10 mayors. A process of decentralization began in 1977, and has been regarded as the most thoroughgoing and effective in Francophone Africa. In the March 2001 local elections, the RDR gained control of the largest number of communes (64), followed by the PDCI (58), and the FPI (34). Thirty-eight went to independent candidates. In July 2002, the FPI and PDCI each won 18 of the 58 departments.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The judicial system is based on the French civil law system and customary law. The Supreme Court heads the formal judicial system, which includes a Court of Appeals and lower courts. In rural areas, domestic and other local disputes are often handled through traditional village institutions in accordance with customary law, although the formal court system is increasingly displacing these traditional forms. A grand mediator, whose office is provided for in the constitution to bridge traditional and modern methods of dispute resolution, settles disputes that cannot be resolved solely by traditional means. Military courts only try military personnel. Persons convicted by a military court may petition the Supreme Court. An independent Constitutional Council composed of seven members appointed by the president handles such issues as candidate eligibility in presidential and legislative elections, announcement of final election results, conduct of referendums, and constitutionality of legislation.

The judiciary is independent of the legislative and executive branches in ordinary criminal cases. Under the constitution and in practice, however, the judiciary accedes to the executive on political and national security issues.

ARMED FORCES

Côte d'Ivoire's armed forces numbered 17,050 active personnel in 2005, including the 1,350-member Presidential Guard. There were 6,500 in the Army, which included three infantry battalions, one armored battalion, and one artillery battalion. Equipment included 10 main battle tanks and five light tanks. There were 900 personnel in the Navy, which had two patrol/coastal vessels and a single amphibious landing ship tank. The air force had 700 personnel, including nine combat capable aircraft, seven of which were also used in a training capacity. There was also a paramilitary gendarmerie force of 7,600. The defense budget in 2005 totaled $191 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Côte d'Ivoire was admitted to UN membership on 20 September 1960 and is a member of ECA and several nonregional specialized agencies, as well as the WTO (1995). It belongs to the African Union and various other intergovernmental organizations, including the African Development Bank, the ACP Group, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), G-24, and G-77. Together with other countries of former French West Africa, it participates in the West African Customs Union, and it was the organizer of the Conseil d'Entente, which unites Benin, Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso in a customs union. In May 1975, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the signatories to a treaty that created ECOWAS, an economic organization that includes both French- and English-speaking West African countries. Côte d'Ivoire joined the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CENSAD) in 2004. It is an associate member of the European Union. Abidjan is the headquarters for the African Development Bank and houses the secretariat of the Conseil d'Entente and the West African office of the World Bank.

Côte d'Ivoire is part of the Nonaligned Movement and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) was established in 2004 to facilitate implementation of peace agreements designed to calm political unrest within the country; 41 nations are a part of the mission. In environmental cooperation, Côte d'Ivoire is part of the Basel Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ramsar, CITES, the London Convention, International tropical timber Agreements, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Côte d'Ivoire's wealth rests essentially on the production of coffee, cocoa, cotton, and tropical woods, which account for over 40% of GDP and two-thirds of exports. It has become the largest cotton producer south of the Sahara and is also investing in rubber production, with the goal of joining Liberia as one of Africa's leading rubber producers. The nation is the world's fifth-largest producer of coffee and the world's largest producer of cocoa; bananas, palm oil, and pineapples are other products of importance. Industrial activity, consisting chiefly of processing industries, is well developed. Mining remains of limited significance, with diamonds and offshore oil the only important minerals produced.

For the first 15 years after independence, Côte d'Ivoire's economy expanded at a remarkable rate reaching the double digits. During the 1980s, however, Côte d'Ivoire began experiencing an economic slowdown because of falling export prices, rising import prices, and heavy debt-service costs as a result of borrowing during the boom years.

In January 1994 France devalued the CFA franc, cutting its value in half. Within days of the devaluation, marketplace fights became common as shoppers reacted to merchants' attempts to cut their losses by marking up the prices of existing stocks. The population was forced to stop buying expensive imports in favor of locally produced products, which put more money into the pockets of local farmers and tradesmen. In addition, exports became more competitive, encouraging economic production. Despite the initial trauma, the devaluation ultimately led to average growth rates of 7% per year between 1995 and 1999. Although inflation initially shot up to 32% in 1994, it fell to 7.7% in 1995, and 2.5% in 2000. The post-devaluation boom waned in 1999, though, because of lower coffee, palm, rubber, and cocoa prices. The GDP growth rate in 2001 was estimated at -1%. Commodity prices, however, rebounded in 2001.

Due to the instability following the attempted coup that took place in 2002, and the resulting fighting, Côte d'Ivoire's economy suffered greatly, affecting everyone from business people to local artisans and farmers. Côte d'Ivoire's neighbors—including Burkina Faso and Mali—also felt the blow from the civil war.

The economy recovered slightly in 2004, with a GDP growth rate of 1.6% (as opposed to negative growth in 2002, and 2003, when the rate was -1.6% and -3.8% respectively). Inflation remains under control at around 3.3%. Although Côte d'Ivoire is one of the sub-Saharan countries with the highest economic potential, it remains mired in a political and military crisis. The situation has deteriorated in 2004 when the president's troops attacked and killed nine French peacekeeping forces.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Côte d'Ivoire's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $24.8 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,400. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at -1.5%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 2%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 27.7% of GDP, industry 16.7%, and services 55.6%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $141 million or about $1 per capita and accounted for approximately 1.0% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $252 million or about $15 per capita and accounted for approximately 1.9% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) totaled $9.46 billion or about $56 per capita based on a GDP of $14.0 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 2.7%. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 30% of household consumption was spent on food, 4% on fuel, 1% on health care, and 18% on education. It was estimated that in 1995 about 37% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

As of 2005, Côte d'Ivoire's workforce totaled an estimated 6.95 million, of which about 68% were engaged in agriculture. The unemployment rate in urban areas was estimated at 13% in 1998.

With the exception of the police and the military services, all citizens can form or join a union. All unions must be registered, a process that takes three months and which is routinely granted. Organized workers account for a very small segment of the workforce because most are involved in the informal sector or agriculture. As of 2005, about 1.5 million workers or 15% of the labor force in the formal economy are unionized. Collective bargaining is recognized as is the right to strike. However, before a strike can be initiated, a six day notification period must be given.

The law provides a 40-hour workweek for all except agricultural workers, for whom longer working hours are permitted. The legal minimum work age is 14 years, but this is only enforced in large companies and in the civil service. Many children work on farms and do menial jobs in the informal sector in urban areas. A government-set minimum wage varies from sector to sector, with the lowest wage being around $73 per month in 2005, for the industrial sector. Construction workers have a slightly higher minimum wage rate. Foreign workers are generally employed in the informal economy where labor laws do not apply.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture provides a living for about 46% of Ivoirians and accounts for about one-half of the country's sizable export earnings. Only 23% of the land is cultivated, but farming is intensive and efficiently organized. Most production is in the hands of smallholders, but there are numerous European-owned plantations, far more than in neighboring West African countries.

The main food crops (with their 2004 production in tons) are yams, 3,050,000; manioc, 1,500,000; rice, 1,150,000; plantains, 1,350,000; and corn, 910,000. Sweet potatoes, peanuts, and in the northern districts, millet, sorghum, and hungry rice (fonio) are also grown. Vegetable and melon production in 2004 amounted to 633,910 tons, consisting mostly of eggplant, fresh tomatoes, cabbage, okra, peppers, and shallots. The government sought during the 1970s to reduce or eliminate rice imports, but in 2004, 868,321 tons were imported. The economic decline during the 1980s coupled with high population growth has necessitated the modernization of agricultural production, with less dependence on coffee and cocoa. When cocoa and coffee prices were booming from the late 1960s until the early 1980s, the government profited by paying the farmers only a fraction of the money earned from the export of the crops.

However, they remain the principal cash crops and together provide about 45% of the country's export earnings. Côte d'Ivoire is Africa's leading producer of coffee, which is grown in the southern and central parts of the country, almost entirely on smallholdings. Coffee production reached a peak of 367,000 tons in 1981 and then declined because of drought and bush fires; in 2004 the total was only 159,769 tons. Cocoa production has increased markedly since the early 1970s; it is now the nation's leading cash crop, and Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading producer, accounting for 37% of world production in 2004. Output rose from 379,000 tons in 1980 to 1,331,494 tons in 2004, in part because of the use of high-yield plants and improvement in planting methods and upkeep.

Banana production (252,423 tons in 2004) fluctuates from year to year because of climatic conditions; exports in 2004 were 227,225 tons. Production of pineapples in that year was 176,917 tons; palm oil, 292,278 tons; and palm kernels, 50,248 tons. Rubber plantations yielded 136,872 tons, and cotton production reached 300,000 tons of seed cotton, and 152,000 tons of cotton fiber. Coconut production was 240,000 tons in 2004.

Six sugar complexes were established in the 1970s and early 1980s. These met domestic demand and provided an export surplus of over 60,000 tons of raw sugar in 1982, but the cost of production far exceeded the world market price and two complexes were converted to rice plantations. Production of sugarcane was about 930,000 tons in 2004.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Much of the country lies within tsetse-infested areas, and cattle are therefore concentrated in the more northerly districts. In 2004 there were an estimated 1,460,000 head of cattle (compared with 383,000 in 1968), 1,192,000 goats, 1,523,000 sheep, and 342,700 hogs. There are 33 million chickens; 31,214 tons of eggs were produced in 2004. Milk production is small and there are no processing facilities so the milk is consumed fresh; production in 2004 was 25,912 tons.

In 2004, meat productions included (in tons): beef, 52,200; poultry, 69,300; pork, 11,760; and sheep and goat, 9,429. Nomadic production accounts for around half of cattle herds and is mainly undertaken by non-Ivoirian herders. Settled herders are concentrated in the dry north, mainly in Korhogo, Ferkessedougon, Bouna, Boundali, Odienne, and Dabakala. Sheep and goat rearing is a secondary activity for many herders. Pork production is periodically affected by African swine fever; potential increases are limited by the fact that Muslims account for 40% of the population.

FISHING

In 1964 a modern fishing wharf was opened at Abidjan, which is Africa's largest tuna fishing port, handling about 100,000 tons of tuna each year. There are fish hatcheries in Bouaké, Bamoro, and Korhogo. Commercial fishing for tuna is carried on in the Gulf of Guinea; sardines are also caught in quantity. The total catch was 71,841 tons in 2004, with commercial fishing accounting for 25%; artisanal fishing, 74%; and aquaculture, 1%.

FORESTRY

There are three types of forest in Côte d'Ivoire: rain forest, deciduous forest, and the secondary forest of the savanna region. Total forest area in 2000 was 7,117,000 hectares (17,586,000 acres); the natural rain forest constitutes the main forest area, as only 184,000 hectares (455,000 acres) are planted forests. In 1983, the government acknowledged that the nation's forest area, which totaled approximately 16 million hectares (40 million acres) at independence in 1960, had dwindled to about 4 million hectares (10 million acres). However, the deforestation rate still averaged 3.1% during 1990–2000. The lingering political instability since the outbreak of hostilities in 2002 has contributed to illegal logging and increased deforestation.

The forested area is divided into two zones, the Permanent Domain (PD) and the Rural Domain (RD). The PD consists of classified forests, national parks, and forest areas. This includes major forested areas made up of 231 classified forest areas, 9 national parks and 3 forest reserves, 7 semiclassified forests, and 51 unclassified forests. The total area of the national parks and reserves is 1,959,203 hectares (4,841,191 acres). Forest exploitation activities are prohibited in the classified forest areas, which cover an estimated 4,196,000 hectares (10,368,000 acres). However, for maintenance purposes, limited logging is permitted occasionally in classified forests, which amounted to 148,271 cu m in 2003. These forests are spread throughout the country in three zones: 31.8% in the humid dense forest in the south, 30.5% in the semi-deciduous forests of central Côte d'Ivoire, and 33.7% in the savannah forests in the north. The RD, where logging is permitted, covers 66% of the total land area of Côte d'Ivoire. However, the effective area for forestry production is estimated at 2.9 million hectares (7.2 million acres).

In 2003, forest products accounted for $269 million in export value, providing the third most important source of foreign revenue after cocoa and petroleum products. The major export markets were Italy, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, India, Ireland, Senegal, and Morocco. The total 2003 roundwood harvest was 11,615,000 cu m (410,010,000 cu ft). Tropical hardwood production primarily consists of logs, 70%; lumber, 20%; and veneer and plywood, 10%. At one time, mahogany was the only wood exploited, but now more than 25 different types of wood are utilized commercially. The major species planted are teak, frake, framire, pine, samba, cedar, gmelina, niangon, and bete. The increasing scarcity of forest resources is adversely impacting value-added industries, leaving lumber and veneer production in a steady state of decline.

MINING

Minerals represented a minor component of the economy, of which petroleum was a leading industry. All mineral rights were vested in the state, the Ministère des Ressources Minières et Pétrolières was responsible for administering the sector, and prospecting and mining were subject to control of the state-owned Société d'Etat pour le Développment Minier de la Côte d'Ivoire (SODEMI). Mineral commodities were estimated to account for 10% of the country's exports, excluding the value of smuggled gold and diamonds; the government was planning to implement a diamond certification scheme to respond to worldwide concerns over conflict diamonds. Diamond output in 2004 was estimated at 230,000 carats, unchanged from 2003, but down from the 306,500 carats produced in 2002. Although kimberlites were known to exist at Kanangone, Seguela, and Tortiya, diamonds were produced only from alluvial deposits at Tortiya and Seguela. Gold production in 2004 was 1,219 kg, compared to 1,313 Kg in 2003. The Agbaou gold permit's resources were more than 26,000 kg. A number of foreign companies had gold interests in Côte d'Ivoire, among them a French consortium that in 1991 began to exploit a mine estimated to contain 500,000 tons of gold ore with a content of 7 grams of gold per ton. Tantalite production was estimated at 400 kg in 2004. Côte d'Ivoire in 2004 also produced cement, columbite, gravel and crushed rock, and sand. The production of building materials was a leading industry in the country.

The country's total iron ore resource was estimated to be 3,000 million tons, with deposits at Monogaga, Mount Gao, Mount Klahoyo, Mount Nimba, Mount Segaye, Mount Tia, and Mount Tortro; poor infrastructure has hampered development of these resources. There has been recent interest in constructing a gas pipeline to service an iron ore pelletizing plant onsite, and the government has been actively pursuing a project to build a 500 km railway that would connect Mount Nimba and the San Pedro port. Falconbridge Ltd. of Canada continued evaluation of its Touba-Biankouma license, whose laterite deposit of nickel and cobalt was estimated to be 292 million tons of ore at a grade of 1.46% nickel and 0.11% cobalt. Ilmenite fields containing an estimated 500,000 tons of the rare metal have been discovered near Grand Lahou. Copper, titanium, chromite, bauxite, and asphalt were among other known minerals not yet exploited commercially. In 2001, Côte d'Ivoire agreed with six West African countries to form a free-trade zone to expand economic and infrastructural development. Despite the 1999 military coup and continuing civil unrest in 2001, Côte d'Ivoire's 8,000 paved roads and two active ports made it attractive for business

ENERGY AND POWER

Côte d'Ivoire has become in recent years an important supplier of energy to the sub-Saharan region as a result of its reserves of natural gas, excess electrical generating capacity, and recent offshore finds of oil and natural gas.

Offshore oil was discovered in 1977, with production starting three years later. The bulk of the country's oil and gas wells, (86%), are situated in shallow marine areas, with another 7% located in deep offshore wells. Only 7% of the country's oil and gas wells are onshore. Estimates by the Oil and Gas Journal have placed the country's proven petroleum reserves at 100 million barrels, as of 1 January 2005. Production for 2004 was estimated at 35,541 barrels per day, with crude oil accounting for 35,000 barrels per day. However, recent finds and new production at several offshore fields and blocks may push the nation's proven reserves and output totals higher. For example, the Espoir field, which began producing in early 2002, is estimated to contain recoverable reserves of 93 million barrels of oil and 180 billion cubic feet of gas. Also, Block CI-40, which is jointly operated by Canadian Natural Resources, Svenska Petroleum and the state oil corporation, Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (Petroci), and which lies 5 miles to the south of the Espoir field, is estimated to have recoverable oil reserves of 200 million barrels. In Block CI-112, located off Côte d'Ivoire's western coast, is estimated by Vanco Energy Company to contain 2.7 billion barrels of oil in the block's San Pedro ridge and in other deposits.

Although natural gas was initially discovered in Côte d'Ivoire in the 1980s, it has only been recently developed As of 1 January 2005, the country is estimated to have of natural gas reserves of 1.00 trillion cu ft. In 2003, natural gas output and domestic consumption were each estimated at 46 billion cu ft.

Côte d'Ivoire's oil and gas industry is managed by Petroci. Founded in 1975, Petroci was restructured in 1998 into a holding company, Petroci Holding, with three subsidiaries: Petroci Exploration-Production which handles upstream gas and oil activities; Petroci Gaz, which is responsible for the natural gas sector; and Petroci Industries-Services which manages all other related services. Petroci Holding manages the three subsidiaries as well as the country's holdings in the gas and oil sectors.

Côte d'Ivoire uses hydroelectric and thermal generating facilities to provide all of its electrical power. As of 1 January 2002, the country's generating capacity stood at an estimated 0.90 million kW. Although hydropower accounts for around two-thirds of its generating capacity, it accounts for less than half of the power generated. In 2002, an estimated 4.8 billion kWh of electric power was generated, of which 38% was hydroelectric and 62% thermal. Gas powered stations alone generated more than half of the total power produced The use of natural gas fueled power stations has also made Côte d'Ivoire into an exporter of electricity. In 2002, exports of electricity to neighboring countries totaled 1.6 billion kWh. Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo are among the countries connected to Côte d'Ivoire's power grid. Domestic consumption of electric power in 2002 is reported to total 3.109 billion kWh. Compangnie Ivoirienne d'Electriciti (CIE) is the sole supplier of power, and manages, not only the government-owned generating plants, but also the transmission and distribution of power. Although official estimates place the percentage of people living in urban areas that have access to electricity at 77%, less than 15% of those living in rural areas have such access. Rural electrification has become a major priority with the government.

INDUSTRY

Côte d'Ivoire's industrial activity is substantial by African standards. It accounted for 29% of GDP in 2000. The development of processing industries, especially in the Abidjan region, has been significant. Bouaké has become a large industrial center, and numerous thriving industries have been built up in the forest zone of the southern coastal region. These include palm oil mills, soap factories, a flour mill, fruit canning factories, a tuna canning factory, breweries, beer and soft drink plants, rubber processing plants, sugar mills, cotton ginning plants, and coffee- and cocoabean processing plants. The chemical and lubricant industries are also significant. In 1998, industrial GDP grew 12% with increased capacity utilization and plant expansion and renovation. Exports of light manufactured goods had increased by 2002.

The lumber industry, producing largely for export, included plywood factories and numerous sawmills. The construction materials industry, comprised of brick works, quarries, and cement plants, experienced an approximate 25% growth rate from 1996 to 1999. The Abidjan airport was completely renovated in 2001, and there are plans to expand the Port of Abidjan.

Recoverable oil reserves in the country amount to 100 million barrels. Petroleum products account for more than 11% of export earnings. The oil refinery at Abidjan produces enough refined petroleum products for the country to be self-sufficient in them. Côte d'Ivoire is known more as an oil-refining country than an oil-producing one. The Abidjan refinery was scheduled for privatization by 2000. Recoverable gas reserves amount to 1.1 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), and the country is destined to become a gas exporter.

Cotton production is expanding in the north of the country, and a thriving textile industry has developed around it, including such activities as ginning, spinning, weaving, and printing.

The civil war that began in 2002 inhibited growth in all sectors, from large industry in Abidjan to small artisan work. Fighting prevented raw materials from the north of the country to make their way to businesses and ports in the south.

In 2004, industry made up 19.4% of the economy, agriculture, 27.8%, and services, 52.8%. Most (68%) of the 6.7 million laborable population was employed by the agricultural sector. Côte d'Ivoire continues to be one of the most industrialized sub-Saharan countries, but the precarious political situation prevents the country from exploiting this position fully.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Scientific institutes in Côte d'Ivoire conduct research in such fields as tropical forestry, livestock and veterinary medicine, cotton and tropical textiles, coffee, cocoa, oils, rubber, savanna food crops, and citrus fruits. The French Institute of Scientific Research for Cooperative Development, founded in 1946, has a center in Abidjan and extensions in Bouaké and Man. The National University of Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan includes faculties of sciences, medicine, and pharmacy; and an institute of renewable energy. A technical school in Bingerville offers training in electrical engineering, and a teachers' training college at Yamoussoukro includes schools of industrial technology and engineering. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 31% of college and university enrollments.

In 2002, high technology exports were valued at $27 million, accounting for 3% of the country's manufactured exports.

DOMESTIC TRADE

European firms play an important part in the economy, and the French and Lebanese population has a strong influence in importing and marketing decisions. They buy and export lumber, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil products and import capital and consumer goods. Most European firms have their headquarters in Abidjan; many are also represented in Bouaké. In Abidjan and Bouaké there are specialty shops in such lines as dry goods, foodstuffs, hardware, electrical appliances, and consumer electronics. In the smaller towns of the interior, bazaars and individual merchants and peddlers deal in locally grown products and a few imported items.

Domestic trade is generally on a cash basis, but in the countryside, bartering is common. Many shopkeepers extend credit to farmers until the end of the harvest season. Major credit cards are not generally accepted. Installment purchase has been introduced for automobiles and major appliances. Prices and profit margins are regulated by the government for basic food products, many imported goods, and certain services.

Business hours are generally from 8 am to noon and from 3 to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, and some businesses are open on Saturday. Banks are normally open on weekdays from 8 to 11:30 am and 2:30 to 4:30 pm. Many businesses close during the month of August for vacation.

FOREIGN TRADE

Côte d'Ivoire has generally enjoyed a positive trade balance since independence. Cocoa is Côte d'Ivoire's largest export commodity (28%), cornering over a quarter of the world's exports in the market (26%). The country also exports wood (7.5%), coffee (8.4%), fruits and nuts (4.7%), fish (3.6%), and cotton (4.1%). Côte d'Ivoire's exports go to France, the Netherlands, and the United States.

In 2004, exports reached $5.1 billion (FOB—free on board), while imports grew to $3.4 billion (FOB). The bulk of exports went to the United States (11.6%), the Netherlands (10.3%), France (9.5%), Italy (5.5%), Belgium (4.7%), and Germany (4.7%). Imports included fuel, capital equipment, and foodstuffs, and mainly came from France (24.3%), Nigeria (19.2%), and the United Kingdom (4%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Côte d'Ivoire's exports have diversified over the years, ranging from a reliance on cocoa, coffee, and other tropical agricultural products, to new growth in exports of light manufactured goods, petroleum products, and electricity. The success of these exports has led to a positive foreign trade balance. The country, however, has external debt service arrears in the amount of $415 million (2001). Total external debt stands at around $11 billion, approximately the same amount as annual GDP, or more than three times annual export earnings. The country also has internal debt service payments of over $2 billion, or approximately 18% of GDP.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Côte d'Ivoire's exports was $3.6

billion while imports totaled $2.4 billion resulting in a trade surplus of $1.2 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2001 Côte d'Ivoire had exports of goods totaling $3.95 billion and imports totaling $2.41 billion. The services credit totaled $487 million and debit $1.23 billion.

Exports of goods and services reached $6.9 billion (FOB—free on board) in 2004, up from $5.8 billion (FOB) in 2003. Imports grew from $3.2 billion in 2003, to $4.2 billion in 2004. The resource balance was consequently positive in both years, hovering at around $2.6 billion. The current account balance was also positive, slightly improving from $295 million in 2003, to $303 million in 2004. Foreign exchange reserves (excluding gold) grew to $1.7 billion in 2004, covering almost five months of imports.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

Côte d'Ivoire is a part of the Communaute Financiere Africaine, in particular, the Union Economique et Monetaire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UEMOA). The central bank for all UEMOA members is the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) in Dakar. CFA francs (Communauté Financière Africaine francs), are guaranteed by France at a rate of 100:1 without limitation. There are 15 commercial banks in Côte d'Ivoire. These include SGBCI, BIAO, BOCICI, SIB, Citibank, Paribas, BHCI, Ecobank, Bank of Africa, and HSBC Equator Bank. The African Development Bank is headquartered in Abidjan.

In late 1996, the Banque internationale pour le commerce et l'industrie de la Côte d'Ivoire (BICICI) forecast growth of 7.3% for 1996. Banking activity had followed the improving national economic environment. BICICI expected credit in the economy to rise by 4.3% in 1996, and money supply by 20%, marked by further substantial growth in household savings.

Public credit institutions provide credit to farmers and agricultural cooperatives, mortgages and personal loans, real estate financing, and loans to small industries. The Ivoirian Industrial Development Bank was inaugurated in 1965 to provide medium- and long-term credit for industrial projects. The National Agricultural Development Bank, created in 1968, extends loans to the agricultural community. The National Bank for Savings and Credit is the state savings institution.

The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $1.8 billion. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $2.5 billion. The money market rate, the rate at which financial institutions lend to one another in the short term, was 4.95%. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 6.5%.

As of 2004, a total of 39 companies were listed on the West African Stock Exchange. Total market capitalization as of that year was $2.083 billion. As of that same year, the BRVM Composite Index rose 17.1% from the previous year to 87.6.

INSURANCE

There were over 30 insurance companies in Abidjan in 1999. Domestic companies accounted for almost 80% of the business. Third-party motor liability insurance is compulsory. In 2002, all direct premiums written totaled $162 million, of which nonlife premiums accounted for $109 million. In 2000 (the latest year for which data was available), AXA was the country's top nonlife insurer, with $16.5 million of nonlife premiums written. In that same year, Groupama Vie was the leading life insurer, with $14.2 million in gross premiums written.

PUBLIC FINANCE

In the first quarter of 1999, the government admitted to a budget shortfall of $125 million, which it explained as a loss of import duties and tax and customs fraud. The government has been accused repeatedly of corrupt practices and mismanagement of public revenues, including extra-budgetary spending. The government began a privatization program in 1990 that had succeeded in selling 56 out of 60 chosen national enterprises by 1999.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Côte d'Ivoire's central government took in revenues of approximately $2.4 billion and had expenditures of $2.8 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$396 million. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 70.4% of GDP. Total external debt was $13.26 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2001, the most recent year for which it had data, central government revenues were CFA Fr1,375.3 billion and expenditures were CFA Fr1,297.3 billion. The value of revenues US dollars was us$2 million, based on a official exchange rate for 2001 of us$1 = CFA Fr711.98 as reported by the IMF.

TAXATION

From the end of May 2001, as some order was restored after the coup attempt in January, the government began instituting and planning reforms in tax structure and tax administration under the guidance of the IMF and the World Bank. The government wrote off tax arrears from prior to 1992 amounting to about €460 million. Most domestic state revenues come from indirect taxes

on imports and exports, and on consumer products, and from business taxes. In 2002 the minimum 5% customs duty on all imports was extended.

The Côte d'Ivoire divides income into five categories according to its source-industrial and commercial profits, salaries and wages, marketable securities, land, and noncommercial profits. Each type is subject to its own specific tax. Individuals are taxed on their total income from all categories under the progressive Gen. Income Tax (IGR), which takes into account the number and type of persons in the taxpayer's household.

Companies pay a tax for Industrial and Commercial Benefits (BIC) at a rate of 35% of profits, with a 0.5% minimum rate on turnover. Water, oil, and electricity producers are subject to a minimum 0.1% rate. Individually-owned companies pay 25%. The tax on capital gains is included in the corporate tax. The New Code for Investments of 1995 offers programs of tax holidays, exemptions and reductions as incentives for foreign investment. Subsidiaries of foreign corporations are subject to withholding tax of 12% (18% if the profit is exempt from corporate tax). The withholding tax on income from royalties is 20% and from interest, 18%. Dividends to nonresidents are subject to 18% withholding, but this may be reduced to 10% or 12%. All withholding taxes may be reduced or eliminated by the terms of bilateral double-taxation prevention agreements. The Côte d'Ivoire has double-tax treaties with about 20 countries, the United States not included among them. There is a real estate tax and a tax on capital gains from securities. Otherwise capital and capital gains are not taxed.

The main indirect tax is the value-added tax (VAT), which, as of 2 July 2001, was set at the unified rate of 20% with the abolition of the reduced rate of 11%. Supplies to ships and aircraft are exempt from VAT. Also levied is a tax on service provided (TSP) of 10% on certain financial and other services, a business franchise tax, a petroleum products tax, a tax on automobiles (50%-100%).

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

A fiscal import duty, applied to all incoming goods regardless of origin, serves primarily as a source of revenue. A customs duty is levied on all goods coming from places other than franc zone countries. Combined, they equal a maximum of 35%. Products from franc zone countries, especially France, receive preferential customs treatment. An excise tax is levied on alcoholic beverages and tobacco; export duties and taxes are imposed on specified commodities. There is also a 20% value-added tax (VAT), and a 2.6 % statistical tax that must be paid on all declarations. All imports valued at more than CFA Fr1 million need licenses, which are issued on a quota basis. Bilateral customs agreements have been concluded with Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, and some other countries. A 1997 agreement with UEMOA countries established a reduction of 60% customs duties manufactured and marketed in the zone.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Foreign (that is, non-French) investment was negligible until the issuance of the 1959 investment code, which eliminated all special privileges for French companies. A new investment code was adopted in 1984. To finance national investment, all businesses had to lend 10% of their profits to the government, but this loan was rebated if they reinvested twice that sum in government-approved industries. Investment incentives included tax holidays, export bonuses, duty-free imports of equipment and machinery, free repatriation of capital and profits, and tax stabilization clauses. The 1984 code was particularly intended to help small- and mediumsized enterprises, with greater incentives for firms locating outside the Abidjan area.

The New Investment Code of 1995 modified the code of 1984 to further encourage private sector investment for larger enterprises. Incentive packages were particularly aimed at attracting foreign investment in the petroleum, telecommunications, and mining sectors, which were being privatized. As a venue for foreign direct investment, Côte d'Ivoire had in its favor a well-developed infrastructure by third world standards (two ports with inland rail linkages, paved roads, advanced telecommunications facilities), a release from overwhelming external debt through the Paris Club and the HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) initiative of the IMF and World Bank, and, most famously, a long record of political stability. This last was broken in the coup of 1999, a popular uprising in 2000, and a troop mutiny in March 2002.

Annual foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow fell over 43% between 1997 and 2000–2001—from about $450 million in 1997 to an average of about $256 million in 2000 and 2001. The political turmoil has created uncertainty in the private sector, which due to recent privatizations has delayed planned infrastructure improvements in the railroads, the petroleum sector, telecommunications, and electricity and water supply.

FDI has come primarily from France, which is the source of 55–60% of accumulated FDI stock. FDI flows account for 40–45% of total capital in Ivorian firms, about 25% of which is French. Other important sources of FDI include the United States (8.4% in 1997), United Kingdom (7.3%), and Benelux countries (4.6%)

The economic downturn registered in 2004 has depleted the government's cash flow, reduced the tax base, and increased the country's debt. The political turmoil that followed towards the end of that same year has seriously deteriorated the business climate and has scared away potential foreign investors.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Since independence, Côte d'Ivoire has engaged in an economic program aimed at ending its reliance on outside assistance and at achieving self-sustained growth. Its economy has remained one of the most developed on the African continent, and its religious, ethnic, and political stability was a model for other African nations. Under current conditions, however, the Côte d'Ivoire economy will remain highly vulnerable to commodity price variations and dependent upon outside assistance into the foreseeable future, a future mortgaged by its earlier levels of borrowing. Increased efforts to liberalize the economy by privatizing state-owned companies have also helped to improve economic performance, as has increased capital investment. The country's debt in 2000 was approximately $13 billion. Côte d'Ivoire hoped to become classified as a "newly industrializing country" by the year 2025. In September 2002 mutineering soldiers attempted a coup, however, and the country was divided into government-controlled and rebel-held areas. After a cease-fire was declared in January 2003 and a government of national unity was formed, President Gbagbo declared on 4 July 2003 that the civil war was over, and there were hopes that the disrupted economy would return to a state of stability.

In March 2002, Côte d'Ivoire negotiated a three-year $366 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the government's economic program.

Although it is one of countries with the highest potential in subSaharan Africa, Côte d'Ivoire remains a country divided in two, with a fragile political situation and a lot of social tension. The cocoa industry, although largely under government control, has suffered indirectly from this conflict and prospects for the 2005–06 crop are dim. Other sectors suffered permanent damages, notably the tourism sector and the goods hauling one (with much of the trade lost to neighboring Ghana and Togo).

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

The social insurance system covers all employed persons and there is a special program for civil servants. Contributions from employers and employees finance the system, and the retirement age is set at 55 years. Employed women are entitled to a maternity benefit equal to 100% of the person's last earnings for a total of 14 weeks. Work injury insurance is funded by employers at varying rates depending on the degree of risk in the job. A family allowance is available to all workers with children and there is also a birth grant and a maternity allowance.

Women play a subordinate role in society even though the constitution prohibits sex discrimination. Domestic abuse occurs frequently and is generally not reported due to the shame it brings upon the family. Women are often forced into marriage, and inheritance practices favor men. Women's advocacy groups are addressing the indifference of authorities to female victims of violent crimes. Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, is illegal, but is still practiced in many areas of the country. The government took action against statutory rape of school girls by teachers, in part to combat low rates of enrollment due to teen pregnancies.

Security forces commit widespread abuses, including killings and arbitrary arrest and detention. Journalists are regularly beaten and harassed. The government restricts the freedom of press, assembly, speech, and movement.

HEALTH

The public medical services are more important than the small number of private physicians and clinics. In 2004, there were an estimated 9 physicians, 31 nurses, and 15 midwives per 100,000 people. About 77% of the population had access to safe water in 2000. Total health care expenditures were estimated at 3.7% of GDP.

Malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, yaws, leprosy, trachoma, and meningitis are endemic. A broad program was set up in 1961 to control these and other diseases; compulsory vaccination against smallpox and yellow fever was instituted, efforts by mobile health units to track down cases and provide treatment were intensified, and general health measures were tightened both within the country and at the borders. In 1999, the country immunized children up to one year old as follows: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 62%, and measles, 62%. Malnutrition affected 24% of children under five years old.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.60 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 570,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 47,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

The high incidence of HIV/AIDS is attributed to a lack of HIV education programs.

Approximately 60% of females underwent female genital mutilation. The birth rate in 1999 was 41.8 per 1,000. The infant mortality rate in 2005 was 90.83 per 1,000 live births, and 14% of all births were classified as low weight. In 2005, average life expectancy in Côte d'Ivoire was estimated at 48.62.

HOUSING

Housing remains an issue of major concern in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly in Abidjan, which has been the focus of continued migration from rural areas. Extensive slum clearance has been carried out in the former capital, but shantytowns still persist on the outskirts. About 70% of the housing in Abidjan are habitats de cour. These consist of a series of connected living units with shared outbuildings for kitchen and sanitation services. There is generally a shared courtyard as well. It has been estimated that about 60% of the residents in Abidjan live in slum settlements. Police officers, soldiers, customs officials, top-level bureaucrats, and foreign salaried government employees receive free housing.

According to the latest available figures, the housing stock totaled nearly two million units, with about six people per dwelling. In 1990, only about 49% of the total population had access to improved sanitation systems; 65% had access to improved water systems.

EDUCATION

Education is free at all levels. Primary education lasts for six years and secondary for seven years (four years of lower secondary followed by three years of upper secondary). Secondary students might choose a seven-year technical program instead of general studies.

Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 61% of age-eligible students; 67% for boys and 54% for girls. In 2001, secondary school enrollment was about 19% of age-eligible students; 24% for boys and 14% for girls. It is estimated that about 51% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 11:1 in 2003. The ratio for secondary school was about 36:1 in 1995.

In 1996, the National University of Côte d'Ivoire split into three separate universities: the Université de Cocody, the Université d'Abobo-Adjamé, and the Université de Bouaké. There are other universities and institutions offering a variety of higher education programs. In 1998, there were about 97,000 students enrolled in some type of higher education program. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 48.1%, with 60.1% for men and 38.2% for women.

As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.6% of GDP, or 21.5% of total government expenditures.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The National Library, in Abidjan, was created in 1968 from the former library of the French Institute of Black Africa and has a primarily scientific collection; in 2002, it contained over 75,000 volumes. The library of the African Development Bank at Abidjan, was founded in 1970, and has 40,000 volumes. A Public Information Center of the World Bank is also located in Abidjan. Abidjan has a municipal library with 50,000 volumes, the National University library with 95,000 volumes, and several small research libraries. The French Cultural Center holds 43,000 volumes.

The Museum of Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan features ethnological, sociological, artistic, and scientific exhibits. The Native Costume Museum was founded in 1981 in Grand Bassam. Regional museums are located in Bondoukou, Bingerville, Abengourou, Bonova, Duekoue, and Vavova. A general interest museum was founded in 1992 in Korhogo.

MEDIA

Telephone and telegraph services are government owned. In 2003, there were an estimated 14 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 3,400 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately 77 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

All news media are owned or controlled by the government or the ruling PDCI. In 2002, daily newspapers included the Frenchlanguage daily Fraternité Matin, with a circulation of 80,000; Ivoir'Soir (50,000); Le Jour (16,000); and La Voie.

The government also controls radio and television broadcasting. Radio broadcasts are in French, English, and indigenous languages; television is in French only. Some international broadcasts are available, but transmission of some programming has been disrupted by the government in the past. In 1998, there were 2 AM and 9 FM radio stations, with 14 television stations reported in 1999. In 2003, there were an estimated 185 radios and 61 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 9.3 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 14 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were three secure Internet servers in the country in 2004.

Though the constitution provides for free expression and a free press, the government is said to impose significant restrictions on print and electronic media.

ORGANIZATIONS

Chambers of commerce, industry, and agriculture have their headquarters in Abidjan, including the National Federation of Industry of Côte d'Ivoire. The International Labour Organization Regional Office for Africa is also in Abidjan. There are a number of employers' associations and agricultural producers' cooperatives. Some multinational trade and professional organizations are based in the country, including the Inter-African Coffee Organization and the African Union of Sports Medicine. A consumer cooperative also functions.

The African Music Rostrum, also based in Abidjan, is a multinational cultural organization to promote African musical arts.

Côte d'Ivoire has many clubs devoted to various sports. There are at least three scouting organizations and several other youth organizations are active, many of which are related to religious organizations.

Amnesty International has chapters within the country. There are also national chapters of the Red Cross Society, Caritas, UNICEF, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, and Habitat for Humanity.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Due to political unrest, the small tourism industry has declined since 2002. Fine beaches, specially built tourist villages, and photo safaris through the wildlife preserves are the principal attractions.

Passports are required, but visas are not for stays of up to 90 days. A vaccination certificate for yellow fever is needed from all foreign visitors.

In 2005, the US Department of State estimated the cost of staying in Abidjan at $241 per day, and in Yamoussoukro, $218.

FAMOUS IVOIRIANS

Queen Abla Pokou (b.1720), the legendary heroine of the Baoulé people, led them to Côte d'Ivoire from the territory that is now Ghana. Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1905–1993) was the first African to be a French Cabinet minister (1956–69); he was elected as Côte d'Ivoire's first president in 1960 and was continually reelected until his death. Henri Konan-Bédié (b.1933) became president in 1993, a post he held until his ouster in a military coup in 2000 led by Robert Guéï. Laurent Koudou Gbagbo (b.1945) defeated Guéï in presidential elections held later in 2000. The nation's outstanding literary figure, Bernard Binlin Dadié (b.1916), is known abroad for several volumes of poetry and a novel; he has held many government posts, including minister of cultural affairs from 1977–86.

DEPENDENCIES

Côte d'Ivoire has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dun and Bradstreet's Export Guide to Côte d'Ivoire. Parsippany, N.J.: Dun and Bradstreet, 1999.

Kamoche, Ken M. (ed.). Managing Human Resources in Africa. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Mundt, Robert J. Historical Dictionary of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). 2nd ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995.

——. Historical Dictionary of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). Boulder, Colo.: netLibrary, Inc., 2000.

Rapley, John. Ivoirien Capitalism: African Entrepreneurs in Côte d'Ivoire. Boulder, Colo.: L. Rienner Publishers, 1993.

Schneider, Hartmut. Adjustment and Equity in Côte d'Ivoire. Paris: Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1992.

Sheehan, Patricia. Côte d'Ivoire = Ivory Coast. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2000. [Juvenile]

Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.

CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
République de Côte d'Ivoire

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

Côte d'Ivoire (which means "Ivory Coast") is a West African country bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Ghana and Liberia. It has an area of 322,460 square kilometers (124,502 square miles) of which 318,000 square kilometers (122,780 square miles) are occupied by land while water occupies the remaining 4,460 square kilometers (1,722 square miles). Its boundaries are 3,110 kilometers long (1,932 miles). These borders include 716 kilometers (445 miles) with Liberia in the west, 610 kilometers (379 miles) with Guinea in the northwest, 532 kilometers (330 miles) with Mali in the north, 584 kilometers (363 miles) with Burkina Faso in the north, and 668 kilometers (415 miles) with Ghana in the east. The country's coastline is 515 kilometers (320 miles) long.

Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire has 2 major natural divisions. Its topography is a mix of plains and low hills containing a small mountainous area, with Mont Nimba rising to 1,752 meters (5,748 feet) above sea level in the Man region to the west. The south's equatorial rainforest (much of which has been logged) changes into woodland savanna to the north. The south has heavy rainfall and lush rain forests where foreign investors have large plantations of crops like coffee, cocoa, and bananas while the north is a granite plain characterized by savannas, where small landowners raise sorghum, corn, and peanuts. Côte d'Ivoire has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world.

POPULATION.

The population was estimated to be 15.9 million in 2001, up from 13.9 million in 1995, and 11.8 million in 1990. The population density is 50 people per square kilometer (129 per square mile), up from 43.6 in 1995 and 37.1 in 1990. The population growth rate has been 3.1 percent a year in the period 1990-98, and the fertility rate is correspondingly high. The average number of children per woman is 5.1. Urban population has been growing, rising from 40 percent in 1990 to 46 percent in 1999. The structure of the population is youthful, with only 2 percent aged 65 and over, while 52 percent are aged between 15 and 65, and 46 percent are under 15 years. Life expectancy at birth has been decreasing from 50 in 1990 to 46 in 1999, and the incidence of AIDS has been one of the main factors in this decline, with more than 1 million Ivorians affected.

The population includes 5 major ethnic groups: the Kru, Akan, Volta, Mande, and Malinke, inhabiting both the savannas and rain forests, subdivided into approximately 80 smaller groups. Nearly two-thirds of the population follow traditional African religions, while 23 percent are Moslems, and 12 percent are Christians. French is the official language, but there are many other local languages. The most widely spoken are Diula in the north, Baule in the center and west, and Bete in the southeast.

The net out-migration rate was estimated in July 2000 to be 1.6 migrants per 1,000 of the population. After Liberia's civil war started in 1990, more than 350,000 refugees fled to Côte d'Ivoire, but by the end of 1999 almost all the Liberian refugees had returned.

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

Côte d'Ivoire has benefited since independence in 1960 from considerable political stability, and to no small measure this has been due to the close relationship with the former colonial power, France, and the presence of French troops in the country. These provided a secure platform for economic development and an encouraging environment for foreign investment. This state of affairs was disturbed by a military coup (a domestic overthrow of a government) in 1999, but international pressure led to a return to constitutional civilian government in 2000.

Most people in the economy (more than half) depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and they are the poorest section of the community. Farming is undertaken on small family plots, and much of the output is consumed by the producing family. The economy depends heavily on exports of tropical agricultural products to generate the foreign exchange that Côte d'Ivoire requires to purchase the manufactured goods it does not have the capacity to produce itself. The main exports are cocoa and cocoa products, coffee, and fish. Exports generate 40 percent of the GDP. However, the heavy reliance on tropical agricultural exports makes the economy very vulnerable to changes in international commodity prices and the weather. In 1994, the currency was devalued by 50 percent which resulted in higher prices to producers of export crops who have responded with higher output, but much of the benefit has been eroded by declining world prices, particularly for coffee. Sparked by the devaluation , in the 1994-98 period the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 5.5 percent providing the first sustained improvement in per capita GDP since the late 1970s. During this period, the external current account deficit (including grants) was lowered from 11 percent of the GDP in 1993 to 4 percent in 1998, and the external debt burden was reduced.

Despite the positive economic results of devaluation, the government is aware of its economy's vulnerability due to its heavy reliance on cocoa and coffee. To safeguard the economy, the government is doing its best to encourage other agricultural exports, such as pineapples and rubber, and exploring for offshore deposits of oil and gas. Since 1986, Côte d'Ivoire has been undertaking a program of economic liberalization , which has involved ending state monopolies , particularly in agricultural marketing, and privatizing state-owned enterprises in an effort to make these sectors more efficient.

The economic situation was further boosted by an increase in grants and low interest rate loans, mainly from France, between 1994 and 1998. Significant progress was made in consolidating public finances during this period with the overall budget deficit declining from about 12 percent of the GDP in 1993 to 2.5 percent in 1998. The 50 percent devaluation of CFA franc in January 1994 caused a single jump in the inflation rate to 26 percent in 1994, but the rate fell sharply to 9.4 percent in 1996 and 1.3 percent in 1999.

The sharp downturn in the terms of trade, with cocoa prices falling by 40 percent below their end-of-1998 level as well as a significant slowdown in disbursement of external assistance have given rise to problems. Economic growth has slowed, and investment has slipped with the private sector 's adoption of a more cautious stance in the uncertain political environment following the 1999 coup.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

In pre-colonial times, the territory of present-day Côte d'Ivoire was inhospitable to the sea-borne European traders because of the dense, thinly populated tropical forest stretching hundreds of kilometers inland from the Atlantic Ocean. There was little European interest in the interior before the mid-19th century. Northern Côte d'Ivoire, largely savanna and populated by Muslims, was historically controlled by the Guinean kingdoms, which periodically exerted influence over much of modern Mali, Guinea, and Niger. The French presence grew after 1893 when the colony of Côte d'Ivoire was officially established. The potential of the country's agricultural and forestry resources came to be realized with the building of the railway through Côte d'Ivoire into present-day Burkina Faso, and by the late 1940s, Côte d'Ivoire had replaced Senegal as France's richest colony in West Africa.

Côte d'Ivoire became independent in August 1960, with Felix Houphouet-Boigny, a successful cocoa farmer and former minister in the French government, as president. Close ties to France have characterized the period since independence, and trade and investment links have expanded, as well as the number of French expatriates working in Côte d'Ivoire.

Capitalizing on his carefully cultivated personal relations with successive French governments as well as his skillful economic and political management, Houphouet-Boigny dominated the country's political life for more than 3 decades. Houphouet-Boigny's party, Parti Democratique de Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), became the only legal political party in Côte d'Ivoire. In the 1960s and 1970s, he presided over Côte d'Ivoire's emergence as one of Africa's few stable and economically successful countries. With the introduction of multiparty politics in 1990, his PDCI remained in control. There was remarkably little internal strife and no significant external threat, leading to a resolution not to develop a costly and possibly untrustworthy army, and instead entrusting national defense to France.

However, Côte d'Ivoire faced serious social and economic problems in the 1980s with the fall in world commodity prices. As Houphouet-Boigny slipped into old age and popular dissent grew in the beginning of the 1990s, demonstrations and strikes became commonplace. The first multiparty elections were held in 1990 and were won by Houphouet-Boigny's PDCI amid accusation from the opposition of vote rigging.

Flamboyant Laurent Gbagbo, leader of the Front Populaire Ivorienne (FPI), defiantly led thousands of protesters through the streets of Abidjan in 1992, resulting in widespread rioting in the commercial capital and attracting a stern reaction from the authorities. Many protesters, including Gbagbo, were arrested and charged under legislation rushed through parliament, although many were freed 6 months later.

Mr. Houpouet-Boigny's death in 1993—which was feared would lead to social chaos and dash hopes of a return to economic prosperity—resulted in a controversial power transfer to Konan Bedie, formerly president of the Assemble Nationale.

In the October 1995 presidential elections Konan Bedie won 95 percent of the vote amid protests from the opposition against a PDCI-dominated parliament's passing of a law that barred Alassane Dramane Ouattara, a World Bank-schooled economist who had been prime minister since 1990, from participating. The law excluded anyone who was considered not born to Ivorian parents, or who had been resident abroad in the preceding 5 years, and Ouattara was deemed to fall into both categories. A pro-Ouattara party, the Ressemblement des Republicans (RDR), was formed by defectors from the reformist wing of the PDCI. Whereas the presidential elections were marred with violence, the parliamentary elections were more peaceful, resulting in a PDCI victory with 149 of the 175 available seats while the rest were split between the FPI and the RDR.

In December 1999, a military coup—the first ever in Côte d'Ivoire's history—overthrew the government and installed military rule under General Robert Guei. The presidential elections in October 2000 were contested by Guei and Laurent Ggagbo of the FPI. Ouattara of the RDR was prevented from running. The results were unclear, and Guei attempted to hijack the process by announcing himself the elected president. Demonstrations and protests and pressure from the international community prevailed, however, and on the basis of the available electoral results, Gbagbo was declared president.

Côte d'Ivoire has a republican (constitutional) government with a multiparty presidential regime established in 1990. It is a country with 50 administrative departments (or districts), with a constitution that was first drawn up in November of 1960 but has been amended on numerous occasions, the last time being in July 1998. The constitution recognizes universal adult suffrage at 21 years of age. The legal system is based on French civil law and customary law with judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court. There is a unicameral (1-chamber) National Assembly of 175 seats to which members are elected by direct popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Côte d'Ivoire has a more effective tax revenue collection system than most of sub-Saharan Africa. It includes a wide range of taxes on personal income, capital gains, value added on economic activities, exports, and imports. Tax revenues as a share of GDP were 20 percent in 1999. Taxes on international trade are around 40 percent of total government revenue. Income, profits, and capital gains taxes were 21 percent, taxes on goods and services were 5 percent, and the remaining 34 percent came from other taxes, licenses, and the surpluses of state-owned enterprises. There has been a steady rise in revenue collection, which has favorably affected the fiscal situation from 1994 to 1996. Tax revenue increased by an average annual rate of 24 percent in this period, reflecting the impact of the devaluation, strong GDP growth and the effects of improved tax measures. Tax revenues have increased because of the government's efforts to reintroduce an export tax on cocoa and coffee in 1994 and to build the capacity of its revenue departments by implementing strategies to curb fraud and tax evasion.

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

By 1996, Côte d'Ivoire had a fairly well-developed network of 50,400 kilometers (31,317 miles) of roads, of which 4,889 kilometers (3,038 miles) were paved; about 6,000 kilometers (3,728 miles) were primary roads; and 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) are secondary roads. A fall in railway traffic has increased the burden on the road network. The government plans to develop the system further, for instance, by extending the country's main highway from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro and to Grand-Bassam, southwest of Abidjan.

The only railway line in Côte d'Ivoire was built by the French, and it links Abidjan with Ouagadougou, the capital city of neighboring Burkina Faso. The Ivorian side is 660 kilometers (410 miles) of meter gauge railway. The rail company, Societe Ivoirienne des Chemins

de Fer (Ivory Society of Railroads, SICF), saw the number of passengers decline by 75 percent to about 760,000 by 1993, owing in part to the poor condition of the rolling stock.

There are 980 kilometers (609 miles) of navigable rivers and canals, as well as numerous coastal lagoons. There are also 4 major ports: Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, and San-Pedro. The Port Autonome d'Abidjan (PAA) is the busiest in Francophone West Africa (the former French colonies in West Africa, in which there is still a legacy of French civil law and language) and earns revenue from transit traffic to and from the country's land-locked neighbors, particularly Burkina Faso and Mali. Petroleum products account for approximately 40 percent of its tonnage. Côte d'Ivoire's second largest port, San Pedro, handles smaller volumes of timber and cocoa.

In 1999, there were an estimated 36 airports in the country, 7 of which had paved runways. Côte d'Ivoire has an important stake in the multinational Air Afrique, which provides most international connections.

Although an estimated 64 percent of the country's electricity is generated from hydroelectric plants, gas power stations are becoming more important with fossil fuels constituting 36 percent of the country's electric energy production. Total electric energy production in 1998 was estimated to be 3.36 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) against a consumption demand of 3.2 billion kWh. Oil is refined for domestic use but is also exported to the region, including to Nigeria where a dismal downstream oil industry has led to persistent oil shortages.

There were 182,000 telephone land lines and more than 60,000 mobile cellular phones in use in 1998. By June 1999 the telephone system was well-developed by African standards but operating far below capacity. Domestic needs are met by land lines and microwave radio relays, 90 percent of which are digitalized. Two Intelsat satellite earth stations and 2 coaxial submarine cables serve international demand. The government sold 51 percent of the national telecommunications company, CITelcom, to France Telecom in 1997, which renamed the company Côte d'Ivoire Telecom. At the time of privatization, CI-Telecom was operating 120,000 lines, but the government intended to have 400,000 lines in use by 2002. The long waiting list has enabled many Ivorian companies to benefit from the scramble for market share after liberalization of the industry.

Radiodiffusion-Television Ivorienne (Ivorian Radio Broadcasting-Television, RTI) is a government-owned corporation but is in most respects independent. It is partly funded by advertising and operates 2 television channels and a national radio service, broadcasting in French and local languages. Radio Espoir is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1999 there were a total of 2 AM, 8 FM and 3 shortwave stations, as well as 14 television stations. In 1997 there were 900,000 television sets.

While there were a number of new publications as a consequence of the 1990 political liberalization, many disappeared during Konan Bedie's tenure, and at least 20 journalists have been jailed since 1994. Nonetheless, there remains a healthy opposition press which includes the daily Notre Voie and Nouvel Horizon, owned by the pro-FPI Nouvel Horizon media group. This alternative coverage provides a counterweight to the dominance of the pro-government press, mainly the daily Fraternite Matin founded in 1964 and its evening sister paper, Ivoire Soir, with a circulation of about 50,000 and 40,000 respectively.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

For many years after independence from France in 1960, Côte d'Ivoire was the jewel of West Africa, with a strong economy—initially based on agriculture, particularly coffee and cocoa—that attracted many thousands of workers from neighboring countries. Sizeable French and Lebanese communities established themselves in the capital, Abidjan. In 1998, agriculture contributed 32 percent of the GDP, industry 18 percent, and services 50 percent. Agriculture remains based on 2 major crops— cocoa and coffee, which together provided 45 percent of export revenue in 1998. The industrial sector's share of the GDP increased in 1999, and this trend is likely to continue in the coming decade as the country develops food processing. Services, 50 percent of the GDP in 1998, are led mostly by trade and transport, the latter accounting for 30 percent of the GDP.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture (including forestry and fishing) is a very significant sector of Côte d'Ivoire's economy. It contributed an estimated 32 percent of the GDP and employed about 51 percent of the labor force in 1998. However, the disparity between share of the GDP and share of the labor force indicates that agriculture generates much lower incomes than the other 2 major sectors, industry and services. Exports of cocoa and related products contributed an estimated 37 percent of total export earnings in 1998. Export taxes on cocoa and coffee contributed more than 10 percent of government revenue in each year since 1996.

Production of cocoa beans doubled between 1970 and 1979, making Côte d'Ivoire the largest exporter in the world. The country has been the world's largest cocoa producer since 1977-78, when its level of production overtook that of Ghana. Overall output continued to rise, with some fluctuations, reaching a record 1.1 million metric tons in 1995-96 and an estimated 1 million metric tons in 1996-97, up from an annual average of 750,000 metric tons over the 1990-94 period. This increase, however, was attributed to the government incentives program of the 1980s as well as the resultant switching of resources from coffee production. Until 1989, both coffee and cocoa attracted virtually the same producer prices, although coffee was more heavily taxed and is more difficult to grow.

The total land area is distributed among different uses as follows: arable land 8 percent, permanent crops 4 percent, permanent pastures 41 percent, forests and woodland 22 percent, and others 25 percent. In 1993 only 680 square kilometers (262 square miles) of land was under irrigation. Agricultural production increased by an average of 2.4 percent annually between 1990-98. There were 2.44 million hectares of arable land in 1994, 1.27 million hectares of permanent cropland, and 13 million hectares of meadow and pasture. The other major cash crops include cotton, rubber, bananas, and pineapples. The principal subsistence crops are maize, yams, cassava, plantains, and, increasingly, rice, as demand continues to outstrip local production of rice. In 1996, it was estimated that there were 1.28 million cattle, 1.31 million sheep, 1.0 million goats, 290,000 pigs, and 27 million chickens.

With about two-thirds of the total export earnings provided by the sale of coffee and cocoa, which are both highly vulnerable to fluctuations in international prices, the government has sought to diversify agricultural production. Since the 1960s, Côte d'Ivoire has become a major producer of palm oil, and local processing of palm products has developed. Cotton production has done particularly well in recent decades, enabling Côte d'Ivoire to compete—alongside Sudan, Mali, and Benin—for the position of Africa's second largest producer of cotton after Egypt. Most of the cotton is processed locally in 8 ginning complexes both for export (some 80 percent of total production) and the local textile industry.

The rubber industry has also shown growth since the mid-1980s with output increasing by more than 50 percent between 1990 and 1994 in response to government plans for Côte d'Ivoire to become Africa's leading rubber producer. Côte d'Ivoire is also a significant producer of pineapples and bananas with exports mostly directed to European markets.

In recent years, the government has stressed the need to increase output of basic food crops such as rice in which Côte d'Ivoire is not self-sufficient. A deficiency in the sugar supply and the need to save foreign exchange on sugar imports led the government to initiate a sugar program in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the 2 schemes could supply most of internal demand, then estimated at 80,000 metric tons a year, but production costs were twice the world price, leading to cancellation of further sugar projects.

Livestock is not a significant sector, comprising mostly small herds, which can supply only about one-third of the nation's demand for livestock products. On the other hand, fishing is a significant activity, and Abidjan is the largest tuna-fishing port in Africa with an annual catch of more then 90,000 metric tons. However, most of this catch is by foreign vessels, and the only benefits to Côte d'Ivoire are the license fees. Ivorian participation in this sector is still low, with the domestic fishing fleet numbering only 38 vessels and most traditional fishing being undertaken by non-Ivorians. Domestic production meets only about 40 percent of local demand.

Forestry has always been a significant source of export revenue, from both logs and sawn timber. Boosted by enhanced price competitiveness since 1994, timber has displaced both coffee and petroleum products as the country's second highest earner of foreign exchange earnings, after cocoa. Most of the production is carried out by large integrated foreign-owned firms. The area of exploitable timber has fallen to only about 1 million hectares in 1987 compared with some 15.6 million hectares in 1960 because of logging and the encroachment of agriculture into forest areas. Progress in reforestation has been disappointing, and the government is committed to a ban on exports of timber once the country's foreign payments position has improved.

The main current environmental issue is deforestation. Some 94 percent of the country's forests—once the largest in West Africa—have been cleared by the timber industry since independence. Water pollution from sewage, industrial plants, and agricultural effluents is also causing concern.

INDUSTRY

Industry includes agricultural processing, mining, manufacturing, construction, and power. It comprises mostly foodstuffs, beverages, wood products, oil refining, automobile assembly, textiles, fertilizer, construction materials, mining, and electricity. It contributed an estimated 18 percent of the GDP in 1998 and employed about 12 percent of the labor force in 1994.

MINING.

Mining contributed only an estimated 0.3 percent of the GDP in 1998. This sub-sector's contribution, however, is expected to increase considerably following commencement in the mid-1990s of commercial exploitation of important offshore reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Gold and diamonds are also produced, although the illicit production of the latter has greatly exceeded formal commercial output. There is believed to be a significant potential for the development of nickel deposits, and there are also notable reserves of manganese, iron-ore, and bauxite.

MANUFACTURING.

The manufacturing sub-sector contributed about 14.6 percent of the GDP in 1998. It is dominated by agro-industrial activities such as processing of cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm kernels, pineapples, and fish. Crude petroleum is refined at Abidjan while the tobacco industry uses mostly imported tobacco leaf. In 1998 almost two-thirds of Côte d'Ivoire's electricity was derived from thermal sources while the rest was from hydro-generation. Through exploitation of natural gas reserves, the country is expected to generate sufficient energy for its own requirements by 2000 and for regional export thereafter. Imports of petroleum products including crude oil accounted for 14.9 percent of the total value of imports in 1998.

Manufacturing output expanded in real terms at an average rate of 8.9 percent per year between 1965 and 1974, easing to 5.4 percent per year in the following decade after the main industrial opportunities had been exploited. However, this sector continues to be sustained by the high rate of growth in domestic demand, arising mainly from the rapid increase in the country's population and the boost in competitiveness to domestic industry resulting from the 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc. Between 1990 and 1998, industrial GDP increased by an average of 5.1 percent per year, while the industrial production growth rate was estimated to be about 15 percent in 1998.

SERVICES

A major economic feature of the 1990s has been the expansion of the services sector. It contributed about 50 percent of the GDP in 1998 and employed about 37 percent of the labor force in 1994. The transformation of Abidjan's stock market into a regional exchange for the member states of the Union Economique et Monetaire Oeust-Africaine (UEMOA) together with the hosting of the headquarters of the Africa Development Bank is expected to enhance the city's status as a center of financial services.

Emphasis was also placed on the revival of tourism as a major source of foreign exchange. Tourism developed strongly in the 1970s with a newly created ministry stimulating diversification both in location (away from the Abidjan area) and in type of visitors (aside from business travelers) who previously accounted for almost two-thirds of arrivals. Special tax incentives and guarantees were offered for hotel construction, and by 1984 the number of hotels was 452, about 5 times the 1972 level. The number of tourists increased from 93,000 in 1974 to 198,900 in 1979 with business visitors accounting for 40 percent of arrivals. Since then, visitor arrivals have fluctuated in the range of 200,000-290,000 per year, broadly reflecting trends in tourism. The government's target is for 500,000 arrivals by 2000.

Abidjan is also central to regional communications and trade. The service sector's contribution to the GDP increased at an average rate of 3.5 percent per year from 1990 to 1998.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Côte d'Ivoire had very rapid economic growth between 1950 and 1975, with fewer problems with the balance of payments than most African countries. Exports increased at a faster rate than the GNP and they remain the main factor contributing to economic growth in the new millennium. Côte d'Ivoire's balance of trade has always been in surplus because of the strength of its exports, which have largely been determined by the level of earnings from sales of coffee and cocoa. In recent years, the surplus has also been boosted by the 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc, affecting both cocoa and timber exports, although increases in export earnings from

logs and sawn wood have been limited owing to the impending exhaustion of the country's forestry resources. Other exports that have responded favorably to the currency adjustment are canned fish, natural rubber, bananas, and other fruits. The CIA World Factbook estimated the country's exports to be US$3.8 billion in 2000.

Despite the government's wish to diversify the direction of trade, the existing pattern reflects Côte d'Ivoire's historical ties with European colonial powers. In 1998, the EU absorbed an estimated 58 percent of all its trade, with France accounting for 21 percent. Trade with African countries is increasing and represented 28 percent of total trade in 1998, and the government is eager to promote closer trade links with the 8-member Francophone Union (UEMOA), of which Côte d'Ivoire is a member. UEMOA countries are in the process of reducing import duties on their goods, and the government hopes that West Africa will provide a market for 50 percent of total exports early in the 21st century. Meanwhile, exports to Asia continue to increase, reaching 15 percent of total exports in 1998. The CIA World Factbook estimated Côte d'Ivoire major export partners to be France (15 percent), United States (8 percent), Netherlands (7 percent), and Germany and Italy (both at 6 percent) in 1999.

Imports are mainly food, manufactured consumer goods , heavy machinery, transport equipment, and fuel. In 2000, the total value of imports was estimated to be US$2.5 billion. Imports are sourced from France (26 percent), Nigeria (10 percent), China (7 percent), Italy (5 percent), and Germany (4 percent).

MONEY

The unit of account is the West African CFA franc. There are no restrictions on the import of local currency. Monetary policy in Côte d'Ivoire is set by the regional central bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The Bank aims to conduct a prudent policy

consistent with the fixed exchange rate to the French franc, which since January 1999 has implied a fixed exchange rate to the euro, the new common currency of the European Union. In January 2000 the exchange rate was 647CFA Fr = US$1, a depreciation in the value of the CFA franc of 23 percent from 499CFA Fr = US$1 in 1995.

The BCEAO controls monetary policy in the Côte d'Ivoire, and a cautious rate of increase in the money supply has kept the inflation rate low in since 1995. In 1999 inflation was estimated at 0.8 percent a year.

POVERTY AND WEALTH

In 1998, it was estimated that 17.5 percent of the population lived below the dollar-a-day poverty line (this line is based on the income required to provide the absolute minimum nutrition, clothing, and shelter). It means that 24 percent of the children under 5 years of age are malnourished (the figure is 1 percent in the United States), and life expectancy is 47 years (in the United States it is 77 years). However, poverty levels are markedly better in Côte d'Ivoire than nearby Senegal, which has almost exactly the same level of average income per head but has 34 percent below the dollar-a-day

poverty line. Almost all those in poverty are in the rural areas, relying on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods, and suffering because of poor land, inadequate rainfall, and not enough income to purchase good seeds, fertilizer, or farm machinery.

The GDP per capita was at US$1,730 in 1998, relatively high for the region. Nevertheless, this placed Côte d'Ivoire in the low-income category of countries and is put in perspective by the US$29,340 level of the GDP per head for the United States. As with most developing countries, there is considerable income inequality, with the poorest 10 percent of the country's population sharing only 2.8 percent of the country's household income while the share for the richest 10 percent is 28.5 percent.

The UN's Human Development Index (HDI), which attempts to measure the quality of life on the basis of real GDP per head, the adult literacy rate, and life expectancy at birth, placed Côte d'Ivoire at 154 out of 174 countries in 1999, firmly in the low human development category.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The workforce in 1998 was estimated at 6 million, of which 33 percent were women. Of children aged 10 to 14, about 20 percent were engaged in full-time work. There are no official unemployment figures for Côte d'Ivoire, but unemployment figures have little significance in a low-income African economy. There are very few with no work at all. There are no unemployment benefits, and those who do not work rely on support from charities or their families. Many people would like a modern sector job, but eke out an existence on family farms or in casual informal sector activities (such as hawking , portering, and scavenging) in the urban areas.

The National Union of Côte d'Ivoire was formed in 1959 but was replaced in 1962 by the General Union of Côte d'Ivoire Workers (Union Generale des Travailleurs de Côte d'Ivoire), controlled by the PDCI. In mid-1980s, it had some 190 affiliated unions and 100,000 members. A labor inspection service supervises conditions under which foreign workers are employed. The greater prosperity of Côte d'Ivoire has led to considerable migrations of workers from Mali and Burkina Faso, many of them illegal workers, and the inspection service tries to prevent them from being unfairly exploited by employers.

Labor legislation is still based on the French overseas labor code of 1952 which provides for collective agreements between employees and trade unions, the fixing of basic minimum wages by the government, and a 40-hour week for all except agricultural workers for whom longer working hours are permitted. The average annual wage was estimated by the IMF to be US$4,545 in 1999, up from about US$4,200 in 1993 with government employees earning on average better than those in the private sector. Legislation also provides wage earners with paid annual leave and children's allowances. The government has the power to impress persons into public service for up to 2 years.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1893. Côte d'Ivoire becomes a French colony.

1944. Felix Houphouet-Boigny founds Syndicat Agricole Africain (SAA) to protest the colonial authorities' preferential treatment of French planters in the recruitment of farm labor.

1960. Republic of Ivory Coast is proclaimed with Felix Houphouet-Boigny elected president. A new constitution is adopted.

1963. A plot against the government is uncovered, and hundreds are arrested, including members of the National Assembly and cabinet ministers.

1969. Street clashes between Ivorians and immigrant workers are followed by student demonstrations. Diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union are broken.

1970. The government restricts immigration of foreign workers and suppresses a group of Bete rebels led by Gnabe Opadjele.

1973. A coup attempt by 12 army officers is foiled.

1990. Opposition parties are legalized. First multiparty elections are held. Houphouet-Boigny is re-elected president.

1993. Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire's president since independence in 1960, dies in December. Henry Konan Bedie, president of the National Assembly, succeeds him.

1994. The CFA franc is devalued in January by 50 percent, preparing ground for further economic reforms and a sustained period of economic growth.

1995. In October, Konan Bedie wins 95 percent of the vote in the presidential elections in the face of a widespread opposition boycott.

1998. The constitution is amended in August strengthening the powers of the president and barring Ouattara from standing in the 2000 presidential election.

1999. Bedie is ousted in a coup, and a military government under General Robert Guei is installed.

2000. The presidential elections between General Guei and Laurent Ggagbo of the FPI occurs. After an attempt by Guei to announce himself elected, Gbagbo is declared president.

FUTURE TRENDS

There is no question but that the 1999 coup was a severe setback to the image of Côte d'Ivoire as a secure and stable civilian-led country where the rule of law was respected and the business environment was encouraging for domestic and foreign investment alike. It is fortunate that the matter was speedily settled, but the subsequent elections were resolved only by civilian demonstrations and international pressure. A major task for the new government is to reestablish the strength of democratic procedures and ensure the support of the armed forces.

The strong rebound in Côte d'Ivoire's economic performance following the 1994 devaluation permitted sustained improvement in per capita incomes after several years of decline. This performance was marked by a return to low inflation and a sizeable reduction in external debt, as well as the substantial progress with the extensive economic reform program. However, growth was expected to slow down in 2000 because of the country's difficulty in meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup uncertainty.

The authorities recognize that the private sector is the engine of growth and employment and seem inclined to strengthen the climate for private sector activity through continued enterprise reform. If the governance issues can be addressed and the management of the public sector improved, Côte d'Ivoire should be able to realize its growth potential and bring about a sustained reduction in poverty.

DEPENDENCIES

Côte d'Ivoire has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Côte d'Ivoire." Europa World Yearbook. London: Europa Publications, 2000.

"Côte d'Ivoire: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix." International Monetary Fund. <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=3657.0>. Accessed February 2001.

Economist Intelligence Unit Country Profile: Côte d'Ivoire. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2000.

Hodd, Michael. "Côte d'Ivoire." The Economies of Africa. Dartmouth: Aldershot, 1991.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2001. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iv.html#Econ>. Accessed October 2001.

U.S. Department of State. Background Notes: Côte d'Ivoire, July 1998. <http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/cote_d_ ivoire_0798_bgn.html>. Accessed October 2001.

—Allan C.K. Mukungu

CAPITAL:

Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983. However, Abidjan remains the administrative center, and most countries maintain their embassies there.

MONETARY UNIT:

Communauté Financiére Africaine franc (CFA Fr). 1 franc equals 100 centimes. Coins exist in 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 CFA Fr. Paper currency denominations are of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 CFAF.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Cocoa, coffee, tropical timbers, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, and fish.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Food, manufactured consumer goods, heavy machinery, fuel, and transport equipment.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$26.2 billion (purchasing power parity, 2000 est.).

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US$3.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.). Imports: US$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.).

CÔte d'Ivoire

History & Background

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is located on the southern coast of West Africa and is one of the richest nations in the country. It is bordered by Liberia and Guinea on the west, Mali and Burkina-Faso to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic ocean to the south. Its area is 124,501 square miles, and its population in 2001 was 15,900,000 people. The population of Côte d'Ivoire is diverse, with more than 60 different ethnic and tribal groups, among them Baoulé (23 percent of the population), Bété (18 percent), Sénoufou (15 percent), and large Krou, Malinke, and Mandingo tribes. Côte d'Ivoire's prosperous economy has also attracted a large number of foreign African workers, mostly from Guinea, Ghana, and Burkina-Faso (estimated at 2.6 million in 2000), as well as a contingent of 200,000 Lebanese expatriates. Together, these workers represent nearly 20 percent of the country's population. Abidjan is the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire, with an estimated 2001 population of 3,305,000 people. Yamoussoukro (population 125,000) is the official capital and the site of the world's largest Christian church: the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Paix, erected at a cost of $200 million and dedicated by Pope John-Paul II in 1990. The population is 60 percent Muslim and 22 percent Christian, with another 18 percent representing animist and indigenous religions. French is the official language, though the Dioula dialect is also widely used.

French settlers first appeared in 1687, but France did not exercise political control over Côte d'Ivoire until the late nineteenth century. Côte d'Ivoire became a French protectorate in 1883, a colony in 1889, and a territory of French West Africa in 1904. It gained full independence from France in 1960. For 33 years, between 1960 and 1993, Côte d'Ivoire was ruled by a single man: president Félix Houphouet-Boigny, a benign dictator who led the country from independence to economic prosperity. He chose to keep close cultural, political, and economic ties with France (the French still maintain a modest military presence), and in 1985 changed the nation's official name from Ivory Coast to Côte d'Ivoire. Côte d'Ivoire is a member of the"Zone Franc,"and its currency is backed by the French treasury. True democratic institutions were slow to arrive, but Houphouet-Boigny's single-handed rule (no opposition parties were allowed until 1990) was not marred by the sort of terror and torture that characterized many of the dictatorial governments that emerged from the former colonies of West Africa after 1960. From the late 1950s through the start of the twenty-first century, Côte d'Ivoire enjoyed a prosperity and a political stability unmatched in neighboring countries. When Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993, president Bédié became the country's leader until he was ousted in a coup in 1999. In October of 2000, Laurent Gbagbo was democratically elected to a five-year term as Côte d'Ivoire's president.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

The constitution of Côte d'Ivoire, originally adopted in 1960 and modified between 1971 and 1985, was abrogated in 1999. The new constitution, adopted by a vast majority of voters in a referendum in July of 2000, stipulates that education is free and compulsory for all between the ages of 7 and 13. Prior to that, in 1995, the government adopted the Loi de Réforme No. 696. This document spelled out the fundamental principles behind the government's educational policies and outlined strategic planning and curricular developments for all educational levels.

Educational System—Overview

The early history of Côte d'Ivoire's educational system is rooted in French colonial policy in Africa at the end of the nineteenth century. Originally, African colonies were considered a new frontier for missionary work, as well as a source of raw materials and ores. The French government, though officially unattached to religious organizations, welcomed the outreach efforts of Catholic and Protestant missionaries. These groups effectively laid the foundations of primary and secondary education in Côte d'Ivoire and the other colonies that made up the Afrique Equatoriale Française (French West Africa). Today's religious private schools, which still educate the children of the elite, are the direct descendants of these colonial institutions.

As the French intensified their political influence, they also began coordinated efforts to create an official public school system. By 1923, Côte d'Ivoire had a rudimentary network of primary schools in place, The first secondary school opened in 1928. French authorities, however, faced a pedagogical and sociocultural dilemma. They intended the primary school system to educate young Ivoirians in the three Rs(reading, writing, and arithmetics) with the intent of encouraging their entry into the lower echelons of the workforce. Secondary education, by contrast, represented a potential long-term threat: officials worried that further education might nurture a climate of resistance against the established colonial order. Because of such misgivings, secondary education was never developed to its full potential between 1928 and the end of World War II. But since the French also planned gradually to replace their own administrators and officials with native Ivoirians, it was vital to establish an educated demographic base. Accordingly, only the sons of local tribal chiefs were selected for secondary education in Côte d'Ivoire and later sent to France on scholarships for postgraduate training.

The formal education of former president Houphouet-Boigny is itself an illustration of that policy. Born in Yamassoukro, the son of a powerful Baoulé tribal chief, he was educated in private elementary schools and then sent to Dakar, in French Senegal, to attend the prestigious Ecole Normale William Ponty. Later he studied at the Ecole de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Dakar, the first medical school established by the French in their West African colonies. After graduation in 1925, Houphouet-Boigny returned to Côte d'Ivoire, where he practiced medicine while running a coffee plantation. He became mayor of Abidjan, was elected a congressman to the French National Assembly, and was ultimately appointed to a cabinet minister post in Paris.

When Houphouet-Boigny became Côte d'Ivoire's first president in 1960, he favored the elaboration of an educational system that would both democratize and retain most of the elitist characteristics of his own schooling. He chose not to follow the path of radical Africanization favored by Guinea and Ghana, and against the criticism of neighboring African nations decided instead to continue a close alliance with France. Politically, economically, and educationally, that controversial decision handsomely paid off as Côte d'Ivoire became the wealthiest and most literate nation of the sub-Sahara. Since the death of Houphouet-Boigny in 1993, a new generation of Ivoirians has initiated some distancing from French influence and has been more assertive in the affirmation of its African heritage. In a like manner, the educational system of Côte d'Ivoire is gradually adopting an identity of its own, while still solidly resting on its French foundations.

Preprimary & Primary Education

Preprimary education is still a new concept in most developing African nations. In rural areas, women tend to remain at home and care for their own children until they enter elementary schools. In large urban centers like Abidjan, Bouaké, Divo, and Daloa, the increasing integration of women into the workforce has encouraged the growth of childcare centers and preschools. In 2000, there were 35,553 preschoolers (17,381 girls) enrolled in 276 schools. Of these, 19,075 were enrolled in 230 public institutions. They were taught by a total of 1580 teachers (96 percent women)—870 of them working in public schools.

Ivoirian children attend primary schools between the ages of 6 and 11. Classes are divided into three two-year cycles: preparatory stages I and II (CP1 and CP2, or Cours préparatoires de première et deuxième année ), elementary levels I and II (CE1 and CE2 or cours élémentaires de première et deuxième année ), and intermediary levels I and II (CM1 and CM2 or cours moyens de première et deuxième année ). In 2000, there were 1,910,820 children enrolled in primary schools in Côte d'Ivoire: 1,688,503 in public schools and 222,317 in private institutions, with a gender distribution of 58 percent boys and 42 percent girls. There were 8,082 primary schools (including 781 private institutions) offering a total of 43,406 classes and a teacher-student ratio of 1:44. There were 44,731 primary school teachers (including 5,791 in the private sector) and 23 percent of them were women.

The six-year primary school program ends with a selective national examination known as the CEP (certificat d'études primaires or elementary school proficiency examination). Only the children who pass this exam are allowed to continue into the secondary education cycle. In 2000, there were 285,391 candidates for the CEP, and a total of 155,246 succeeded—a 54 percent passing rate. It is a measure of both the selectivity and the pedagogical difficulties of primary education in Côte d'Ivoire that, after six years of schooling, only 15 percent of the children who originally entered the system at the age of six qualified as candidates for the national examination, reflecting a dropout rate of 85 percent over six years. In 2000, out of the 253,293 children enrolled in CM2 (the grade preparing the children for the CEP), 107,827 were also repeating the entire year.

Secondary Education

Secondary education in Côte d'Ivoire consists of a seven-year curriculum divided into two cycles. The lower level, lasting four years, prepares the students for a selective, national exam known as the BEPC (brevet d'études du premier cycle, or junior high school national proficiency exam). Only those students who succeed are allowed into the next cycle of secondary education, which lasts another three years. It leads to the Baccalauréat, a highly selective national examination and a prerequisite for admission to the university or other levels of higher education in Côte d'Ivoire. The last three years of the secondary school curriculum are sub-divided into different sections that allow students to concentrate on a future major: section A for the humanities, B for economics and law, C for exact sciences, D for biological sciences and pre-medicine, and so forth.

In 2000, there were 565,850 students enrolled in secondary education (365,795 in public schools), and 193,742 were female. There were 508 secondary schools (194 public and 314 private) offering 10,667 classes. The total number of teachers was 18,033 (10,905 in public schools and 7,128 in private institutions.) In 2000, at the end of the first cycle of secondary education, there were 137,779 candidates for the BEPC and 36,122 passed (26.2 percent). At the conclusion of the second cycle of secondary education, there were 72,627 candidates for the baccalauréat examination and 26,590 passed (36.1 percent).

Vocational & Technical Education: After relegating vocational education to a lesser level of importance for decades, Côte d'Ivoire decided in 1985 to create a cabinet-level post that would invigorate and supervise technical and vocational education at the national level: the Ministère de l'Enseignement Technique et de la Formation Professionelle.

Students enter vocational training at two different stages. At the secondary level, once they have successfully passed the BEPC, they can gain admission to the National Institute for Technical and Professional Training (the INFTP) or the National Office for Professional Training (the ONFP). The students who pass the baccalauréat have access to numerous public and private institutes that award the BTS (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur ) after a three-year curriculum, such as the Institute for Higher Technical Training (the INSET). They can also enter university-run programs that award the DUT (Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie ). In 1999, there were over 27,000 students enrolled in technical and vocational schools, taught by 2850 instructors (19 percent women). Côte d'Ivoire's largest vocational school is the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouet-Boigny founded in 1975 in Houphouet-Boigny's native town of Yamassoukro. In 2000, it enrolled over 3,500 students and employed 350 teachers.

Higher Education

Higher education is well-developed in Côte d'Ivoire, with a university system and research centers that are highly respected in Africa. The system is organized after the French national model: holders of the selective baccalauréat follow a two-year curriculum leading to the DUEL (Diplôme Universitaire d'Etudes Littéraires ), the DUES (Diplôme Universitaire d'Etudes Scientifiques ), or the DEUG (Diplôme Universitaire d'Etudes Générales ). One more year of study leads to the Licence (the level of an American bachelor's degree), and an additional year leads to the Maîtrise (the equivalent of a master's degree). Further studies lead to the DEA (Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies ), a post-graduate specialized degree, and after the successful defense of a doctoral dissertation, to the Doctorat de Spécialité de Troisième Cycle (the Ph.D.). The university also awards the M.D. and the degree of Doctor of Engineering. The university system in Côte d'Ivoire has grown at such a rate that, following student-led demonstrations against crowded facilities in the early 1990s, the government opened two additional campuses. The universities of Côte d'Ivoire have also acquired their own distinct identities. Until 1985, the majority of professors were expatriates from France or French-speaking countries, but by 2000 their number had dwindled to less than 5 percent of the faculty.

The Université de Cocody is the main university in Côte d'Ivoire. Founded in 1958 in Abidjan as the Centre d'Enseignement Supérieur, it became the Université Nationale de Côte d'Ivoire in 1964 and adopted its present name in 1995. It is comprised of 12 different schools, including Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Economics, Liberal Arts, and Engineering. In 2000, there were over 45,000 students enrolled at Cocody, with a faculty of 990. In 1992, a new university opened in Bouaké, to alleviate the crowding problems of Cocody (which had been built to accommodate 7,000 students.) The Université de Bouaké started with 2,800 students and 45 professors. In 2001, it enrolled 15,700 students and employed 145 faculty members. To continue to decentralize the main campus, the government also opened the Université d'Abobo-Adjamé in Abidjan in 1995.

Côte d'Ivoire also runs numerous research institutes, including:

• Institut Africain pour le Développement Economique et Social (economics, sociology, and ethnology), founded in 1962 in Abidjan by the Society of Jesus
• Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire (research on viral diseases and AIDS), founded in 1972 in Abidjan
• Institut Pierre Richet (research on tropical endemic diseases), founded in Bouaké in 1973
• Centre de Recherches Océanographiques (research on oceanography and hydrobiology), founded in Abidjan in 1958.

Higher education in Côte d'Ivoire is not limited to the university system and its associated research facilities. In 2000, there were more than 50,000 Ivoirians students enrolled in private and public institutes of higher education and in the Grandes Ecoles. The latter are prestigious, highly selective post-graduate schools (patterned after their French models in Paris) that train the very best of the country's diplomats, politicians, civil servants and engineers:

• Ecole Nationale d'Administration, founded in Abidjan in 1960. In 2000, it enrolled more than 1000 students.
• Ecole Supérieure d'Agronomie, founded in 1996 in Yamoussoukro. In 2000 it enrolled 600 students and employed 75 teachers.
• Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Travaux Publics (civil engineering), founded in 1963 in Yamoussoukro. In 2000, it employed 97 professors for a student population of 597.

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

The Ministry of National Education in Abidjan supervises the educational system of Côte d'Ivoire, while delegating administrative and curricular authority to three other cabinet-level ministries: the Ministry of Primary Education, the Ministry of Technical and Vocational Training, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The Ministry of National Education is the only agency in Côte d'Ivoire that accredits schools and validates diplomas and degrees. It delegates authority to ministries in matters of specific curricular development, faculty evaluation, and school inspections. In 2000, the educational budget of Côte d'Ivoire represented 26 percent of national expenditures. The government has pledged to increase this figure to at least 30 percent of the national budget by fiscal 2003.

Teacher Training

Primary school teachers are trained in several écoles normales and centres d'animation et de formation pédagogiques. They are open to those who have passed the BEPC. After completion of the program, students are awarded the Certificat d'Aptitude Professionelle des Instituteurs. Teachers for the first cycle of secondary schools must hold the baccalauréat degree and follow a three-year program of study at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, leading to the Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat des Collèges d'Enseignement Secondaires. Those wishing to teach in the second cycle of the secondary school system must study for an additional year and pass the CAPES (the Certificat d'Aptitude au Professorat de l'Enseignement Secondaire ). The national teacher training program has been quite successful: whereas in 1985 up to 80 percent of Ivoirian secondary school teachers were not in possession of proper teaching credentials, within 15 years that number fell below 5 percent. In 1999, there were 15 teacher training colleges in Côte d'Ivoire, with 538 professors and 2,821 students.

Summary

Côte d'Ivoire enjoys an educational system the quality of which is unparalleled in other sub-Saharan nations. This success, however, has been achieved primarily at the tertiary level, with universities and research centers that have become a benchmark of quality for other developing African nations. Though substantial progress has been made at the primary and secondary levels, especially in the area of teacher training, problems and weaknesses remain. After 1960, Côte d'Ivoire inherited an educational system that was a carbon copy of the French national model. President Houphouet-Boigny retained a pedagogical philosophy that many Ivoirian educators consider excessively elitist and out of touch with the country's needs. An illustration of the educational system of Côte d'Ivoire is a pyramid in which the base represents 85 percent of the eligible population, while the top consists of a 1.3 percent minority that alone shapes the destiny of the country. Thus while Côte d'Ivoire is one of the richest and most stable countries of West Africa, it still has an illiteracy rate of 58 percent.

Secondary education in Côte d'Ivoire has set an impressive example in enrollment growth, developing from 12,000 students in 1960, 70,000 in 1970, 238,000 in 1980, to nearly 566,000 in 2000. Nonetheless its rewards remain limited to a privileged few: after nine years of schooling, only 26.2 percent of qualified candidates pass the national proficiency examination (BEPC) at the end of junior high school. Ivoirian educators are well aware of this disproportion. The Educational Reform Law of 1995 has laid down the theoretical principles that will allow a larger segment of the population to gain access to higher levels of academic opportunities. The government also faces a dilemma if it attempts to rectify the apportionment of its educational resources: selectivity is viewed as a necessary evil, since the Ivoirian economy cannot absorb a larger number of qualified personnel, and the nation's universities are already being used to maximum capacity. The primary and secondary educational systems need to be reshaped from their rather obsolete French model and adapted to the future needs of Côte d'Ivoire.

Bibliography

Annuaire Statistique de l'Enseignement Pré-Scolaire, Primaire et Secondaire. 2 vols. Abidjan: Ministère de l'Education Nationale, 1999.

Bretherick, Dona. Côte d'Ivoire. Washington, DC: American Association of Collegiate Registrars, 1995.

Kompass: Côte d'Ivoire. Abidjan: Kompass Côte d'Ivoire, S.A., 1999.

Kouadio, Aska. Enseignement Technique et Professionnel en Côte d'Ivoire: Evolution et Eléments pour une Pé dagogie Rénovée. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 1998.

Ogbu, S.M."On Public Expenditures and Delivery of Ed ucation in sub-Saharan Africa." Comparative Educa tional Review 36 (1991): 295-318.

—Eric H. du Plessis

CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Compiled from the January 2006 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

PROFILE

Geography

Area:

322,500 sq. km. (124,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.

Cities:

Principal city—Abidjan (economic capital, de facto political capital). Capital—Yamoussoukro (official). Other cities—Bouake, Daloa, Gagnoa, Korhogo, Man, San Pedro.

Terrain:

Forested, undulating, hilly in the west.

Climate:

Tropical.

People

Nationality:

Noun and adjective—Ivoirian(s).

Population (2004 est.):

18,700,000.

Annual growth rate:

3.8%, with immigration.

Ethnic groups:

More than 60.

Religion:

Indigenous 10%-20%, Muslim 35%-40%, and Christian (Catholic, Protestant and other denominations) 25%-35%.

Language:

French (official); five principal language groups.

Education:

Years compulsory—school is not compulsory at this time. Attendance—57%. Literacy—51%.

Health:

Infant mortality rate—111/1,000. Life expectancy—46 years.

Government

Type:

Republic.

Independence:

August 7, 1960.

Branches:

Executive—president (chief of state and head of government). Legislative—unicameral National Assembly. Judicial—Supreme Court (3 chambers: judicial, administrative, auditing); Constitutional Council.

Administrative subdivisions:

19 regions, 58 departments, 196 communes.

Political parties:

Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR), Union pour la Democratie et pour la Paix en Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI), numerous other smaller political parties operate in Côte d'Ivoire.

Suffrage:

Universal at 18.

Economy

GDP (2004 est.):

$17.4 billion.

Annual real growth rate (2004 est.):

0.7%. Real GDP declined by 1.6% in 2002 and declined by 1.7% in 2003.

Natural resources:

Petroleum (off-shore) discovered in 1977, production began in 1980; output in 2004 was 22,000 barrels per day. Gold mining began in early 1990s.

Agriculture (27% of GDP, 2004):

Products—cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, corn, rice, tropical foods.

Industry (21% of GDP, 2004):

Types—food processing, textiles.

Services (2004):

52% of GDP.

Trade (2004):

Exports (41% of GDP)—cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, cotton, palm oil, pineapples, bananas. Major markets—U.S., France, Germany, Netherlands. Total imports (28% of GDP; U.S. imports, in 2003 $113.6 million)—consumer goods, basic foodstuffs (rice, wheat), capital goods. Major suppliers—France, Nigeria, Italy, U.S., Germany.

PEOPLE

Côte d'Ivoire has more than 60 ethnic groups, usually classified into five principal divisions: Akan (east and center, including Lagoon peoples of the southeast), Krou (southwest), Southern Mande (west), Northern Mande (northwest), Senoufo/Lobi (north center and northeast). The Baoules, in the Akan division, probably comprise the single largest subgroup with 15%-20% of the population. They are based in the central region around Bouake and Yamoussoukro. The Betes in the Krou division, the Senoufos in the north, and the Malinkes in the northwest and the cities are the next largest groups, with 10%-15% each of the national population. Most of the principal divisions have a significant presence in neighboring countries.

Of the more than 5 million non-Ivoirian Africans living in Côte d'Ivoire, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania. The non-African expatriate community includes roughly 20,000 French and possibly 100,000 Lebanese. As of mid-November 2004, thousands of expatriates, African and non-African, had fled from the violence in Côte d'Ivoire. The number of elementary school-aged children attending classes increased from 22% in 1960 to 67% in 1995.

HISTORY

The early history of Côte d'Ivoire is virtually unknown, although it is thought that a Neolithic culture existed. France made its initial contact with Côte d'Ivoire in 1637, when missionaries landed at Assignee near the Gold Coast (now Ghana) border. Early contacts were limited to a few missionaries because of the inhospitable coastline and settlers' fear of the inhabitants.

In the 18th century, the country was invaded from present-day Ghana by two related Akan groups—the Agnis, who occupied the southeast, and the Baoules, who settled in the central section. In 1843-44, Admiral Bouet-Williaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand Bassam and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. However, complete pacification was not accomplished until 1915.

French Period

Côte d'Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. Captain Binger, who had explored the Gold Coast frontier, was named the first governor. He negotiated boundary treaties with Liberia and the United Kingdom (for the Gold Coast) and later started the campaign against Almany Samory, a Malinke chief, who fought against the French until 1898.

From 1904 to 1958, Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the French Third Republic. Until the period following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. France's policy in West Africa was reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association," meaning that all Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects" without rights to citizenship or representation in Africa or France.

During World War II, France's Vichy regime remained in control until 1943, when members of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's provisional government assumed control of all French West Africa. The Brazzaville Conference in 1944, the first Constituent Assembly of the French Fourth Republic in 1946, and France's gratitude for African loyalty during World War II led to far-reaching governmental reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labor were abolished.

A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956 Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre), which transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities.

Independence

In December 1958, Côte d'Ivoire became an autonomous republic within the French community as a result of a referendum that brought community status to all members of the old Federation of French West Africa except Guinea, which had voted against association. Côte d'Ivoire became independent on August 7, 1960, and permitted its community membership to lapse.

Côte d'Ivoire's contemporary political history is closely associated with the career of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President of the republic and leader of the Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) until his death on December 7, 1993. He was one of the founders of the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA), the leading pre-independence inter-territorial political party in French West African territories (except Mauritania).

Houphouet-Boigny first came to political prominence in 1944 as founder of the Syndicat Agricole Africain, an organization that won improved conditions for African farmers and formed a nucleus for the PDCI. After World War II, he was elected by a narrow margin to the first Constituent Assembly. Representing Côte d'Ivoire in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1959, he devoted much of his effort to inter-territorial political organization and further amelioration of labor conditions. After his 13-year service in the French National Assembly, including almost 3 years as a minister in the French Government, he became Côte d'Ivoire's first Prime Minister in April 1959, and the following year was elected its first President.

In May 1959, Houphouet-Boigny reinforced his position as a dominant figure in West Africa by leading Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta (Burkina), and Dahomey (Benin) into the Council of the Entente, a regional organization promoting economic development. He maintained that the road to African solidarity was through step-by-step economic and political cooperation, recognizing the principle of nonintervention in the internal affairs of other African states.

1999 Coup and Aftermath

In a region where many political systems are unstable, Côte d'Ivoire showed remarkable political stability from its independence from France in 1960 until late 1999. Under Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President from independence until his death in

December 1993, Côte d'Ivoire maintained a close political allegiance to the West while many countries in the region were undergoing repeated military coups, experimenting with Marxism, and developing ties with the Soviet Union and China. His successor, President Henri Konan Bedie, was familiar with the U.S., having served as Côte d'Ivoire's first ambassador to the U.S. Falling world market prices for Côte d'Ivoire's primary export crops of cocoa and coffee put pressure on the economy and the Bedie presidency. Government corruption and mismanagement led to steep reductions in foreign aid in 1998 and 1999, and eventually to the country's first coup on December 24, 1999.

Following the bloodless coup, General Guei formed a government of national unity and promised open elections. A new constitution was drafted and ratified by the population in the summer of 2000. It retained clauses that underscored national divisions between north and south, Christian and Muslim, that had been growing since Houphouet's death.

Elections were scheduled for fall 2000, but when the general's hand-picked Supreme Court disqualified all of the candidates from the two major parties—the PDCI and Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR)—Western election support and monitors were withdrawn. The RDR called for a boycott, setting the stage for low election turnout in a race between Guei and Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) candidate Laurent Gbagbo. When early polling results showed Gbagbo in the lead, Guei stopped the process—claiming polling fraud—disbanded the election commission, and declared himself the winner. Within hours Gbagbo supporters took to the streets of Abidjan. A bloody fight followed as crowds attacked the guards protecting the presidential palace. Many gendarmes and soldiers joined the fight against the junta government, forcing Guei to flee. Having gained the most votes, Gbagbo was declared President. The RDR then took the streets, calling for new elections because the Supreme Court had declared their presidential candidate and all the candidates of the PDCI ineligible. More violence erupted as forces loyal to the new government joined the FPI youth to attack RDR demonstrators. Hundreds were killed in the few days that followed before RDR party leader Alassane Ouattara called for peace and recognized the Gbagbo presidency.

2001 Attempted Coup

On January 7, 2001, another coup attempt shattered the temporary calm. However, some weeks later, in the spring, local municipal elections were conducted without violence and with the full participation of all political parties. The RDR, which had boycotted the presidential and legislative elections, won the most local seats, followed by the PDCI and FPI. Some economic aid from the European Union began to return by the summer of 2001, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reengaged the government. Questions surrounding severe human rights abuses by the government during the presidential and legislative elections of 2000 remain unresolved (e.g., the mass grave at Yopougon), but day-to-day life began to return to normal. In August 2002, President Gbagbo formed a de facto government of national unity that included the RDR party.

2002 Country Divides

On September 19, 2002, rebellious exiled military personnel and co-conspirators in Abidjan simultaneously attacked government ministers and government and military/security facilities in Abidjan, Bouake, and Korhogo. In Abidjan, government forces stopped the coup attempt within hours, but the attacks resulted in the deaths of Minister of Interior Emile Boga Doudou and several high-ranking military officers. General Guei was killed under still-unclear circumstances. Almost immediately after the coup attempt, the government launched an aggressive security operation in Abidjan, whereby shantytowns—occupied by thousands of immigrants and Ivoirians—were searched for weapons and rebels. Government security forces burned down or demolished a number of these shantytowns, which displaced over 12,000 people.

The failed coup attempt quickly evolved into a rebellion, splitting the country in two and escalating into the country's worst crisis since independence in 1960. The rebel group, calling itself the "Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire" (MPCI), retained control in Bouake and Korhogo, and within 2 weeks moved to take the remainder of the northern half of the country. In mid-October 2002, government and MPCI representatives signed a ceasefire and French military forces already present in the country agreed to monitor the ceasefire line. In late November 2002, the western part of the country became a new military front with the emergence of two new rebel groups—the Ivoirian Popular Movement for the Great West (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP). MPIGO and MJP were allied with the MPCI, and the three groups subsequently called themselves the "New Forces." In January 2003, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) placed approximately 1,500 peacekeeping troops from five countries—Senegal (commander), Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Niger—on the ground beside the 4,000 French peacekeepers. The troops maintained the east-west ceasefire line dividing the country.

Reunification Attempts

In late January 2003, the country's major political parties and the New Forces signed the French-brokered Linas-Marcoussis Accord (LMA), agreeing to a power-sharing national reconciliation government to include rebel New Forces representatives. The parties agreed to work together on modifying national identity, eligibility for citizenship, and land tenure laws which many observers see as among the root causes of the conflict. The LMA also stipulated a UN Monitoring Committee to report on implementation of the accord. Also in January 2003, President Gbagbo appointed Seydou Diarra as the consensus Prime Minister. In March 2003, Prime Minister Diarra formed a government of national reconciliation of 41 ministers. The full government did not meet until mid-April, when UN peacekeepers (UNOCI) were in place to provide security for rebel New Forces ministers. On July 4, 2003, the government and New Forces militaries signed an "End of the War" declaration, recognized President Gbagbo's authority, and vowed to work for the implementation of the LMA and a program of Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR). On September 13, 2003, six months after the formation of the reconciliation government, President Gbagbo named politically neutral Defense and Security Ministers, after consulting with the political parties and New Forces.

2004 saw serious challenges to the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. Violent flare-ups and political deadlock in the spring and summer led to the Accra III talks in Ghana. Signed on July 30, 2004, the Accra III Agreement reaffirmed the goals of the LMA with specific deadlines and benchmarks for progress. Unfortunately, those deadlines—late September for legislative reform and October 15 for rebel disarmament—were not met by the parties. The ensuing political and military deadlock was not broken until November 4, when government forces initiated a bombing campaign of rebel targets in the north. On November 6, a government aircraft bombed a French military installation in Bouake, killing nine French soldiers and one American civilian. Claiming that the attack was deliberate (the Ivoirian Government claimed it was a mistake), French forces retaliated by destroying most of the small Ivoirian air force. Mayhem ensued for several days as antiFrench mobs rioted in Abidjan and violence flared elsewhere. On November 15, 2004 the United Nations Security Council issued an immediate arms embargo on Côte d'Ivoire and gave leaders one month to get the peace process back on track or face a travel ban and a freeze on their assets. In April 2005, South African President Thabo Mbeki invited the leaders to South Africa for an African Union-sponsored mediation effort. The result was the Pretoria Agreement, signed April 6, 2005. The Pretoria Agreement formally ended the country's state of war, and addressed issues such as Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, the return of New Forces Ministers to government, and the reorganization of the Independent Electoral Commission. A follow-up agreement in June 2005 laid out another framework for disarmament, elections, and the adoption of legislation required under the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. In September, the government postponed presidential elections scheduled for October 30, 2005. In October, the UN Security Council endorsed an African Union decision to extend the Linas-Marcouissis peace process for an additional 12 months. A new Prime Minister and new cabinet were selected in December, 2005. Elections are to occur no later than October 31, 2006.

GOVERNMENT

Côte d'Ivoire's constitution of the Second Republic (2000) provides for a strong presidency within the framework of a separation of powers. The executive is personified in the president, elected for a 5-year term. The president is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, may negotiate and ratify certain treaties, and may submit a bill to a national referendum or to the National Assembly. According to the constitution, the president of the National Assembly assumes the presidency for 45-90 days in the event of a vacancy and organizes new elections in which the winner completes the remainder of the deceased president's term. The president selects the prime minister, who is the head of government. The cabinet is selected by and is responsible to the prime minister.

The unicameral National Assembly is composed of 225 members elected by direct universal suffrage for a 5-year term concurrently with the president. It passes on legislation typically introduced by the president, although it also can introduce legislation.

The judicial system culminates in the Supreme Court. The High Court of Justice is competent to try government officials for major offenses. There is also an independent Constitutional Council which has seven members appointed by the president that is responsible for, inter alia, the determination of candidate eligibility in presidential and legislative elections, the announcement of final election results, the conduct of referendums, and the constitutionality of legislation.

For administrative purposes, Côte d'Ivoire is divided into 19 regions and 58 departments. Each region and department is headed by a prefect appointed by the central government. In 2002, the country held its first departmental elections to select departmental councils to oversee local infrastructure development and maintenance as well as economic and social development plans and projects. There are 196 communes, each headed by an elected mayor, plus the city of Abidjan with 10 mayors.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 8/16/2005

President: Laurent GBAGBO
Prime Minister: Seydou DIARRA
Min. of African Integration: Theodore Mel EG
Min. of Administrative Reform: Eric Victor Kplohourou KAHE
Min. of Agriculture: Amadou Gon COULIBALY
Min. of Animal Husbandry & Fisheries: Kobenan Kouassi ADJOUMANI
Min. of Civil Service & Employment: Hubert OULAYE
Min. of Commerce: Amadou SOUMAHORO
Min. of Communication: Guillaume Kigbafori SORO
Min. of Construction & Urban Planning: Raymond Abou NDORI
Min. of Culture & Francophone Affairs: Malan MESSOU
Min. of Defense: Rene AMANI
Min. of Economic Infrastructure & Govt. Spokesman: Patrick ACHI
Min. of Economy & Finance: Paul Bohoun BOUABRE
Min. of Environment: Angele GNONSOA
Min. of Foreign Affairs: Mamadou BAMBA
Min. of Health & Population: Mabri TOIKEUSSE
Min. of Higher Education: Zemogo FOFANA
Min. of Human Rights: Victorine Bopo Dahui WODIE
Min. of Industries & Private Sector Development: Jeannot Ahoussou KOUADIO
Min. of Internal Security: Djezou Martin BLEOU
Min. of Justice: Henriette DIABATE
Min. of Mines & Energy: Leon Emanuel MONNET
Min. of National Education: Amani N'GUESSAN
Min. in Charge of National Reconciliation: Dan DJE
Min. of New Information Technologies & Telecommunications: Hamed BAKAYOKO
Min. of Relations with Republican Institutions: Alphonse DOUATY
Min. of Religions: Desire Gnessoa GNONKONT
Min. of Scientific Research: Mamadou KONE
Min. of Small & Medium Enterprises: Roger BANCHI
Min. of Solidarity, Social Security, & the Handicapped: Clotilde OHOUCHI
Min. of Sports & Leisure: Michel GUEU
Min. of Technical Education & Professional Training: Youssouf SOUMAHORO
Min. of Territorial Administration: Issa DDIAKITE
Min. of Tourism: Marcel Amon TANOH
Min. of Transport: Innocent Kobenan ANAKY
Min. of War Victims, Displaced, & Exiled Persons: Messamba KONE
Min. of Water & Forest Resources: Adou ASSOA
Min. of Youth & Civil Protection: Tuo FOZIE
Ambassador to the US: Dago Pascal KOKORA
Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Djessan Philippe DJANGONEBI

Côte d'Ivoire maintains an embassy at 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007; tel: 202-797-0300.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Laurent Gbagbo has been President since October 26, 2000. Gbagbo took power following a popular uprising supporting his election victory after junta leader Gen. Robert Guei claimed a dubious victory in the 2000 presidential elections. General Guei had assumed power on December 25, 1999, following a military coup d'etat against the government of former President Henri Konan Bedie. Coup attempts in 2001 and 2002 escalated into a rebellion and crisis which culminated in the January 2003 signing of an accord for a power-sharing national reconciliation government. Implementation of the 2003 accord has made halting progress, and Côte d'Ivoire remains divided, with rebels occupying the northern half of the country. French Licorne and UNOCI peacekeeping troops police a demilitarized zone between government and New Forces positions.

Côte d'Ivoire's relations with the U.S. have traditionally been excellent, but have been somewhat strained since Section 508 restrictions curtailed nonhumanitarian aid following the December 1999 military coup. The restrictions were not lifted following the 2000 elections due to questionable governmental interference before and during the election.

Looking toward the country's future, the fundamental issue is whether its political system following the upheavals of recent years will provide for enduring stability, which is critical for investor confidence and further economic development. The political system in Côte d'Ivoire is president-dominated. The prime minister concentrates principally on coordinating and implementing economic policy. The key decisions—political, military, or economic—continue to be made by the president.

However, political dialogue is much freer today than prior to 1990, especially due to the opposition press, which vocalizes its criticism of the regime. Beginning in 1990, Côte d'Ivoire evolved, with relatively little violence or dislocation, from a single-party state. Opposition parties, independent newspapers, and independent trade unions were made legal at that time. Since those major changes occurred, the country's pace of political change had been slow, prior to the period of turmoil ushered in by the December 1999 coup.

Whether further democratic reform will take place, adequate to meet future challenges, is unknown. As is generally true in the region, the business environment is one in which personal contact and connections remain important, where rule of law does not prevail with assurance, and where the legislative and judicial branches of the government remain weak. The political system is becoming less centralized, with the president stepping out of his role as ruling party leader, while attempting to decentralize many legislative functions. President Gbagbo has promised less executive interference in the judicial system, but it still lacks basic strength and independence.

Côte d'Ivoire has a high population growth rate, a high crime rate (particularly in Abidjan), a high incidence of AIDS, a multiplicity of tribes, sporadic student unrest, a differential rate of incountry development according to region, and a dichotomy of religion associated with region and tribe. These factors put stress on the political system and could become more of a problem if the government does not succeed in implementing the reforms enshrined in the 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Accord and if the economy does not return to consistent growth.

Political Parties

The Ivoirian constitution affords the legislature some independence, but it has not been widely exercised. Until 1990, all legislators were from the PDCI. The December 2000 National Assembly election was marred by violence, irregularities, and a very low participation rate. Largely because of the RDR boycott of the election to protest the invalidation of the candidacy of party president Alassane Ouattara, the participation rate was only 33%. In addition, the election could not take place in 26 electoral districts in the north because RDR activists disrupted polling places, burned ballots, and threatened the security of election officials. Following the legislative by-elections in January 2001, 223 of the 225 seats of the National Assembly were filled. The FPI held 96 seats, the PDCI 94 seats, the PIT 4 seats, very small parties 2 seats, independent candidates 22 seats, and the RDR—in spite of its boycott of the legislative elections—5 seats.

Until it took the reins of government in the 2000 elections, the FPI party was the oldest opposition party. Moderate in outlook, it has a socialist coloration but one which was more concerned with democratic reform than radical economic change. It is strongest in the Bete ethnic areas (southwest) of President Laurent Gbagbo. The PDCI's "core" region may be described as the terrain of the Baoule ethnic group in the country's center and east, home of both Houphouet-Boigny and Bedie; however, the PDCI is represented in all parts of Côte d'Ivoire. Former members of the PDCI's reformist wing formed the originally non-ideological RDR in September 1994. They hoped that former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara would run and prevail in the 1995 presidential election, but Ouattara was subsequently disqualified by Bedie-sponsored legislation requiring 5-year residency. The RDR is now strongest in the mostly Muslim north.

The FPI and RDR boycotted the presidential election of October 1995 because of Ouattara's disqualification and the absence of an independent electoral commission, among other grievances. Their "active boycott" produced a certain amount of violence and hundreds of arrests, with a number of those arrested not tried for 2-1/2 years. These grievances remained unresolved, adding to the political instability leading to the 1999 coup and 2002 rebellion.

ECONOMY

The Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Between 60% and 70% of the Ivoirian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. The economy performed poorly in the 1980s and early 1990s, and high population growth coupled with economic decline resulted in a steady fall in living standards. Gross national product per capita was $727 in 1996 but had fallen to $669 by 2003. (It was substantially higher two decades ago.) A majority of the population remains dependent on smallholder cash crop production. Principal exports are cocoa, coffee, cotton, pineapples, tuna, and tropical woods. Principal U.S. exports are rice and wheat, plastic materials and resins, kraft paper, agricultural chemicals, telecommunications, and oil and gas equipment. Principal U.S. imports are cocoa and cocoa products, petroleum, rubber, and coffee.

Foreign Direct Investment Statistics

Direct foreign investment plays a key role in the Ivoirian economy, accounting for between 40% and 45% of total capital in Ivoirian firms. France is overwhelmingly the most important foreign investor. In recent years, French investment has accounted for about one-quarter of the total capital in Ivoirian enterprises, and between 55% and 60% of the total stock of foreign investment capital.

Infrastructure

By developing country standards, Côte d'Ivoire has an outstanding infrastructure. There is an excellent network of more than 8,000 miles of paved roads; good telecommunications services, including a public data communications network, cellular phones, and Internet access. There are two active ports. Abidjan is the most modern in West Africa and the largest between Casablanca and Cape Town on the West African littoral. Rail links from the port north into Burkina Faso are being upgraded. There is regular air service within the region and to and from Europe and modern real estate developments for commercial, industrial, retail, and residential use. Abidjan remains one of the most modern and livable cities in the region. Its school system is good by regional standards and includes an international school—whose enrollment dropped sharply due to the November 2004 crisis—based on U.S. curriculum and several excellent French-based schools.

Recent political and economic problems have delayed Côte d'Ivoire's planned public investment program. The government's public investment plan accords priority to investment in human capital, but it also will provide for significant spending on economic infrastructure needed to sustain growth. Continued infrastructure development has been brought into question because of private sector uncertainty. In the new environment of government disengagement from productive activities and in the wake of recent privatization, anticipated investments in the petroleum, electricity, water, and telecommunications sectors, and in part in the transportation sector, will be financed without any direct government intervention. A return to political and economic stability is critical if Côte d'Ivoire is to realize its potential in the region.

Major Trends and Outlooks

Since the colonial period, Côte d'Ivoire's economy has been based on the production and export of tropical products. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for more than one-third of GDP and two-thirds of exports. Côte d'Ivoire produces 40% of the world's cocoa crop and is a major exporter of bananas, coffee, cotton, palm oil, pineapples, rubber, tropical wood products, and tuna. The 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc and accompanying structural adjustment measures increased the international competitiveness of the agricultural, light industrial, and service sectors. However, reliance on raw cocoa and coffee exports, which account for 40% of total exports, exposes the economy to the ups and downs of international price swings. To reduce the economic exposure to price variability, the government encourages export diversification and intermediate processing of cocoa beans.

The 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc helped return Côte d'Ivoire to rapid economic growth until the slowdown evident by 1999. Increased aid flows, rigorous macroeconomic policies, and high international commodity prices, along with devaluation, yielded 6%-7% annual GDP growth rates from 1994-98. Côte d'Ivoire also benefited from Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1994, a London Club agreement in 1996, and the 1997 G-7 decision to include Côte d'Ivoire in the IMF-World Bank debt forgiveness initiative for highly indebted poor countries.

With the economic improvement, Côte d'Ivoire began turning the corner on its daunting debt load. For several years running, it met its IMF targets for growth, inflation, government finance, and balance of payments. Government revenues increased, which in combination with spending restraint resulted in 3 years of primary surpluses (that is, receipts minus expenditure, excluding borrowing and debt service). Following a concerted government repayment effort, domestic arrears were virtually eliminated by the end of 1996. The pre-devaluation stagnation which caused local businesses and potential outside investors to delay capital expenditures accentuated the post-devaluation investment boom.

Lower inflation followed as the government kept a tight lid both on salary increases and on the size of the public sector work force devaluation and has continued with the economic slowdown of the last several years. The consumer price index measure of inflation slid from 13.6% in 1995 to 5.4% in 1997 and 0.7% in 1999. Through the first three quarters of 2003, inflation was estimated at 3.0%, according to the Ivoirian Institute of Statistics.

In the past several years, economic decline has resulted in declining living standards. Falling commodity prices along with government corruption and fiscal mismanagement brought the economy to its knees by the end of 1999. At that point, the coup d'etat and the subsequent institution of the military junta government caused the loss of foreign assistance. Private foreign investment declined precipitously. Government internal and external debt ballooned. As a result, the Ivoirian economy contracted 2.3% in 2000. The government signed a Staff Monitoring Program with the IMF in July 2001, but plans for a subsequent Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility were disrupted by the onset of the crisis in September 2002. The signs of economic and business recovery were encouraging in the mid-year of 2002, but the political and social crisis that began in September 2002 under-mined all the efforts to resume cooperation with international donors. The economy has been in a slow decline since the outbreak of the armed rebellion in late 2002, with a cutoff of most external assistance (except humanitarian aid), mounting domestic and foreign arrearages, and a drastic slowdown in foreign and domestic investment. Prospects for an economic rebound are currently not expected until after scheduled presidential elections in 2006.

THE NATIONAL SECURITY FORCES, MILITARY, AND GENDARME

Since the outbreak of the rebellion in September 2002 that split the country, the military has reorganized. The former system that broke down the country into five military regions no longer exists. The 20,000-man Ivoirian armed forces (formerly FANCI, now called the Ivorian Defense and Security Forces—FDS) include an army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and specialized forces. The Joint Staff is assigned to the FDS headquarters in Abidjan.

The gendarmerie is roughly equivalent in size to the army. It is a national police force which is responsible for territorial security, especially in rural areas. In times of national crisis the gendarmerie could be used to reinforce the army. The gendarmerie is commanded by a brigadier-general.

Côte d'Ivoire has a brown-water navy whose mission is coastal surveillance and security for the nation's 340-mile coastline. It has two fast-attack craft, two patrol crafts, and one light transport ship. It also has numerous smaller vessels used to control immigration and contraband within the lagoon system.

The Ivoirian Air Force's mission is to defend the nation's airspace and provide transportation support to the other services. Within its inventory are at least 5 Alpha jets, 12 transport/utility aircraft, and 2 helicopters, though additional aircraft were purchased following the September 2002 coup attempt/mutiny. (As noted above, in response to an FDS attack on a French base in Bouake in November, 2004, French Licorne peacekeeping troops destroyed many of these aircraft).

A mutual defense accord signed with France in 1961 provides for the stationing of French forces in Côte d'Ivoire. The 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion is based in Port Bouet adjacent to the Abidjan Airport. Shortly after the beginning of hostilities in September 2002, France established a stabilization force, currently approximately 4,000 troops, under "Operation Licorne." Previously, France had approximately 500 troops stationed in Côte d'Ivoire. In January 2003, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) placed approximately 1,500 peace-keeping troops from five countries—Senegal (commander), Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Niger—on the ground beside the French peacekeepers. The troops maintained the east-west ceasefire line dividing the country. On April 4, 2004, ECOWAS troops became part of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) which was authorized under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1528. The authorized strength of the UNOCI operation is 7,090 personnel. UNOCI and Operation Licorne coordinate closely to fulfill the terms of UNSCR 1528 and subsequent resolutions. UNSCR 1609 of June 2005 extended the UNOCI and Licorne mandate until January 2006.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Throughout the Cold War, Côte d'Ivoire's foreign policy was generally favorable toward the West. The country became a member of the United Nations in 1960 and participates in most of its specialized agencies. It maintains a wide variety of diplomatic contacts. It sought change in South Africa through dialogue and was the first country accredited to post-apartheid South Africa. In 1986, Côte d'Ivoire announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Israel.

France remains Côte d'Ivoire's single most important foreign partner. President Houphouet-Boigny, who was a minister in the French Government prior to independence, insisted that the connection with France remain strong. Concrete examples of Franco-Ivoirian cooperation are numerous: French is Côte d'Ivoire's official language; Côte d'Ivoire adopted the French legal system; a French marine infantry brigade stationed in Abidjan augmented security; thousands of French expatriates continue to work and live in Côte d'Ivoire; and the CFA franc currency is tied to the euro. However, the September 2002 events injected strain into the relationship, as the Ivoirian Government criticized France for its perceived failure to uphold its commitment under the 1961 mutual defense treaty by helping government forces recapture rebel-held areas. However, the French did send additional forces—reaching a total of around 4,000 troops as of fall 2003—to secure the ceasefire line between regular government and rebel forces. The French contingent was joined by a force provided by various member states of ECOWAS that totaled over 3,000 as of fall 2003. AntiFrench riots erupted in Abidjan in late January-early February 2003, but bilateral relations subsequently improved amidst ongoing French military and diplomatic efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the crisis. In May 2004, Côte d'Ivoire joined the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CENSAD).

The Ivoirian Government has traditionally played a constructive role in Africa. President Houphouet-Boigny was active in the mediation of regional disputes, most notably in Liberia and Angola, and had considerable stature throughout the continent. In 1996-97 Côte d'Ivoire sent a medical unit to participate in regional peacekeeping in Liberia, its first peacekeeping effort. Côte d'Ivoire's hopes to expand its involvement in regional peacekeeping efforts were derailed by the December 1999 coup. Still a regional economic powerhouse, Côte d'Ivoire hopes to retake its place in promoting regional stability when the resolution of its current crisis permits.

Côte d'Ivoire belongs to the UN and most of its specialized agencies; the African Union; West African Economic and Monetary Union; ECOWAS; African Mauritian Common Organization; Council of Entente Communaute Financiere Africane; Non-aggression and Defense Agreement; Nonaligned Movement; African Regional Satellite Organization; InterAfrican Coffee Organizations; International Cocoa Organization; Alliance of Cocoa Producers; African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries; and Association of Coffee Producing Countries. Côte d'Ivoire also belongs to the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank; it is an associate member of the European Union.

U.S.-IVOIRIAN RELATIONS

U.S.-Ivoirian relations have traditionally been friendly and close. Some strain has resulted from the Section 508 restrictions on nonhumanitarian aid imposed on Côte d'Ivoire following the December 1999 coup. Because of Ivoirian governmental interference in the 2000 presidential elections, the Section 508 restrictions were not lifted. New elections are scheduled in 2006. The U.S. participates in the international effort to assist Côte d'Ivoire in overcoming its current crisis, providing assistance—totaling about $9 million as of fall 2003—to the ECOWAS contingent helping to maintain the ceasefire. The U.S. is sympathetic to Côte d'Ivoire's desire for rapid, orderly economic development as well as its moderate stance on international issues. Bilateral U.S. Agency for International Development funding, with the exception of self-help and democratization funds, has been phased out, although Côte d'Ivoire continues to benefit from regional West African programs. The country remains a major beneficiary of U.S. assistance in combating HIV/AIDS, as the Centers for Disease Control bases a large regional program in Abidjan. Ivoirian eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been withdrawn, following the political impasse resulting from the 2002 rebellion.

The U.S. and Côte d'Ivoire maintain an active cultural exchange program, through which prominent Ivoirian Government officials, media representatives, educators, and scholars visit the U.S. to become better acquainted with the American people and to exchange ideas and views with their American colleagues. This cooperative effort is furthered through frequent visits to Côte d'Ivoire by representatives of U.S. business and educational institutions, and by visits of Fulbright-Hays scholars and specialists in various fields. A new U.S. Embassy chancery compound opened in July 2005.

A modest security assistance program that provides professional training for Ivoirian military officers in the U.S. has been suspended by the Section 508 restrictions.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

ABIDJAN (E) Address: Riviera Golf, 01 B.P. 1712, Abidjan 01, Côte d'Ivoire; APO/FPO: 2010 Abidjan Place, Dulles, VA 20189-2010; Phone: (225) 22.49.40.00; Fax: (225) 22.49.43.23; INMARSAT Tel: 8816-3145-4594 (Iridium); Workweek: M - F 8:00 - 17:00; Website: http://usembassy.state.gov/abidjan/

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

December 9, 2005

Country Description:

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is a developing country on the western coast of Africa. The official capital is Yamoussoukro, but Abidjan is the largest city, the main commercial center, and the location of the U.S. Embassy. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic whose constitution provides for separate branches of government under a strong president. As the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, the president selects the prime minister, who is the head of the government.

The country has essentially been divided since a 2002 coup attempt became a rebellion. The rebel New Forces control the northern 60 percent of the country. In January 2003, the country's major political parties and the rebel groups agreed to a power-sharing national reconciliation government, which was to cooperate on legislative reforms and resolution of political differences prior to elections. The commitment of all parties to disarm, reunify the country, and prepare for presidential and legislative elections in October and December 2005, respectively, was renewed in the April 2005 Pretoria Agreement. Due to lack of concrete action to implement these agreements, it became clear that presidential elections could not be held as scheduled on October 30, 2005.

In early October, the African Union and the United Nations Security Council called for the president to remain in office and for a transition government, headed by a prime minister with enhanced powers, to lead the country until presidential elections could be held—no later than October 2006. As of November 1, there was no political consensus regarding the method by which the new prime minister would be appointed or the extent of his powers compared with those of the president.

Tourist facilities in and near Abidjan, the commercial capital, are good; accommodations elsewhere are limited in quality and availability.

Entry/Exit Requirements:

A passport is required, but U.S. citizens traveling to Côte d'Ivoire for business or tourism do not require visas for stays of 90 days or less. To stay longer than 90 days, the visitor may still enter without a visa, but then must apply for a "carte de sejour" within 90 days of arrival. (Note: "Cartes de sejour" are not issued to children under the age of 16 who are documented on their parents' visas). An international health certificate showing current yellow fever immunization is required for entry into Côte d'Ivoire. Without it, the traveler may be required to submit to vaccination at the airport health office before clearing immigration, at a cost of 5,000 CFA (a little less than $10). Travelers may obtain the latest information and details on entry requirements from the Embassy of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, 2424 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007, telephone (202) 797-0300. There are honorary consulates for Côte d'Ivoire in San Francisco, Stamford, Orlando, Houston and Detroit. Overseas, travelers should inquire at the nearest Ivorian embassy or consulate. Visit the Embassy of Côte d'Ivoire web site at http://www.embaci.com for the most current visa information.

Foreign travelers are sometimes approached at ports of entry by individuals with offers to expedite passport control and customs, and are then asked to pay an exorbitant fee, both for the service and for the passport and customs officers. Travelers to Côte d'Ivoire are advised that there is no need to pay a police officer or customs officer at the airport for any service rendered during an arrival or departure, and they should not surrender their passports or other important documents to anyone except easily identifiable government officials in uniform.

Safety and Security:

Côte d'Ivoire has been unstable since the coup in 1999, and divided since 2002. The New Forces control the area from Bouake north, as well as some territory in the west near Liberia. There are many armed forces and militia barricades in both the government-controlled and New Forces-controlled portions of the country. Soldiers and militia members check documents and frequently demand cash for permission to pass. Côte d'Ivoire's border with Liberia is open, but border controls are extensive.

In November 2004, government attacks on rebel bases in the north broke an 18-month ceasefire and sparked widespread civil unrest that resulted in deaths and injuries. A government attack on a French military base resulted in a retaliatory strike by French military forces. Thousands took to the streets, attacked homes, businesses, schools, French citizens, other expatriates, and some Ivorian citizens in Abidjan and elsewhere. During the chaos up to 6,000 prisoners escaped from Côte d'Ivoire's main prison in Abidjan, and more than 8,000 French and several thousand non-French expatriates fled the country.

Political instability has contributed to economic stagnation and high unemployment, exacerbating social tensions and creating the potential for labor unrest and civil disorder. Americans should avoid crowds and demonstrations, be aware of their surroundings, and use common sense to avoid situations and locations that could be dangerous. While diplomatic efforts to end the crisis are ongoing, further civil unrest, coup attempts or the resumption of hostilities are possible.

Swimming in coastal waters is dangerous and strongly discouraged, even for excellent swimmers. The ocean currents along the coast are powerful and treacherous, and numerous people drown each year.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov where the current Travel Warnings and Public Announcements, including the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime:

Crime continues to be a major security threat for Americans living in Côte d'Ivoire. Grab-and-run street crime and pick pocketing in crowded areas are widespread. Armed carjacking, robberies of businesses and restaurants, and home invasions are common, and they often target expatriate residents who are perceived as wealthy. Armed criminals use force when faced with resistance. Travelers displaying jewelry and carrying cameras are especially at risk. Travelers are advised to carry limited amounts of cash and only photocopies of key documents. While there have been few reported cases of sexual assault, given the general climate of criminality, the actual rate of assault may be much higher than that which is reported. There were allegations of sexual assaults during the November 2004 civil strife. Given the strong anti-French sentiment, people of non-African appearance may be specifically targeted for violence. Avoid large gatherings and political demonstrations, as they can turn violent quickly.

Travel outside of Abidjan or at night is strongly discouraged, and it is particularly dangerous to visit Abidjan's Treichville, Adjame, Abobo, and Plateau districts after dark. The DeGaulle and Houphouet-Boigny bridges in Abidjan are dangerous areas for pedestrians. Inadequate resources and training limit the ability of the police to combat crime. Many hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and supermarkets provide security guards to protect clients and vehicles.

Take the same common sense precautions in Abidjan that you would in any metropolitan area in the United States. Stay in well-lit areas and walk confidently at a steady pace on the side of the street facing traffic close to the curb. Avoid crowds, mass transit, doorways, bushes, alleys and sparsely populated areas. If you go out at night and need transportation, take an Orange metered taxi. Be discreet about your transactions, especially in sight on the street. Normal spending habits of Westerners appear extravagant.

Credit card use in Côte d'Ivoire is limited, particularly outside Abidjan, but credit card fraud is an increasing problem. Unless the credit card transaction is electronically performed in view of the individual, you should not use your credit cards in paper transactions.

Business fraud is rampant and the perpetrators often target foreigners, including Americans. Schemes previously associated with Nigeria are now prevalent throughout West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire, and pose a danger of grave financial loss. Typically these scams begin with unsolicited communication (usually e-mails) from strangers who promise quick financial gain, often by transferring large sums of money or valuables out of the country, but then require a series of "advance fees" to be paid, such as fees for legal documents or taxes. Of course, the final payoff does not exist; the purpose of the scam is simply to collect the advance fees. A common variation is the scammer's claim to be a refugee or émigré of a prominent West African family, or a relative of a present or former political leader who needs assistance in transferring large sums of cash. Still other variations appear to be legitimate business deals that require advance payments on contracts. Sometimes victims are convinced to provide bank account and credit card information and financial authorization that drains their accounts, incurs large debts against their credit, and takes their life savings.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim of advance-fee fraud is common sense—if a proposition looks too good to be true, it probably is. You should carefully check and research any unsolicited business proposal before committing any funds, providing any goods or services, and undertaking any travel. A good clue to a scam is the phone number given to the victim; legitimate businesses and offices provide fixed line numbers, while scams typically use only cell phones. In Côte d'Ivoire, all cell phone numbers start with zero.

It is virtually impossible to recover money lost through these scams. For additional information, please consult the Department of State's brochure Advance Fee Business Scams.

Information for Victims of Crime:

The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information:

Abidjan has privately run medical and dental facilities that are adequate but do not fully meet U.S. standards. Good physician specialists can be found, though few speak English. While pharmacies are well stocked with medications produced in Europe, newer drugs may not be available. Medical care in Côte d'Ivoire outside of Abidjan is extremely limited. Malaria is a serious health problem in Côte d'Ivoire. For more information on malaria, including protective measures, see the Centers for Disease Control Travelers' Health web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malinfo.htm.

Additional information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Medical Insurance:

The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions:

While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Côte d'Ivoire is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Serious traffic accidents, one of the greatest threats to U.S. citizens in Côte d'Ivoire, occur regularly in Abidjan. Unsafe road conditions, unskilled drivers, and poorly maintained and overloaded vehicles create very poor driving conditions. Speed limits, signals, and yielding for pedestrians and cyclists are not respected. Drive defensively, watch out for public transportation vehicles that stop and start without warning, and be especially cautious at intersections because traffic lights often malfunction. If you must drive at night, beware of vehicles without headlights and/or taillights, and pedestrians and bicycles along the roadside. In case of an accident, do not move the vehicles until told to do so by a police officer. However, if there is no other vehicle to take the injured to a hospital, or if you believe your life is in danger from others at the site of the accident, go to the nearest hospital or police station.

Abidjan has a poor public transportation system; if you travel by bus, use only the "Express" line. In Abidjan, taxis are readily available, inexpensive (metered), but poorly maintained and notorious for not respecting the rules of the road. Communal taxis ("woro-woros"), used only within the limits of each commune, are not metered and are dangerous. Local vans ("Gbaka") should not be used because they are frequently involved in accidents.

Criminals usually steal vehicles when the driver is in or near the vehicle, so car doors and windows should be kept locked. While stopped in traffic, allow enough room between your car and the one in front to maneuver out if needed. Before getting into your car, look around to see if there is anyone paying unusual attention, and if someone appears to be watching, don't go to your vehicle, but go get assistance. When getting into or out of your vehicle, do so as quickly as possible as this is when you are most vulnerable to carjacking.

If you are the victim of a carjacking, do not resist. Try to remain calm and give the carjackers what they want, which is usually the vehicle and any valuables that you may possess. Experience shows that criminals usually don't use violence unless they are confronted with resistance. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to take an occupant, usually a woman or child, as hostage to ensure their safe escape; the hostage is usually released unharmed. This is a very difficult situation, so use your best judgment at the time to decide your course of action.

Another phenomenon is the staged accidental "bumping" accident. If your vehicle is "bumped" from the rear or the side, stay locked inside because this is a ruse to get the driver out and leave the vehicle free for carjacking. If you have a cell phone, call for assistance. If you feel your safety is in jeopardy, report the accident at the nearest police station as soon as possible. Try to get the license number for any other vehicle involved.

Emergency services such as ambulance service (SAMU) exist in Abidjan and larger towns. Call 185 or 22-44-55-53. In smaller towns there is usually no ambulance service available, but ambulances will be dispatched from larger towns.

Aviation Safety Oversight:

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed the Government of Côte d'Ivoire as not being in compliance with ICAO international aviation safety standards for the oversight of Côte d'Ivoire's air carrier operations. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's Internet web site at http://www.faa.gov/safety/programs_initiatives/oversight/iasa.

Special Circumstances:

Ivorian customs authorities encourage the use of an ATA (Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission) Carnet for the temporary admission of professional equipment, commercial samples, and/or goods for exhibitions and fair purposes. ATA Carnet Headquarters, at the U.S. Council for International Business, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, issues and guarantees the ATA Carnet in the United States. For additional information, call (212) 354-4480, e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.uscib.org.

If traveling to another West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) country, expatriate residents leaving Côte d'Ivoire must declare the amount of currency being taken out of the country; if going to any other country, tourists are prohibited from taking more than 500,000 CFA francs (approximately $1,000), and business operators two million CFA francs (approximately $4,000), without government approval. Even with authorization, there is a cash limit of $4,000 for tourists and $5,500 for business people, with any surplus in travelers or bank checks.

Carry a photocopy of your U.S. passport, visa and entry stamps. Also, carry your international driver's license with you, especially if you drive.

Government corruption remains a serious problem in Côte d'Ivoire, and has an impact on judicial proceedings, contract awards, customs, and tax issues. Security forces (police, military, gendarmes) routinely stop vehicles for traffic violations and security checks. If you are stopped, politely present your identification. If you are stopped at one of these check points for any reason and asked to pay a "fine" to these uniformed officials, politely refuse and present your photocopy of your U.S. passport, visa & entry stamp.

Taking pictures near sensitive installations is prohibited, including military sites, government buildings such as the radio and television stations, the Presidency building, the airport, and the DeGaulle and Houphouet-Boigny bridges in Abidjan.

Côte d'Ivoire recognizes dual nationality if acquired at birth. Americans who also are Ivorian nationals may be subject, while in Côte d'Ivoire, to certain aspects of Ivorian law that impose special obligations on citizens of that country.

Criminal Penalties:

While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States, and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Côte d'Ivoire's laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Côte d'Ivoire are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues:

For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to the Department of State's Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/family/family_1732.html or telephone Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Registration/Embassy Location:

Americans living or traveling in Côte d'Ivoire are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Côte d'Ivoire. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the U.S. Embassy to make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located in the Riviera Golf neighborhood of the Cocody section of Abidjan, to the east of the downtown area. The Embassy's postal address is 01 B.P. 1712 Abidjan 01; the main telephone number is (225) 2249-4000; and the Consular section fax number is (225) 2249-4202. More information can be found on the Consular pages of the Embassy's website at http://Abidjan. usembassy.gov/

International Adoption

January 2006

The information below has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family

Disclaimer:

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Availability of Children for Adoption:

Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visas issued to orphans: FY-1997: IR-3 immigrant visas issued to Ivoirian orphans adopted abroadIR-4 immigrant visas issued to Ivoirian orphans adopted in the U.S. - 0
FY-1998: IR-3 Visas - 0; IR-4 Visas - 0
FY-1999: IR-3 Visas - 1; IR-4 Visas - 11
FY-2000: IR-3 Visas - 0; IR-4 Visas - 1
FY-2001: IR-3 Visas - 0; IR-4 Visas - 2

Ivoirian Adoption Authority:

The government offices responsible for adoption in Côte d'Ivoire are the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice. All requests are submitted to the Court of Justice for final review, and if approved, issuance of an Adoption decrees.

Ivoirian Adoption Procedures:

Persons interested in adopting in Côte d'Ivoire must first identify a child available for adoption. This can be done with the assistance of the Ivoirian Department of Social Welfare, or by contacting directly the administration of an orphanage. There are many orphanages in Côte d'Ivoire, but not all children in the orphanages are available for adoption.

Once the adoptive parent(s) has identified a child who meets his/her criteria, the orphanage's administrator transmits the case to the Department of Social Welfare, which will conduct a home study. Upon completion of the home study, the Department drafts its recommendation based on the outcome and forwards the file to the court for adjudication. A first hearing is scheduled by the "Judge of Guard-ianship" to verify the circumstances and ascertain the intent for adoption expressed both by the biological and adoptive parent(s). After a satisfactory review, a second hearing is scheduled wherein the judge issues a preliminary decree called "Ordonnance de Garde Juridique en vue d'Adoption." A final adoption request may be introduced by the adoptive parents upon the completion of a compulsory six-month period during which they have lived with the adopted child. Therefore, in light of the above requirements (home study and integration period), the court expects the prospective adoptive parent(s) to establish residency in Côte d'Ivoire.

Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at travel.state.gov/family

Age and Civil Status Requirements:

Ivoirian adoption law states that the prospective parent(s) must be at least 30 years old, and at least one must be 15 years older than the adoptive child. A prospective adoptive couple may be eligible if married for at least 5 years and both spouses must expressly consent to the adoption.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys:

There are no private adoption agencies in Côte d'Ivoire. All adoption matters are processed through the channel of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice, and their respective agencies. The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy maintains a list of attorneys fully qualified to handle all legal aspects of international adoptions. The Embassy cannot recommend the services of any private attorney.

Ivoirian Documentary Requirements:

The documentary requirements for foreign adoptions in Côte d'Ivoire are as follows:

• The prospective parent(s) should address a written request either to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare or directly to the court having jurisdiction if the child has already been identified. In the request, the adoptive parent(s) must give the reasons for their desire to adopt and must indicate the age and the gender of the child;
• Birth certificates of the adoptive parent(s);
• Marriage certificate for married couple;
• Proof of income;
• Medical certificate confirming sterility if this is the basis for adoption;

Recommendation of the social welfare service of the local administration following a home study at the place of residence, with details about the prospective adoptive parents, history of their marriage, living conditions, family and personal motivation for adoption, and income;

Consent for adoption in writing with the signature(s) of the biological parent(s), if known, duly attested by a Notary Public.

Authentication Process:

All documents above must be authenticated. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at travel.state.gov/family

U.S. Immigration Requirements:

An Ivoirian child adopted by an U.S. citizen must obtain an immigrant visa before he or she can enter the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at travel.state.gov/family.

Doctors:

The U.S. Embassy maintains current list of doctors, should either you or your child experience health problems while in Côte d'Ivoire.

Ivoirian Embassy in the United States:

Embassy of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
2424 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 797-0300

U.S. Embassy in Côte D'IVÓIRE:

U.S. Embassy Abidjan
Consular Section
5 Rue Jesse Owens
01 BP 1712, Abidjan 01
Côte d'Ivoire
Tel: (225) 20-21-09-79, Ext. 6594
Fax: (225) 20-22-45-23
Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Additional Information:

Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult BCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as, the Department of State publication, International Adoptions.

Questions:

Specific questions regarding adoption in Côte d'Ivoire may be addressed to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Côte d'Ivoire. You may also contact the Office of Children's Issues, SA-29, 2201 C Street, NW, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-2818, Tel: 1-888-407-4747 with specific questions.

Travel Warning

August 25, 2005

This Travel Warning is issued to update safety and security concerns in Côte d'Ivoire and to provide new telephone numbers for the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan. The Department of State continues to prohibit minor dependents from accompanying U.S. government employees at the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and continues to urge Americans to defer non-essential travel to that country.

Since the November 2004 violence, Côte d'Ivoire has been mostly quiet, although there have been episodes of violence, particularly in the western part of the country, and there is a risk of renewed conflict throughout the country. The security situation remains tense and potentially volatile. The airport currently operates normally and handles a number of flights by regional and European carriers that service Abidjan. Land routes to the Ghanaian border are open.

On November 4, 2004, Ivorian government forces launched aerial attacks on cities in northern Côte d'Ivoire controlled by New Forces, resulting in the deaths of Ivorian and non-Ivorian nationals. After an aerial attack caused the deaths of nine French soldiers and one American civilian, the French reacted by destroying most Ivorian air assets and seizing the airport. In response, there were widespread confrontations between Ivorian demonstrators and the French military, resulting in some Ivorian civilian and military deaths. These incidents were accompanied by widespread rioting, looting, and violence in Abidjan and elsewhere, directed against the French, but also against other expatriate and some Ivorian individuals, homes, and businesses. French schools in Abidjan were destroyed and have not reopened.

Embassy employees are asked to limit their travel within Abidjan and to avoid travel at night. Travel to most areas outside of the capital is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Private American citizens are urged to follow the same guidelines. Americans should also ensure that their vehicles are fully fueled and that they have adequate cooking fuel, food and water for several days.

The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan moved in July and has new telephone numbers (see below). The Embassy may close temporarily for general business from time to time in response to security developments.

U.S. citizens who remain in, or travel to, Côte d'Ivoire despite this Travel Warning should consult the Department of State's latest Consular Information Sheet for Côte d'Ivoire and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov. Americans should register with the U.S. Embassy by completing a registration form on-line at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp, by calling (225) 2249-4000, or by faxing (225) 2249-4202. Americans in Côte d'Ivoire who need assistance should contact the Embassy at (225) 2249-4000. American citizens may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions in Côte d'Ivoire by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from all other countries.

CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Compiled from the January 2005 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 322,500 sq. km. (124,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New Mexico.

Cities: Principal city—Abidjan (economic capital, de facto political capital). Capital—Yamoussoukro (official). Other cities—Bouake, Daloa, Gagnoa, Korhogo, Man, San Pedro.

Terrain: Forested, undulating, hilly in the west.

Climate: Tropical.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Ivoirian(s).

Population: (2003 est.) 18,100,000, including immigrants. Population density is 56 persons per sq. km. (145 per sq. mi.). Foreign national population includes about 130,000 Lebanese, 20,000 French.

Annual growth rate: 3.8%, with immigration.

Ethnic groups: More than 60.

Religions: Indigenous 10%-20%, Muslim 35%-40%, and Christian (Catholic, Protestant and other denominations) 25%-35%.

Languages: French (official); five principal language groups.

Education: Years compulsory—school is not compulsory at this time. Attendance—57%. Literacy—51%.

Health: Infant mortality rate—111/1,000. Life expectancy—46 years.

Government

Type: Republic.

Independence: August 7, 1960.

Branches: Executive—president (chief of state and head of government). Legislative—unicameral National Assembly. Judicial—Supreme Court (3 chambers: judicial, administrative, auditing); Constitutional Council.

Administrative subdivisions: 19 regions, 58 departments, 196 communes.

Political parties: Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI), Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR), Union pour la Democratie et pour la Paix en Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI), numerous other smaller political parties operate in Côte d'Ivoire.

Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy

GDP: (2003 est.) $15.3 billion.

Annual real growth rate: Real GDP declined by 1.5% in 2002. Although final figures are not yet available, no positive growth is expected for 2003.

Per capita income: (2003) $669. This represents a 5.5% decline from 1999.

Natural resources: Petroleum (off-shore) discovered in 1977, production began in 1980; output in 2002 was 5.8 million barrels per year. Diamonds: 75,000 carats produced in 1996. Gold mining began in early 1990s.

Agriculture: (26% of GDP, 2001) Products—cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, corn, rice, tropical foods.

Industry: (22% of GDP, 2001) Types—food processing, textiles.

Services: (2001) 52% of GDP.

Trade: (2002) Exports (42.8% of GDP)—cocoa, coffee, timber, rubber, cotton, palm oil, pineapples, bananas. Major markets—U.S., France, Germany, Netherlands. Total imports (21.1% of GDP; U.S. imports, $376.5 million)—consumer goods, basic foodstuffs (rice, wheat), capital goods. Major suppliers—France, Nigeria, U.S., EU, Japan.

PEOPLE

Côte d'Ivoire has more than 60 ethnic groups, usually classified into five principal divisions: Akan (east and center, including Lagoon peoples of the southeast), Krou (southwest), Southern Mande (west), Northern Mande (northwest), Senoufo/Lobi (north center and northeast). The Baoules, in the Akan division, probably comprise the single largest sub-group with 15%-20% of the population. They are based in the central region around Bouake and Yamoussoukro. The Betes in the Krou division, the Senoufos in the north, and the Malinkes in the northwest and the cities are the next largest groups, with 10%-15% each of the national population. Most of the principal divisions have a significant presence in neighboring countries.

Of the more than 5 million non-Ivoirian Africans living in Côte d'Ivoire, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania. The non-African expatriate community includes roughly 20,000 French and possibly 100,000 Lebanese. As of mid-November 2004, thousands of expatriates, African and non-African, have fled from the violence in Côte d'Ivoire. The number of elementary school-aged children attending classes increased from 22% in 1960 to 67% in 1995.

HISTORY

The early history of Côte d'Ivoire is virtually unknown, although it is thought that a Neolithic culture existed. France made its initial contact with Côte d'Ivoire in 1637, when missionaries landed at Assignee near the Gold Coast (now Ghana) border. Early contacts were limited to a few missionaries because of the inhospitable coastline and settlers' fear of the inhabitants.

In the 18th century, the country was invaded from present-day Ghana by two related Akan groups—the Agnis, who occupied the southeast, and the Baoules, who settled in the central section. In 1843-44, Admiral Bouet-Williaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand Bassam and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French protectorate.

French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. However, complete pacification was not accomplished until 1915.

French Period

Côte d'Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. Captain Binger, who had explored the Gold Coast frontier, was named the first governor. He negotiated boundary treaties with Liberia and the United Kingdom (for the Gold Coast) and later started the campaign against Almany Samory, a Malinke chief, who fought against the French until 1898.

From 1904 to 1958, Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the French Third Republic. Until the period following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. France's policy in West Africa was reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association," meaning that all Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects" without rights to citizenship or representation in Africa or France.

During World War II, France's Vichy regime remained in control until 1943, when members of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's provisional government assumed control of all French West Africa. The Brazzaville Conference in 1944, the first Constituent Assembly of the French Fourth Republic in 1946, and France's gratitude for African loyalty during World War II led to far-reaching governmental reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labor were abolished.

A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956 Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre), which transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities.

Independence

In December 1958, Côte d'Ivoire became an autonomous republic within the French community as a result of a referendum that brought community status to all members of the old Federation of French West Africa except Guinea, which had voted against association. Côte d'Ivoire became independent on August 7, 1960, and permitted its community membership to lapse.

Côte d'Ivoire's contemporary political history is closely associated with the career of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President of the republic and leader of the Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) until his death on December 7, 1993. He was one of the founders of the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA), the leading pre-independence inter-territorial political party in French West African territories (except Mauritania).

Houphouet-Boigny first came to political prominence in 1944 as founder of the Syndicat Agricole Africain, an organization that won improved conditions for African farmers and formed a nucleus for the PDCI. After World War II, he was elected by a narrow margin to the first Constituent Assembly. Representing Côte d'Ivoire in the French National Assembly from 1946 to 1959, he devoted much of his effort to inter-territorial political organization and further amelioration of labor conditions. After his 13-year service in the French National Assembly, including almost 3 years as a minister in the French Government, he became Côte d'Ivoire's first Prime Minister in April 1959, and the following year was elected its first President.

In May 1959, Houphouet-Boigny reinforced his position as a dominant figure in West Africa by leading Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta (Burkina), and Dahomey (Benin) into the Council of the Entente, a regional organization promoting economic development. He maintained that the road to African solidarity was through step-by-step economic and political cooperation, recognizing the

principle of nonintervention in the internal affairs of other African states.

1999 Coup and Aftermath

In a region where many political systems are unstable, Côte d'Ivoire showed remarkable political stability from its independence from France in 1960 until late 1999. Under Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President from independence until his death in December 1993, Côte d'Ivoire maintained a close political allegiance to the West while many countries in the region were undergoing repeated military coups, experimenting with Marxism, and developing ties with the Soviet Union and China. His successor, President Henri Konan Bedie, was familiar with the U.S., having served as Côte d'Ivoire's first ambassador to the U.S. Falling world market prices for Côte d'Ivoire's primary export crops of cocoa and coffee put pressure on the economy and the Bedie presidency. Government corruption and mismanagement led to steep reductions in foreign aid in 1998 and 1999, and eventually to the country's first coup on December 24, 1999.

Following the bloodless coup, General Guei formed a government of national unity and promised open elections. A new constitution was drafted and ratified by the population in the summer of 2000. It retained clauses that underscored national divisions between north and south, Christian and Muslim, that had been growing since Houphouet's death.

Elections were scheduled for fall 2000, but when the general's hand-picked Supreme Court disqualified all of the candidates from the two major parties—the PDCI and Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR)—Western election support and monitors were withdrawn. The RDR called for a boycott, setting the stage for low election turnout in a race between Guei and Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) candidate Laurent Gbagbo. When early polling results showed Gbagbo in the lead, Guei stopped the process—claiming polling fraud—disbanded the election commission, and declared himself the winner. Within hours Gbagbo supporters took to the streets of Abidjan. A bloody fight followed as crowds attacked the guards protecting the presidential palace. Many gendarmes and soldiers joined the fight against the junta government, forcing Guei to flee. Having gained the most votes, Gbagbo was declared President. The RDR then took the streets, calling for new elections because the Supreme Court had declared their presidential candidate and all the candidates of the PDCI ineligible. More violence erupted as forces loyal to the new government joined the FPI youth to attack RDR demonstrators. Hundreds were killed in the few days that followed before RDR party leader Alassane Ouattara called for peace and recognized the Gbagbo presidency.

On January 7, 2001, another coup attempt shattered the temporary calm. However, some weeks later, in the spring, local municipal elections were conducted without violence and with the full participation of all political parties. The RDR, who had boycotted the presidential and legislative elections, won the most local seats, followed by the PDCI and FPI. Some economic aid from the European Union began to return by the summer of 2001, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) re-engaged the government. Questions surrounding severe human rights abuses by the government during the presidential and legislative elections of 2000 remain unresolved (e.g., the mass grave at Yopougon), but day-to-day life began to return to normal. In August 2002, President Gbagbo formed a de facto government of national unity that included the RDR party.

On September 19, 2002, rebellious exiled military personnel and co-conspirators in Abidjan simultaneously attacked government ministers and government and military/security facilities in Abidjan, Bouake, and Korhogo. In Abidjan, government forces stopped the coup attempt within hours, but the attacks resulted in the deaths of Minister of Interior Emile Boga Doudou and several high-ranking military officers. General Guei was killed under still-unclear circumstances. Almost immediately after the coup attempt, the government launched an aggressive security operation in Abidjan, whereby shantytowns—occupied by thousands of immigrants and Ivoirians—were searched for weapons and rebels. Government security forces burned down or demolished a number of these shantytowns which displaced over 12,000 people.

The failed coup attempt quickly evolved into a rebellion, splitting the country in two and escalating into the country's worst crisis since independence in 1960. The rebel group, calling itself the "Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire" (MPCI), retained control in Bouake and Korhogo, and within 2 weeks moved to take the remainder of the northern half of the country. In mid-October 2002, government and MPCI representatives signed a ceasefire and French military forces already present in the country agreed to monitor the cease-fire line. In late November 2002, the western part of the country became a new military front with the emergence of two new rebel groups—the Ivoirian Popular Movement for the Great West (MPIGO) and the Movement for Justice and Peace (MJP). MPIGO and MJP were allied with the MPCI, and the three groups subsequently called themselves the "New Forces." In January 2003, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) placed approximately 1,500 peacekeeping troops from five countries—Senegal (commander), Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Niger—on the ground beside the 3,000 French peacekeepers. The troops maintained the east-west ceasefire line dividing the country.

In late January 2003, the country's major political parties and the New Forces signed the French-brokered Linas-Marcoussis Accord (LMA), agreeing to a power-sharing national reconciliation government to include rebel New Forces representatives. The parties agreed to work together on modifying national identity, eligibility for citizenship, and land tenure laws which many observers see as among the root causes of the conflict. The LMA also stipulated a UN Monitoring Committee to report on implementation of the accord. Also in January 2003, President Gbagbo appointed Seydou Diarra as the consensus Prime Minister. In March 2003, Prime Minister Diarra formed a government of national reconciliation of 41 ministers. The full government did not meet until mid-April, when international peacekeepers were in place to provide security for rebel New Forces ministers. On July 4, 2003, the government and New Forces militaries signed an "End of the War" declaration, recognized President Gbagbo's authority, and vowed to work for the implementation of the LMA and a program of Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR). On September 13, 2003, six months after the formation of the reconciliation government, President Gbagbo named politically neutral Defense and Security Ministers, after consulting with the political parties and New Forces.

2004 saw serious challenges to the Linas-Marcoussis Accord. Violent flare-ups and political deadlock in the spring and summer led to the Accra III talks in Ghana. Signed on July 30, 2004 the Accra III Agreement reaffirmed the goals of the LMA with specific deadlines and benchmarks for progress. Unfortunately, those deadlines–late September for legislative reform and October 15 for rebel disarmament–were not met by the parties. The ensuing political and military deadlock was not broken until November 4, when government forces initiated a bombing campaign of rebel targets in the north. On November 6, a government aircraft bombed a French military installation in Bouake, killing nine French soldiers and one American civilian. Claiming that the attack was deliberate (the Ivoirian Government claimed it was a mistake), French forces retaliated by destroying most of the small Ivoirian air force. Mayhem ensued for several days as anti-French mobs rioted in Abidjan and violence flared elsewhere. On November 15, 2004 the United Nations Security Council issued an immediate arms embargo on Côte d'Ivoire and gave leaders one month to get the peace process back on track or face a travel ban and a freeze on their assets. As of early 2005, implementation of UN sanctions has been delayed as the key Ivoirian political leaders work with South African President Thabo Mbeki in an African Union-sponsored mediation effort.

GOVERNMENT

Côte d'Ivoire's constitution of the Second Republic (2000) provides for a strong presidency within the framework of a separation of powers. The executive is personified in the president, elected for a 5-year term. The president is the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, may negotiate and ratify certain treaties, and may submit a bill to a national referendum or to the National Assembly. According to the constitution, the president of the National Assembly assumes the presidency for 45-90 days in the event of a vacancy and organizes new elections in which the winner completes the remainder of the deceased president's term. The president selects the prime minister, who is the head of government. The cabinet is selected by and is responsible to the prime minister.

The unicameral National Assembly is composed of 225 members elected by direct universal suffrage for a 5-year term concurrently with the president. It passes on legislation typically introduced by the president, although it also can introduce legislation.

The judicial system culminates in the Supreme Court. The High Court of Justice is competent to try government officials for major offenses. There is also an independent Constitutional Council which has seven members appointed by the president that is responsible for, inter alia, the determination of candidate eligibility in presidential and legislative elections, the announcement of final election results, the conduct of referendums, and the constitutionality of legislation.

For administrative purposes, Côte d'Ivoire is divided into 19 regions and 58 departments. Each region and department is headed by a prefect appointed by the central government. In 2002, the country held its first departmental elections to select departmental councils to oversee local infrastructure development and maintenance as well as economic and social development plans and projects. There are 196 communes, each headed by an elected mayor, plus the city of Abidjan with 10 mayors.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 4/1/03

President: Gbagbo , Laurent
Prime Minister: Diarra , Seydou
Min. of African Integration: Eg , Theodore Mel
Min. of Administrative Reform: Kahe , Eric Victor Kplohourou
Min. of Agriculture: Coulibaly , Amadou Gon
Min. of Animal Husbandry & Fisheries: Adjoumani , Kobenan Kouassi
Min. of Civil Service/Employment: Oulaye , Hubert
Min. of Commerce: Soumahoro , Amadou
Min. of Communication: Soro , Guillaume Kigbafori
Min. of Construction & Urban Planning: Ndori , Raymond Abou
Min. of Culture & Francophone Affairs: Messou , Malan
Min. of Economic Infrastructure/Govt. Spokesman: Achi , Patrick
Min. of Economy & Finance: Bouabre , Paul Bohoun
Min. of Environment: Gnonsoa , Angele
Min. of Foreign Affairs: Bamba , Mamadou
Min. of Health/Population: Toikeusse , Mabri
Min. of Higher Education: Fofana , Zemogo
Min. of Human Rights: Wodie , Victorine Bopo Dahui
Min. of Industries & Sector Development: Kouadio , Jeannot Ahoussou
Min. of Justice: Diabate , Henriette
Min. of Mines & Energy: Monnet , Leon Emanuel
Min. of National Education: N'guessan , Amani
Min. in Charge of National Reconciliation: Dje , Dan
Min. of New Information Technologies & Telecommunications: Bakayoko , Hamed
Min. of Relations with Republican Institutions: Douaty , Alphonse
Min. of Religions: Gnonkont , Desire Gnessoa
Min. of Scientific Research: Kone , Mamadou
Min. of Small & Medium Enterprises: Banchi , Roger
Min. of Solidarity, Social Security, & the Handicapped: Ohouchi , Clotilde
Min. of Sports & Leisure: Gueu , Michel
Min. of Technical Education & Professional Training: Soumahoro , Youssouf
Min. of Territorial Administration: Ddiakite , Issa
Min. of Tourism: Tanoh , Marcel Amon
Min. of Transport: Anaky , Innocent Kobenan
Min. of War Victims, Displaced, & Exiled Persons: Kone , Messamba
Min. of Water & Forest Resources: Assoa , Adou
Min. of Youth & Civil Protection: Fozie , Tuo
Ambassador to the US: Kokora , Dago Pascal
Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Djangone-Bi , Djessan Philippe

Côte d'Ivoire maintains an embassy at 3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007; tel: 202-797-0300.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Laurent Gbagbo has been President since October 26, 2000. Gbagbo took power following a popular uprising supporting his election victory after junta leader Gen. Robert Guei claimed a dubious victory in the 2000 presidential elections. General Guei had assumed power on December 25, 1999, following a military coup d'etat against the government of former President Henri Konan Bedie. Coup attempts in 2001 and 2002 escalated into a rebellion and crisis which culminated in the January 2003 signing of an accord for a power-sharing national reconciliation government. Implementation of the 2003 accord has made halting progress, and Côte d'Ivoire remains divided, with rebels occupying some areas of the country.

Côte d'Ivoire's relations with the U.S. have traditionally been excellent, but have been somewhat strained since Section 508 restrictions curtailed nonhumanitarian aid following the December 1999 military coup. The restrictions were not lifted following the 2000 elections due to questionable governmental interference before and during the election.

Looking toward the country's future, the fundamental issue is whether its political system following the upheavals of recent years will provide for enduring stability, which is critical for investor confidence and further economic development. The political system in Côte d'Ivoire is president-dominated. The prime minister concentrates principally on coordinating and implementing economic policy. The key decisions—political, military, or economic—continue to be made by the president.

However, political dialogue is much freer today than prior to 1990, especially due to the opposition press, which vocalizes its criticism of the regime. Beginning in 1990, Côte d'Ivoire evolved, with relatively little violence or dislocation, from a single-party state. Opposition parties, independent newspapers, and independent trade unions were made legal at that time. Since those major changes occurred, the country's pace of political change had been slow, prior to the period of turmoil ushered in by the December 1999 coup.

Whether further democratic reform will take place, adequate to meet future challenges, is unknown. As is generally true in the region, the business environment is one in which personal contact and connections remain important, where rule of law does not prevail with assurance, and where the legislative and judicial branches of the government remain weak. The political system is becoming less centralized, with the president stepping out of his role as ruling party leader, while attempting to decentralize many legislative functions. President Gbagbo has promised less executive interference in the judicial system, but it still lacks basic strength and independence.

Côte d'Ivoire has a high population growth rate, a high crime rate (particularly in Abidjan), a high incidence of AIDS, a multiplicity of tribes, sporadic student unrest, a differential rate of in-country development according to region, and a dichotomy of religion associated with region and tribe. These factors put stress on the political system and could become more of a problem if the government does not succeed in implementing the reforms enshrined in the 2003 Linas-Marcoussis Accord and if the economy does not return to consistent growth.

Political Parties

The Ivoirian constitution affords the legislature some independence, but it has not been widely exercised. Until 1990, all legislators were from the PDCI. The December 2000 National Assembly election was marred by violence, irregularities, and a very low participation rate. Largely because of the RDR boycott of the election to protest the invalidation of the candidacy of party president Alassane Ouattara, the participation rate was only 33%. In addition, the election could not take place in 26 electoral districts in the north because RDR activists disrupted polling places, burned ballots, and threatened the security of election officials. Following the legislative by-elections in January 2001, 223 of the 225 seats of the National Assembly were filled. The FPI held 96 seats, the PDCI 94 seats, the PIT 4 seats, very small parties 2 seats, independent candidates 22 seats, and the RDR—in spite of its boycott of the legislative elections—5 seats.

Until it took the reins of government in the 2000 elections, the FPI party was the oldest opposition party. Moderate in outlook, it has a socialist coloration but one which was more concerned with democratic reform than radical economic change. It is strongest in the Bete ethnic areas (southwest) of President Laurent Gbagbo. The PDCI's "core" region may be described as the terrain of the Baoule ethnic group in the country's center and east, home of both Houphouet-Boigny and Bedie; however, the PDCI is represented in all parts of Côte d'Ivoire. Former members of the PDCI's reformist wing formed the originally non-ideological RDR in September 1994. They hoped that former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara would run and prevail in the 1995 presidential election, but Ouattara was subsequently disqualified by Bedie-sponsored legislation requiring 5-year residency. The RDR is now strongest in the mostly Muslim north.

The FPI and RDR boycotted the presidential election of October 1995 because of Ouattara's disqualification and the absence of an independent electoral commission, among other grievances. Their "active boycott" produced a certain amount of violence and hundreds of arrests, with a number of those arrested not tried for 2-1/2 years. These grievances remained unresolved, adding to the political instability leading to the 1999 coup.

ECONOMY

The Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Between 60% and 70% of the Ivoirian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. The economy performed poorly in the 1980s and early 1990s, and high population growth coupled with economic decline resulted in a steady fall in living standards. Gross national product per capita was $727 in 1996 but had fallen to $669 by 2003. (It was substantially higher two decades ago.) A majority of the population remains dependent on smallholder cash crop production. Principal exports are cocoa, coffee, cotton, pineapples, tuna, and tropical woods. Principal U.S. exports are rice and wheat, plastic materials and resins, kraft paper, agricultural chemicals, telecommunications, and oil and gas equipment. Principal U.S. imports are cocoa and cocoa products, petroleum, rubber, and coffee.

Foreign Direct Investment Statistics

Direct foreign investment plays a key role in the Ivoirian economy, accounting for between 40% and 45% of total capital in Ivoirian firms. France is overwhelmingly the most important foreign investor. In recent years, French investment has accounted for about one-quarter of the total capital in Ivoirian enterprises, and between 55% and 60% of the total stock of foreign investment capital.

Infrastructure

By developing country standards, Côte d'Ivoire has an outstanding infrastructure. There is an excellent network of more than 8,000 miles of paved roads; good telecommunications services, including a public data communications network, cellular phones, and Internet access. There are two active ports. Abidjan is the most modern in West Africa and the largest between Casablanca and Cape Town on the West African littoral. Rail links from the port north into Burkina Faso are being upgraded. There is regular air service within the region and to and from Europe and modern real estate developments for commercial, industrial, retail, and residential use. Despite the crisis that erupted in September 2002, Côte d'Ivoire's location and easy, reliable connection to neighboring countries continues to make it a preferred platform from which to conduct West African operations. Abidjan remains one of the most modern and livable cities in the region. Its school system is good by regional standards and includes an international school—whose enrollment dropped sharply due to the crisis—based on U.S. curriculum and several excellent French-based schools.

Recent political and economic problems have delayed Côte d'Ivoire's planned public investment program. The government's public investment plan accords priority to investment in human capital, but it also will provide for significant spending on economic infrastructure needed to sustain growth. Continued infrastructure development has been brought into question because of private sector uncertainty. In the new environment of government disengagement from productive activities and in the wake of recent privatization, anticipated investments in the petroleum, electricity, water, and telecommunications sectors, and in part in the transportation sector, will be financed without any direct government intervention. A return to political and economic stability is critical if Côte d'Ivoire is to realize its potential in the region.

Major Trends and Outlooks

Since the colonial period, Côte d'Ivoire's economy has been based on the production and export of tropical products. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for more than one-third of GDP and two-thirds of exports. Côte d'Ivoire produces 40% of the world's cocoa crop and is a major exporter of bananas, coffee, cotton, palm oil, pineapples, rubber, tropical wood products, and tuna. The 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc and accompanying structural adjustment measures increased the international competitiveness of the agricultural, light industrial, and service sectors. However, reliance on raw cocoa and coffee exports, which account for 40% of total exports, exposes the economy to the ups and downs of international price swings. To reduce the economic exposure to price variability, the government encourages export diversification and intermediate processing of cocoa beans.

The 1994 devaluation of the CFA franc helped return Côte d'Ivoire to rapid economic growth until the slowdown evident by 1999. Increased aid flows, rigorous macroeconomic policies, and high international commodity prices, along with devaluation, yielded 6%-7% annual GDP growth rates from 1994-98. Côte d'Ivoire also benefited from Paris Club debt rescheduling in 1994, a London Club agreement in 1996, and the 1997 G-7 decision to include Côte d'Ivoire in the IMF-World Bank debt forgiveness initiative for highly indebted poor countries.

With the economic improvement, Côte d'Ivoire began turning the corner on its daunting debt load. For several years running, it met its IMF targets for growth, inflation, government finance, and balance of payments. Government revenues increased, which in combination with spending restraint resulted in 3 years of primary surpluses (that is, receipts minus expenditure, excluding borrowing and debt service). Following a concerted government repayment effort, domestic arrears were virtually eliminated by the end of 1996. The pre-devaluation stagnation which caused local businesses and potential outside investors to delay capital expenditures accentuated the post-devaluation investment boom.

Lower inflation followed as the government kept a tight lid both on salary increases and on the size of the public sector work force devaluation and has continued with the economic slowdown of the last several years. The consumer price index measure of inflation slid from 13.6% in 1995 to 5.4% in 1997 and 0.7% in 1999. Through the first three quarters of 2003, inflation was estimated at 3.0%, according to the Ivoirian Institute of Statistics.

In the past several years, economic decline has resulted in declining living standards. Falling commodity prices along with government corruption and fiscal mismanagement brought the economy to its knees by the end of 1999. At that point, the coup d'etat and the subsequent institution of the military junta government caused the loss of foreign assistance. Private foreign investment declined precipitously. Government internal and external debt ballooned. As a result, the Ivoirian economy contracted 2.3% in 2000. The government signed a Staff Monitoring Program with the IMF in July 2001, but plans for a subsequent Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility were disrupted by the onset of the crisis in September 2002. The signs of economic and business recovery were encouraging in the mid-year of 2002, but the political and social crisis that began in September 2002 under-mined all the efforts to resume cooperation with international donors. The economy has been in a slow decline since the outbreak of the armed rebellion in late 2002, with a cutoff of most external assistance (except humanitarian aid), mounting domestic and foreign arrearages, and a drastic slowdown in foreign and domestic investment. Prospects for an economic rebound are currently not expected until after scheduled presidential elections in 2005.

THE NATIONAL SECURITY FORCES, MILITARY, AND GENDARME

Since the outbreak of the rebellion in September 2002 that split the country, the military has reorganized. The former system that broke down the country into five military regions no longer exists. The 20,000-man Ivoirian armed forces (FANCI) include an army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie. The Joint Staff is assigned to the FANCI headquarters in Abidjan. A two-star officer serves as the chief of staff and commander of the FANCI.

The gendarmerie is roughly equivalent in size to the army. It is a national police force which is responsible for territorial security, especially in rural areas. In times of national crisis the gendarmerie could be used to reinforce the army. The gendarmerie is commanded by a brigadier-general.

Côte d'Ivoire has a brown-water navy whose mission is coastal surveillance and security for the nation's 340-mile coastline. It has two fast-attack craft, two patrol crafts, and one light transport ship. It also has numerous smaller vessels used to control immigration and contraband within the lagoon system.

The Ivoirian Air Force's mission is to defend the nation's airspace and provide transportation support to the other services. Within its inventory are at least 5 Alpha jets, 12 transport/utility aircraft, and 2 helicopters, though additional aircraft were purchased following the September 2002 coup attempt/mutiny.

A mutual defense accord signed with France in 1961 provides for the stationing of French forces in Côte d'Ivoire. The 43rd Marine Infantry Battalion is based in Port Bouet adjacent to the Abidjan Airport. Shortly after the beginning of hostilities in September 2002, France established a stabilization force, currently approximately 4,000 troops, under "Operation Licorne." Previously, France had approximately 500 troops stationed in Côte d'Ivoire. In January 2003, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) placed approximately 1,500 peace-keeping troops from five countries—Senegal (commander), Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Niger—on the ground beside the French peacekeepers. The troops maintained the east-west ceasefire line dividing the country. On April 4, 2004, ECOWAS troops became part of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) which was authorized under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1528. The authorized strength of the UNOCI operation is 6,240 personnel. UNOCI and Operation Licorne coordinate closely to fulfill the terms of USCR 1528.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Throughout the Cold War, Côte d'Ivoire's foreign policy was generally favorable toward the West. The country became a member of the United Nations in 1960 and participates in most of its specialized agencies. It maintains a wide variety of diplomatic contacts. It sought change in South Africa through dialogue and was the first country accredited to post-apartheid South Africa. In 1986, Côte d'Ivoire announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Israel.

France remains Côte d'Ivoire's single most important foreign partner. President Houphouet-Boigny, who was a minister in the French Government prior to independence, insisted that the connection with France remain strong. Concrete examples of Franco-Ivoirian cooperation are numerous: French is Côte d'Ivoire's official language; Côte d'Ivoire adopted the French legal system; a French marine infantry brigade stationed in Abidjan augmented security; thousands of French expatriates continue to work and live in Côte d'Ivoire; and the CFA franc currency is tied to the euro. However, the September 2002 events injected strain into the relationship, as the Ivoirian Government criticized France for its perceived failure to uphold its commitment under the 1961 mutual defense treaty by helping government forces recapture rebel-held areas. However, the French did send additional forces—reaching a total of around 4,000 troops as of fall 2003—to secure the ceasefire line between regular government and rebel forces. The French contingent was joined by a force provided by various member states of ECOWAS that totaled over 3,000 as of fall 2003. Anti-French riots erupted in Abidjan in late January-early February 2003, but bilateral relations subsequently improved amidst ongoing French military and diplomatic efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the crisis. In May 2004, Côte d'Ivoire joined the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CENSAD).

The Ivoirian Government has traditionally played a constructive role in Africa. President Houphouet-Boigny was active in the mediation of regional disputes, most notably in Liberia and Angola, and had considerable stature throughout the continent. In 1996-97 Côte d'Ivoire sent a medical unit to participate in regional peacekeeping in Liberia, its first peacekeeping effort. Côte d'Ivoire's hopes to expand its involvement in regional peacekeeping efforts were derailed by the December 1999 coup. Still a regional economic powerhouse, Côte d'Ivoire hopes to retake its place in promoting regional stability when the resolution of its current crisis permits.

Côte d'Ivoire belongs to the UN and most of its specialized agencies; the African Union; West African Economic and Monetary Union; ECOWAS; African Mauritian Common Organization; Council of Entente Communaute Financiere Africane; Non-aggression and Defense Agreement; Nonaligned Movement; African Regional Satellite Organization; InterAfrican Coffee Organizations; International Cocoa Organization; Alliance of Cocoa Producers; African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries; and Association of Coffee Producing Countries. Côte d'Ivoire also belongs to the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank; it is an associate member of the European Union.

U.S.-IVOIRIAN RELATIONS

U.S.-Ivoirian relations have traditionally been friendly and close. Some strain has resulted from the Section 508 restrictions on nonhumanitarian aid imposed on Côte d'Ivoire following the December 1999 coup. Because of Ivoirian governmental interference in the 2000 presidential elections, the Section 508 restrictions were not lifted. New elections are not scheduled until 2005. The U.S. participates in the international effort to assist Côte d'Ivoire in overcoming its current crisis, providing assistance—totaling about $9 million as of fall 2003—to the ECOWAS contingent helping to maintain the ceasefire. The U.S. is sympathetic to Côte d'Ivoire's desire for rapid, orderly economic development as well as its moderate stance on international issues. Bilateral U.S. Agency for International Development funding, with the exception of self-help and democratization funds, has been phased out, although Côte d'Ivoire continues to benefit from regional West African programs. The country remains a major beneficiary of U.S. assistance in combating HIV/AIDS, as the Centers for Disease Control bases a large regional program in Abidjan.

The U.S. and Côte d'Ivoire maintain an active cultural exchange program, through which prominent Ivoirian Government officials, media representatives, educators, and scholars visit the U.S. to become better acquainted with the American people and to exchange ideas and views with their American colleagues. This cooperative effort is furthered through frequent visits to Côte d'Ivoire by representatives of U.S. business and educational institutions, and by visits of Fulbright-Hays scholars and specialists in various fields. A new U.S. Embassy chancery compound is scheduled for completion in 2005.

A modest security assistance program that provides professional training for Ivoirian military officers in the U.S. has been suspended by the Section 508 restrictions.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

ABIDJAN (E) Address: 5 rue Jesse Owens, Plateau, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; APO/FPO: 2010 Abidjan Place, Dulles, VA 20189-2010; Phone: (225) 20.21.09.79; Fax: (225) 20.22.32.59; INMARSAT Tel: 8816-3145-4594 (Iridium); Workweek: 8:00-17:00; Web-site: http://usembassy.state.gov/abidjan/

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

October 4, 2004

Country Description: Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is a developing country on the western coast of Africa. The official capital is Yamoussoukro. Tourist facilities in and near Abidjan, the commercial capital, are good; accommodations elsewhere are limited in quality and availability.

Entry/Exit Requirements: A passport is required. U.S. citizens traveling to Côte d'Ivoire for business or tourism do not require visas for stays of 90 days or less. Those intending to stay for longer than 90 days may still enter without a visa, but they then must apply for a "visa de sejour" or "carte de sejour" within 90 days of their arrival. (Note: "Cartes de sejour" are not issued to children under the age of 16; minors under 16 are covered under their parents' "cartes de sejour.") An international health certificate showing current yellow fever immunization is required for entry into Côte d'Ivoire; without it, the traveler may be required to be vaccinated at the airport health office before clearing immigration. The cost of the immunization is 15,000 cfa at this time.

Foreign travelers arriving at or departing from Abidjan's international airport or over land borders sometimes experience harassment from customs or immigration officials. Individuals may approach the travelers within the customs and immigration areas and offer to complete their immigration forms and expedite the passport control and customs clearing processes. Afterward, the individual demands an exorbitant fee, both for himself and for the passport and customs officers. Travelers to Côte d'Ivoire are advised that there is no need to pay a police officer or customs officer at the airport for any service rendered during an arrival or departure, and they should not surrender their passports or other important documents to anyone except to easily identifiable government officials in uniform.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

Travelers may obtain the latest information and details on entry requirements from the Embassy of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, 2424 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007, telephone (202) 797-0300. There are honorary consulates for Côte d'Ivoire in San Francisco, Stamford, Orlando, Houston and Detroit. Overseas, inquiries should be made at the nearest Ivoirian embassy or consulate.

Safety and Security: Côte d'Ivoire has experienced an extended period of instability since a military coup d'état in 1999. In September 2002, a large-scale military rebellion divided the country. Under the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement of January 2003, the former rebels, now known as the New Forces, entered the government. However, New Force elements continue to control the north of the country above an east-west line running just south of Bouake, the country's second largest city. In the west, the New Forces also continue to control the cities of Man and Danane and a strip of territory running along the border with Liberia. There are armed forces and volunteer barricades at many points on the highways through both the government-controlled and New Forces-controlled portions of the country; they check documents and frequently demand cash for permission to pass. Côte d'Ivoire's border with Liberia is closed.

Political instability has led to economic decline and high unemployment, exacerbating social tensions and creating the potential for labor unrest and civil disorder. Americans should avoid crowds and demonstrations, be aware of their surroundings, and use common sense to avoid situations and locations that could be inherently dangerous. Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis are ongoing. However, further coup attempts or the resumption of hostilities cannot be ruled out.

Recreational Safety: Swimming in coastal waters is dangerous and strongly discouraged, even for excellent swimmers. The ocean currents along the coast are powerful and treacherous, and numerous drownings occur each year.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: Crime continues to be a major security threat for Americans living in Côte d'Ivoire. Street crime of the "grab and run" variety, as well as pick pocketing in crowded areas, is widespread. Armed carjacking, robberies of businesses and restaurants, and home invasions are very common, and they are often targeted at expatriate residents who are perceived as wealthy. Armed criminals have used force when faced with resistance. Travelers displaying jewelry and carrying cameras are especially at risk. Travelers have found it advisable to carry only limited amounts of cash and only photocopies of key documents.

Travel outside of Abidjan or at night is strongly discouraged, and it is particularly dangerous to visit Abidjan's Treichville, Adjame, Abobo, and Plateau districts after dark. The DeGaulle and Houphouet-Boigny bridges, which cross the lagoon in Abidjan, are dangerous areas for pedestrians. Inadequate resources and training reduce the ability of the police to apprehend criminals and deter crimes. Many hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and supermarkets provide security guards to protect clients and vehicles.

Use of credit cards in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly outside Abidjan, is limited. Despite this reduced usage, credit card fraud is an increasing problem in Abidjan. Unless the credit card transaction is electronically performed in view of the individual, travelers are strongly discouraged from using their credit cards in paper transactions.

The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately both to the local police and to the U.S. Embassy. If you are the victim of a crime in Côte d'Ivoire, immediately report the crime to local police and contact the U.S. Embassy at 2021-0979, extension 6000. The staff of the Consular Section can assist you in a number of ways, such as finding appropriate medical care, contacting family members or friends, and explaining how funds can be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can also help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney, if needed.

U.S. citizens may refer to the Department of State's pamphlets, A Safe Trip Abroad and Tips for Travelers to Sub-Saharan Africa, for ways to promote a trouble-free journey. The pamphlet is available by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, via the Internet at http://www.gpoaccess.gov, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs Home Page at http://travel.state.gov.

Business Fraud: Perpetrators of business fraud often target foreigners, including Americans. While such fraud schemes in the past have been largely associated with Nigeria, they are now prevalent throughout West Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire. The scams pose a danger of grave financial loss. Typically, these scam operations begin with an unsolicited communication (usually by e-mail) from an unknown individual who describes a situation that promises quick financial gain, often by assisting in the transfer of a large sum of money or valuables out of the country. A series of "advance fees" must then be paid in order to conclude the transaction; for example, fees to provide legal documents or to pay certain taxes. In fact, the final payoff does not exist; the purpose of the scam is simply to collect the advance fees. One common variation of this scheme involves individuals claiming to be refugees or other victims of various western African conflicts (notably Sierra Leone) who contact U.S. citizens to request their help in transferring large sums of money out of Côte d'Ivoire. Another typical ploy has persons claiming to be related to present or former political leaders who need assistance to transfer large sums of cash. Other variations include what appear to be legitimate business deals requiring advance payments on contracts. Sometimes, perpetrators manage to induce victims to provide bank account and credit card information and financial authorization that allow them to drain the accounts and incur large debts against the victim's credit. In many instances, victims have lost their life savings.

The best way to avoid becoming a victim of advance-fee fraud is common sense—if a proposition looks too good to be true, it probably is. Any unsolicited business proposal originating from Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, or any other source, should be carefully checked and researched before any funds are committed, any goods or services are provided, or any travel is undertaken. One common indicator of a possible scam is the phone number provided to the scam victim; legitimate businesses and offices should be able to provide fixed telephone numbers, while scams typically use only cell phone numbers. In Côte d'Ivoire, all cell phone numbers start with the number zero.

To date, the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan is unaware of any scam victim who has been able to recover money lost through these scams. The Department of State's brochure "Advance Fee Business Scams" is available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs web-site at http://travel.state.gov. Single copies are available at no charge by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Office of Overseas Citizens Services Room 4811, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-4818.

Medical Facilities: In Abidjan, privately-run medical and dental facilities are adequate but do not fully meet U.S. standards. Good physician specialists can be found, though few speak English. Pharmacies are well-stocked with medications produced in Europe, though newer drugs may not be available. Medical care in Côte d'Ivoire outside of Abidjan is extremely limited.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. U.S. medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Further, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. However, many travel agents and private companies offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas, including emergency services such as medical evacuations.

When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of 50,000 dollars (US). Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, please ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas healthcare provider or if you will be reimbursed later for expenses that you incur. Some insurance policies also include coverage for psychiatric treatment and for disposition of remains in the event of death.

Useful information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page.

Other Health Information: Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. Chloroquine resistant P. falciparum malaria is a severe form of the disease that is found in many parts of western Africa, including Côte d'Ivoire. Because travelers to Côte d'Ivoire are at high risk for contracting malaria they should take one of the following antimalarial drugs: mefloquine (Lariam^tm), doxycycline, or atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone^tm), as well as other protective measures to prevent insect bites, such as the use of insect repellent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined that a traveler who is on an appropriate antimalaria drug has a greatly reduced chance of contracting the disease. In addition, other personal protective measures, such as the use of insect repellents, help to reduce malaria risk. Travelers who become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in a malaria-risk area and up to one year after returning home should seek prompt medical attention and tell the physician their travel history and what antimalarials they have been taking. For additional information on malaria, protection from insect bites, and antimalarials, please see the CDC Travelers' Health website at: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malinfo.htm.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Côte d'Ivoire is provided for general reference only, and it may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Safety of public transportation: Poor
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Fair
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Availability of Roadside Assistance: Poor

Automobile accidents are one of the greatest threats to the well-being of Americans in Côte d'Ivoire. Night driving is particularly hazardous due to poorly lit roads and vehicles. Direct or indirect requests for bribes from the police and other security officials are commonplace, especially at highway checkpoints and near Abidjan's airport.

For additional general information about road travel in Côte d'Ivoire, please see the U.S. Embassy's web site at http://usembassy.state.gov/abidjan/wwwusafety.doc. For additional general information about road safety, including links to foreign government sites, please see the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_roadsafety.html.

Air Travel: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed the Government of Côte d'Ivoire's civil aviation authority as Category 2 — not in compliance with international aviation safety standards for the oversight of Côte d'Ivoire's air carrier operations. While consultations to correct the deficiencies are ongoing, the Ivorian air carriers currently flying to the U.S. will be subject to heightened FAA surveillance. No additional flights or new service to the U.S. by Côte d'Ivoire's air carriers will be permitted unless they arrange to have the flights conducted by an air carrier from a country meeting international safety standards. For further information, travelers may contact the Department of Transportation within the U.S. at 1-800-322-7873, or visit the FAA's Internet website at http://www.faa.gov/avr/iasa/index.cfm.

Airline travel in western Africa is routinely overbooked; schedules are limited, and airline service is of varying quality. Passengers should get the required seat reconfirmation stamped on the ticket, ensure that they have emergency funds for food and lodging in the event of unexpected delays, and arrive at the airport at least two hours before the scheduled departure time.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Ivorian law, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned.

Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Côte d'Ivoire are strict, and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines. Under the PROTECT Act of April 2003, it is a crime, prosecutable in the United States, for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien, to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18, whether or not the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident alien intended to engage in such illicit sexual conduct prior to going abroad. For purposes of the PROTECT Act, illicit sexual conduct includes any commercial sex act in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18. The law defines a commercial sex act as any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by a person under the age of 18.

Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, it is a crime to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transmit information about a minor under the age of 16 for criminal sexual purposes that include, among other things, the production of child pornography. This same law makes it a crime to use any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transport obscene materials to minors under the age of 16.

Americans who are arrested in Côte d'Ivoire for any reason should request that the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan be notified immediately at 2021-0979, extension 6000.

Customs Regulations: Côte d'Ivoire's customs authorities encourage the use of an ATA (Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission) Carnet for the temporary admission of professional equipment, commercial samples, and/or goods for exhibitions and fair purposes. ATA Carnet Headquarters located at the U.S. Council for International Business, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, issues and guarantees the ATA Carnet in the United States.

For additional information, please call (212) 354-4480, send an e-mail to [email protected], or visit http://www.uscib.org for details.

In many countries around the world, counterfeit and pirated goods are widely available. Transactions involving such products are illegal and bringing them back to the United States may result in forfeitures and/or fines. A current list of those countries with serious problems in this regard can be found here.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to our Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/family/index.html or telephone Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747.

Registration/Embassy Location: Americans living or traveling in Côte d'Ivoire are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Côte d'Ivoire. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, you'll make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact you in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located in Abidjan at 5 Rue Jesse Owens, mailing address 01 B.P. 1712, Abidjan 01, Côte d'Ivoire, telephone (225) 20-21-09-79, consular fax (225) 20-22-45-23, central fax (225) 20-22-32-59; website: http://usembassy.state.gov/abidjan. Check the website for American Citizen Services hours; for emergencies, a duty officer is available at all times.

Travel Warning

December 3, 2004

This Travel Warning is being issued to update U.S. citizens on the current unrest that is occurring in Côte d'Ivoire and to alert them to ongoing safety and security concerns. Because of the recent violence and the unsettled security situation, the Department of State has authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and all eligible family members of U.S. Embassy personnel. The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Côte d'Ivoire. The airport has re-opened, but only to limited commercial traffic by some regional and European carriers. Land routes to the Ghanaian border remain open but travelers should consult the Embassy before planning to cross the border by road.

On November 4, 2004, government forces launched aerial attacks on cities in northern Côte d'Ivoire controlled by New Forces. The attacks resulted in the deaths of Ivorians and non-Ivorians. The situation remains volatile and there is the risk of conflict throughout the country. Cell phone, landline telephone communication and electrical services with the northern New Forces-held city of Bouaké and surrounding areas may be—intermittent.

There have been numerous violent incidents in Abidjan that have been directed against people of non-Ivorian appearance, specific diplomatic missions, and foreign military and international peacekeeping operations. Anti-foreign attacks have resulted in deaths and serious injuries to persons and property. Individuals have been pulled from vehicles, businesses and schools entered and sometimes destroyed, and families harassed.

Embassy employees have been instructed to keep travel within Abidjan to a minimum, try not to be out after 6 p.m., and to restrict their movements to several centrally located areas. Private American citizens are urged to follow the same guidelines. Americans should also be sure that their vehicles are fully fueled, and that they have adequate cooking fuel, food, and water for several days.

On November 10, the Department of State authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and all eligible family members. U.S. citizens who remain in Côte d'Ivoire despite this Travel Warning should consult the Department of State's latest Consular Information Sheet for Côte d'Ivoire and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may also obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States or Canada or 1-317-472-2328 from overseas.

The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan may close temporarily for general business from time to time to review its security posture. For the status of visa services please consult the Embassy website at http://usembassy.state.gov/Abidjan. American citizens visiting or resident in Côte d'Ivoire are encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy by calling (225) 20-21-09-79, by fax at (225) 20-22-45-23, or by completing a registration form on-line at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp.

American citizens in Côte d'Ivoire who are in need of assistance should contact the embassy by calling (225) 20-21-09-79.

For additional information, call the Overseas Citizens Services call center at 888-407-4747 and consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Côte d'Ivoire, available via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. Please see also the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement.

International Adoption

January 2005

The information below has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this circular relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

Availability of Children for Adoption: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visas issued to orphans:

FY-1997: IR-3 immigrant visas issued to Ivoirian orphans adopted abroad—0; IR-4 immigrant visas issued to Ivoirian orphans adopted in the U.S.—0

FY-1998: IR-3 Visas—0,
IR-4 Visas – 0
FY-1999: IR-3 Visas—1,
IR-4 Visas – 11
FY-2000: IR-3 Visas—0,
IR-4 Visas – 1
FY-2001: IR-3 Visas—0,
IR-4 Visas—2

Ivoirian Adoption Authority: The government offices responsible for adoption in Côte d'Ivoire are the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice. All requests are submitted to the Court of Justice for final review, and if approved, issuance of an Adoption decrees.

Ivoirian Adoption Procedures: Persons interested in adopting in Côte d'Ivoire must first identify a child available for adoption. This can be done with the assistance of the Ivoirian Department of Social Welfare, or by contacting directly the administration of an orphanage.

Once the adoptive parent(s) has identified a child who meets his/her criteria, the orphanage's administrator transmits the case to the Department of Social Welfare, which will conduct a home study. Upon completion of the home study, the Department drafts its recommendation based on the out-come and forwards the file to the court for adjudication. A first hearing is scheduled by the "Judge of Guard-ianship" to verify the circumstances and ascertain the intent for adoption expressed both by the biological and adoptive parent(s). After a satisfactory review, a second hearing is scheduled wherein the judge issues a preliminary decree called "Ordonnance de Garde Juridique en vue d'Adoption." A final adoption request may be introduced by the adoptive parents upon the completion of a compulsory six-month period during which they have lived with the adopted child. Therefore, in light of the above requirements (home study and integration period), the court expects the prospective adoptive parent(s) to establish residency in Côte d'Ivoire.

Age and Civil Status Requirements: Ivoirian adoption law states that the prospective parent(s) must be at least 30 years old, and at least one must be 15 years older than the adoptive child. A prospective adoptive couple may be eligible if married for at least 5 years and both spouses must expressly consent to the adoption.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: There are no private adoption agencies in Côte d'Ivoire. All adoption matters are processed through the channel of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice, and their respective agencies.

Ivoirian Documentary Requirements: The documentary requirements for foreign adoptions in Côte d'Ivoire are as follows:

• The prospective parent(s) should address a written request either to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare or directly to the court having jurisdiction if the child has already been identified. In the request, the adoptive parent(s) must give the reasons for their desire to adopt and must indicate the age and the gender of the child;
• Birth certificates of the adoptive parent(s);
• Marriage certificate for married couple;
• Proof of income;
• Medical certificate confirming sterility if this is the basis for adoption;
• Recommendation of the social welfare service of the local administration following a home study at the place of residence, with details about the prospective adoptive parents, history of their marriage, living conditions, family and personal motivation for adoption, and income;
• Consent for adoption in writing with the signature(s) of the biological parent(s), if known, duly attested by a Notary Public.

Authentication Process: All documents above must be authenticated. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family.

U.S. Immigration Requirements: An Ivoirian child adopted by an U.S. citizen must obtain an immigrant visa before he or she can enter the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident.

Doctors: The U.S. Embassy maintains current list of doctors, should either you or your child experience health problems while in Côte d'Ivoire.

Ivoirian Embassy in the United States:

Embassy of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
2424 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: (202) 797-0300

U.S. Embassy in Côte D'ivoire:
U.S. Embassy Abidjan
Consular Section
5 Rue Jesse Owens
01 BP 1712, Abidjan 01
Côte d'Ivoire
Tel: (225) 20-21-09-79, Ext. 6594;
Fax: (225) 20-22-45-23
Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM