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Côte d'Ivoire:
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Other pages in this profile of Côte d'Ivoire:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.
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Background |
Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country, and in January 2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President GBAGBO and rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a three-month stalemate, but issues that sparked the civil war, such as land reform and grounds for citizenship, remain unresolved. The central government has yet to exert control over the northern regions and tensions remain high between GBAGBO and opposition leaders. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace and facilitate the disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation process. |
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Location |
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia |
Geographic coordinates |
8 00 N, 5 00 W |
Map references |
Africa |
Area |
total: 322,460 sq km land: 318,000 sq km water: 4,460 sq km |
Area - comparative |
slightly larger than New Mexico |
Land boundaries |
total: 3,110 km border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km |
Coastline |
515 km |
Maritime claims |
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Climate |
tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October) |
Terrain |
mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest |
Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
Natural resources |
petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower |
Land use |
arable land: 10.23% permanent crops: 11.16% other: 78.61% (2005) |
Irrigated land |
730 sq km (2003) |
Natural hazards |
coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
Environment - current issues |
deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents |
Environment - international agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note |
most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated |
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