Ivory Coast: The Paris of West Africa

Côte d’Ivoire is a West African country with beach resorts, rainforests and a French-colonial legacy. Abidjan, on the Atlantic coast, is the country’s major urban center. Its modern landmarks include zigguratlike, concrete La Pyramide and St. Paul’s Cathedral, a swooping structure tethered to a massive cross. North of the central business district, Banco National Park is a rainforest preserve with hiking trails.

The Ivory Coast is recorded to have over 1,200 animal species including 223 mammals, 702 birds, 125 reptiles, 38 amphibians, and 111 species of fish, alongside 4,700 plant species. It is the most biodiverse country in West Africa, with the majority of its wildlife populating living in the nation’s rugged interior.The nation has nine national parks, the largest of which is Assgny National Park, which occupies an area of around 17,000 hectares or 42,000 acres.

Basilica Of Our Lady of Peace Located in the Yamoussoukro city and listed as the World’s Largest Basilica in Guinness World Records, the church was designed by architect Pierre Fakhoury. The basilica is built of marble imported from Italy and furnished with contemporary stained glass. It can accommodate around 18000 devotees. — Basilica Of Our Lady of Peace
Located in the Yamoussoukro city and listed as the World’s Largest Basilica in Guinness World Records, the church was designed by architect Pierre Fakhoury. The basilica is built of marble imported from Italy and furnished with contemporary stained glass. It can accommodate around 18000 devotees.

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire,^[a] officially the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa. Ivory Coast’s political capital is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south. The official language of the republic is French, with local indigenous languages also being widely used that include Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has large populations of the adherents of Christianity, Islam and various indigenous religions.

La Cascade Waterfall One of the loveliest waterfalls, the path craves through the bamboo forest and coffee plantations, littered with butterflies and dragon flies. The cool and refreshing air will make you experience peace in true sense. — **La Cascade Waterfall**
One of the loveliest waterfalls, the path craves through the bamboo forest and coffee plantations, littered with butterflies and dragon flies. The cool and refreshing air will make you experience peace in true sense.

Official Name:

Republique du Côte d’Ivoire

short form: Côte d’Ivoire

int’l long form: Republic of Cote d’Ivoire

int’l short form: Cote d’Ivoire (or Ivory Coast)

ISO Country Code: ci, CIV

Time:

Local Time = UTC +0h

Actual Time: Thu-June-24 19:44

Country Calling Code: +225

Capital City: Yamoussoukro,

Abidjan (the economic capital and de facto political capital)

Other Cities: Bouaké, Daloa, Gagnoa, Korhogo, Man, San Pedro.

Government:

Type: Republic.

Independence: 7 August 1960.

Geography:

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia.

Area: 322,500 km² (124 500 sq. mi.)

Terrain: Forested, undulating, hilly in the west.

Climate: Tropical, semiarid in far north.

People:

Nationality: Ivoirian(s).

Population: 22.7 million (2015)

Ethnic groups: More than 60; main groups are Akan 40%, Voltaiques (Gur) 18%, Northern Mandes 17%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 3%.

Religions: Indigenous 10%-20%, Muslim 35%-40%, Christian 25%-35%.

Languages: French (official); five principal language groups, the main ones are Diula (Dioula), Baule (Baoulé), Dan, Anyin and Senari.

Named as the ‘The Paris of West Africa’ , the city of Abidjan itself has a lot to explore. It is among the best cities of Africa, and full of life and color. Art, beaches, shopping, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs having one of the liveliest night life makes Abidjan even more vibrant.

Literacy: 50%

Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower.

Agriculture products: main export goods are coffee and cocoa beans,

other products are: bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber and timber.

Industries: Foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity, ship construction and repair.

Exports – commodities: cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish.

Exports partners: USA 8.5%, Netherlands 6.2%, France 5.6%, Germany 5.6%, Nigeria 5.5%, Burkina Faso 5.5%, Belgium 5.3%, India 4.6%, Ghana 4.4%, Switzerland 4.1% (2015)

Imports – commodities: fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs.

Imports partners: Nigeria 21.9%, China 14.4%, France 11.4%, Bahamas, The 5% (2015)

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)

The country contains six terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean montane forests, Western Guinean lowland forests, Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, and Guinean mangroves.^[78] It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.64/10, ranking it 143rd globally out of 172 countries.

Ivory Coast has, for the region, a relatively high income per capita (US$1,662 in 2017) and plays a key role in transit trade for neighbouring, landlocked countries. The country is the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union, constituting 40% of the monetary union’s total GDP. The country is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa beans, and the fourth-largest exporter of goods, in general, in sub-Saharan Africa (following South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola).

According to Wikipedia, Since 2011, Ivory Coast has been administratively organised into 12 districts plus two district-level autonomous cities. The districts are divided into 31 regions; the regions are divided into 108 departments; and the departments are divided into 510 sub-prefectures.^[73] In some instances, multiple villages are organised into communes. The autonomous districts are not divided into regions, but they do contain departments, sub-prefectures, and communes.

Since 2011, governors for the 12 non-autonomous districts have not been appointed. As a result, these districts have not yet begun to function as governmental entities.

Source: Britannica, Wikipedia, Google, Pinterest, travel guide