Cote d'Ivoire

• 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

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

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

0.971 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.014 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.933 male(s)/female

total population:

0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

noun:

Ivoirian(s)

adjective:

Ivoirian

conventional long form:

Republic of Cote d'Ivoire

conventional short form:

Cote d'Ivoire

local long form:

Republique de Cote d'Ivoire

local short form:

Cote d'Ivoire

note: pronounced coat-div-whar

former:

Ivory Coast

name:

Yamoussoukro

geographic coordinates:

6 49 N, 5 17 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

note: although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the commercial and administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan

• based on French civil law system and customary law;
• judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

chief of state:

President Laurent GBAGBO (since 26 October 2000)

head of government:

Prime Minister Guillaume SORO (since 4 April 2007)

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
• note - under the current power-sharing agreement the prime minister and the president share the authority to appoint ministers

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits);
• election last held 26 October 2000 (next to be held by October 2007, after the government postponed elections in 2005 and 2006 and the UN Security Council voted to extend its mandate);
• prime minister appointed by the president (current Prime Minister BANNY was appointed by African Union mediators as part of the existing power-sharing agreement)

election results:

Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2%

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers:
  • Judicial Chamber for criminal cases,
  • Audit Chamber for financial cases,
  • Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases,
  • and Administrative Chamber for civil cases
  ;
• there is no legal limit to the number of members

• Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Theodore MEL EG];
• Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally or PDCI-RDA [Henri Konan BEDIE];
• Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Laurent GBAGBO];
• Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE];
• Opposition Movement of the Future or MFA [Anaky KOBENAN];
• Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane OUATTARA];
• Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Mabri TOIKEUSE];
• over 20 smaller parties

• Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Serges KOFFI];
• Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP [Alphonse DJEDJE MADY];
• Young Patriots [Charles BLE GOUDE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Daouda DIABATE

chancery:

3421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-0300

FAX:

[1] (202) 244-3088

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS

embassy:

Riviera Golf 01, Abidjan

mailing address:

B. P. 1866, Abidjan 01

telephone:

[225] 20 21 09 79

FAX:

[225] 20 22 32 59

• three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green;
• similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange;
• also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red;
• design was based on the flag of France

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

34% (2002)

general assessment:

• well developed by African standards;
• telecommunications sector privatized in late 1990s;
• mobile cellular usage has increased to 23 per 100 persons;
• fixed-line connections stand at about 2 per 100 persons

domestic:

open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized

international:

• country code - 225;
• landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2007)

total:

660 km

narrow gauge:

660 km 1.000 meter gauge

note: an additional 622 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso (2006)

total:

80,000 km

paved:

6,500 km

unpaved:

73,500 km

note: includes intercity and urban roads; another 20,000 km of dirt roads are in poor condition and 150,000 km of dirt roads are impassable (2006)

males age 18-49:

3,696,106

females age 18-49:

3,569,967 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

1,973,265

females age 18-49:

1,911,777 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

189,354

females age 18-49:

192,600 (2005 est.)

• despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict there has displaced hundreds of thousands of Ivorians in and out of the country as well as driven out migrants from neighboring states who worked in Ivorian cocoa plantations;
• Ivorian rebels reportedly hide along the borders of neighboring states

refugees (country of origin):

39,919 (Liberia)

IDPs:

750,000 (2002 coup; most IDPs are in western regions) (2006)

• illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption;
• utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability;
• while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center