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| Official
Name : |
RÉPUBLIQUE
DE LA CÔTE D'IVOIRE (Republic of Côte d'Ivoire) |
| Land
Area: |
322,463
square kilometres / 124,470 square miles. |
| Population: |
16,804,800
(est July 2002). Density 50 persons per square km. |
| Languages: |
French
(official), Baoulé, Agni, Mandé, Malinké, Senoufo, others. |
| Religions: |
Traditional 65%, Muslim 25%, Christian 10%. |
| Capital: |
Yamoussoukro.
Population 150,000 |
| Currency: |
CFA
franc, divided into 100 centimes. |
| Political: |
Strongman
Gbagbo is holding from Man/Bouaké south, aided by 4000 French troops. The
north is held by 'New Forces'. 10 months of civil war ended with a ceasefire on
July 4 2003. Most troops remain, and the north still remains (Jan '05) in control
of the New Forces. World bank and IMF opportunism has given Côte d'Ivoire,
once the 'Jewel of Africa', a massive foreign debt. Unemployment, health and civil
unrest are some of the major issues. |
| Geography: |
A narrow
coastal strip characterised by lagoons in the east, backed by a (now depleted)
equatorial and cultivated forest. Beyond this, the interior rises in the west
and northwest to 400 metres on the open savannah plateau, reaching 1752 metres
at Mt Nimba in the west. The last major stand of equatorial forest in Côte
d'Ivoire is found in the Tai National Park. |
