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Ivory Coast

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Ivory Coast is a large country in West Africa.

Location Côte d'Ivoire AU Africa
Location Côte d'Ivoire AU Africa

It sits right along the Atlantic Ocean. The southern coast faces the Gulf of Guinea. To the east, it shares a border with Ghana. To the west, it meets Liberia and Guinea. To the north, it is near Mali and Burkina Faso.

Côte d'Ivoire (orthographic projection)
Côte d'Ivoire (orthographic projection)

The capital city is Yamoussoukro, located in the center. The largest city is Abidjan, which is a busy port city.

The name of the country tells a story about its past. Long ago, Portuguese explorers named the area the "Ivory Coast."

Cistones
Cistones

They did this because of the ivory trade. Other names were used too, like the "Coast of Teeth." This also referred to the ivory being traded. The French later called it Côte d'Ivoire. In 1986, the government chose this French name for official use. They wanted to use it for all international meetings.

Many different groups lived here before modern times. Several states, like the Kong Empire, were once very strong.

Arrivée à Kong-1892
Arrivée à Kong-1892

In the 1800s, France began to take control of the land. The area became a French colony in 1893. Eventually, Ivory Coast became an independent nation in 1960. Félix Houphouët-Boigny was the first leader after independence. He ruled the country for many years until 1993.

Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy
Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy

Life in Ivory Coast is very diverse. There are about 31.5 million people living there.

Districts of Côte d'Ivoire (Numbered)
Districts of Côte d'Ivoire (Numbered)

People follow many different religions, such as Islam and Christianity. They also speak many local languages, like Baoulé and Dyula. While French is the official language, there are about 78 languages spoken in total.

IslamcultCI
IslamcultCI

This makes the culture very rich and varied.

The economy relies a lot on farming. Ivory Coast is the largest exporter of cocoa beans in the world.

Cote D'ivoire Product Exports (2019)
Cote D'ivoire Product Exports (2019)

It also grows a lot of coffee. The country had an economic crisis in the 1980s. It also faced hard times during civil wars in 2002 and 2010.

Internally Displaced Persons Duekoue 2011 Cote dIvoire
Internally Displaced Persons Duekoue 2011 Cote dIvoire

Since 2011, the country has seen high economic growth. Between 2012 and 2023, the economy grew very quickly.

GDP per capita development of Ivory Coast
GDP per capita development of Ivory Coast

This growth helps the nation move forward.

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🖼️ Images & Media (24)
United States Navy Band - National Anthem...
File:Côte d'Ivoire (orthographic projection).svg
Côte d'Ivoire (orthographic projection).svg
File:Location Côte d'Ivoire AU Africa.svg
Location Côte d'Ivoire AU Africa.svg
File:Cistones.jpg
Cistones.jpg
File:Royaumes ci.jpg
Royaumes ci.jpg
File:Aouabou-Traité-1892.jpg
Aouabou-Traité-1892.jpg
File:Arrivée à Kong-1892.jpg
Arrivée à Kong-1892.jpg
File:French West Africa 1913 map.png
French West Africa 1913 map.png
File:Almamy Samory Touré.jpg
Almamy Samory Touré.jpg
File:Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy.jpg
Houphouet-Boigny Kennedy.jpg
File:059 French Foreign Legion.JPG
059 French Foreign Legion.JPG
File:Alassane Ouattara UNESCO 09-2011.jpg
Alassane Ouattara UNESCO 09-2011.jpg

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