_#_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
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, diamonds, manganese, iron ore,
cobalt, bauxite, copper
_#_Land use: arable land 9%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures
9%; forest and woodland 26%; other 52%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; severe
deforestation
_*_People
_#_Population: 12,977,909 (July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 97 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 6.8 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Ivorian(s); adjective--Ivorian
_#_Ethnic divisions: over 60 ethnic groups; most important are the
Baoule 23%, Bete 18%, Senoufou 15%, Malinke 11%, and Agni; foreign
Africans, mostly Burkinabe about 2 million; non-Africans about 130,000 to
330,000 (French 30,000 and Lebanese 100,000 to 300,000)
_#_Religion: indigenous 63%, Muslim 25%, Christian 12%,
_#_Language: French (official), over 60 native dialects; Dioula most
widely spoken
_#_Literacy: 54% (male 67%, female 40%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 5,718,000; over 85% of population engaged in
agriculture, forestry, livestock raising; about 11% of labor force are
wage earners, nearly half in agriculture and the remainder in government,
industry, commerce, and professions; 54% of population of working age
(1985)
_#_Organized labor: 20% of wage labor force
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of the Ivory Coast; note--the local
official name is Republique de Cote d'Ivoire
_#_Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960
_#_Capital: Abidjan (capital city changed to Yamoussoukro in March
1983 but not recognized by US)
_#_Administrative divisions: 49 departments (departements,
singular--(departement); Abengourou, Abidjan, Aboisso, Adzope,
Agboville, Bangolo, Beoumi, Biankouma, Bondoukou, Bongouanou,
Bouafle, Bouake, Bouna, Boundiali, Dabakala, Daloa, Danane,
Daoukro, Dimbokro, Divo, Duekoue, Ferkessedougou, Gagnoa,
Grand-Lahou, Guiglo, Issia, Katiola, Korhogo, Lakota,
Man, Mankono, Mbahiakro, Odienne, Oume, Sakassou, San-Pedro,
Sassandra, Seguela, Sinfra, Soubre, Tabou, Tanda, Tengrela,
Tiassale, Touba, Toumodi, Vavoua, Yamoussoukro, Zuenoula
_#_Independence: 7 August 1960 (from France)
_#_Constitution: 3 November 1960
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system and customary law;
judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: National Day, 7 December
_#_Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Dr. Felix
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY (since 27 November 1960); Prime Minister Allassane
OUATTARE (since 7 November 1990)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI), Dr. Felix
HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY;
Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Laurent GBAGBO;
Ivorian Worker's Party (PIT), Francis WODIE;
Ivorian Socialist Party (PSI), Morifere BAMBA;
over 20 smaller parties
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 21
_#_Elections:
President--last held 28 October 1990 (next to be held October
1995);
results--President Felix HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY received 81% of the vote
in his first contested election; he is currently serving his seventh
consecutive five-year term;
National Assembly--last held 25 November 1990 (next to be held
November 1995);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(175 total) PDCI 163, FPI 9, PIT 1, independents 2
_#_Communists: no Communist party; possibly some sympathizers
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO,
FZ, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Charles GOMIS; Chancery at
2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
797-0300;
US--Ambassador Kenneth L. BROWN; Embassy at 5 Rue Jesse Owens,
Abidjan (mailing address is 01 B. P. 1712, Abidjan); telephone [225]
21-09-79 or 21-46-72
_#_Flag: 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
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Ivory Coast is among the world's largest producers
and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm-kernel oil. Consequently,
the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices
for coffee and cocoa and to weather conditions. Despite attempts by the
government to diversify, the economy is still largely dependent on
agriculture and related industries. The agricultural sector accounts for
over one-third of GDP and about 80% of export earnings and employs about
85% of the labor force. A collapse of world cocoa and coffee prices in
1986 threw the economy into a recession, from which the country had not
recovered by 1990.
_#_GDP: $10 billion, per capita $800; real growth rate - 2.9% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 14% (1985)
_#_Budget: revenues $2.8 billion (1989 est.); expenditures $4.1
billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--cocoa 30%, coffee 20%, tropical woods 11%, cotton,
bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton;
partners--France, FRG, Netherlands, US, Belgium, Spain (1985)
_#_Imports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods and semifinished products 50%,
consumer goods 40%, raw materials and fuels 10%;
partners--France, other EC, Nigeria, US, Japan (1985)
_#_External debt: $15.0 billion (1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 6% (1989); accounts for
17% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 1,081,000 kW capacity; 2,440 million kWh produced,
210 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: foodstuffs, wood processing, oil refinery, automobile
assembly, textiles, fertilizer, beverage
_#_Agriculture: most important sector, contributing one-third to GDP
and 80% to exports; cash crops include coffee, cocoa beans, timber,
bananas, palm kernels, rubber; food crops--corn, rice, manioc, sweet
potatoes; not self-sufficient in bread grain and dairy products
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis on a small scale for
the international drug trade
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $356
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $4.9 billion
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)
per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85
(1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 660 km (Burkina border to Abidjan, 1.00-meter gauge,
single track, except 25 km Abidjan-Anyama section is double track)
_#_Highways: 46,600 km total; 3,600 km bituminous and
bituminous-treated surface; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite,
and improved earth; 11,000 km unimproved
_#_Inland waterways: 980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous
coastal lagoons
_#_Ports: Abidjan, San-Pedro
_#_Merchant marine: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,945 GRT/
90,684 DWT; includes 5 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
tanker, 1 chemical tanker
_#_Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft, including multinationally
owned Air Afrique fleet
_#_Airports: 48 total, 41 usable; 7 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 16 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: system above African average; consists of
open-wire lines and radio relay links; 87,700 telephones; stations--3 AM,
17 FM, 11 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 2 coaxial
submarine cables
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie,
Presidential Guard
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,981,269; 1,543,412 fit for
military service; 145,693 males reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $199 million, 2.3% of GDP (1988)
_%_
_@_Jamaica
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 1,022 km
_#_Maritime claims: