Introduction to Geography of Ivory Coast
Cōte d'Ivoire, or Republique de Cōte d'Ivoire (English: Ivory Coast), a country in western Africa. Prior to becoming independent in 1960, it was part of French West Africa. Cōte d'Ivoire lies on the Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, and is bordered by Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. Its area is 124,504 square miles (322,464 km2). The country's maximum dimensions are about 400 miles (640 km) both north-south and east-west.
Physical Geography
Most of Cōte d'Ivoire consists of a flat to rolling plateau that slopes gently southward to the Gulf of Guinea and rarely attains heights of more than 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level. The only significant uplands occur along the western border, where the Nimba Mountains reach more than 5,700 feet (1,740 m). Long, narrow sandbars, backed by lagoons, fringe the eastern half of the coast. The rest is marked by low, rocky cliffs. The Cavally, Sassandra, Bandama, and Komoé rivers drain virtually all of Cōte d'Ivoire except the extreme northwest, which lies in the Niger River basin, and the extreme northeast, which is drained by the Volta River. Dams on the Bandama and Sassandra rivers provide hydroelectric power.
Cōte d'Ivoire has a tropical climate, marked by relatively high temperatures the year round and alternating wet and dry seasons. In the south, temperatures average between 75° and 85° F. (24° and 29° C.), and rainfall totals as much as 80 inches (2,000 mm) a year. There are two rainy seasons, one from early May until mid-July, the other in October and November. In the north, temperatures vary more widely, with daily averages ranging from 60° to 100° F. (16° to 38° C.), and rainfall gradually decreases to about 50 inches (1,270 mm) a year, concentrated in a single rainy season, from May through September.
Tropical forests cover much of the southern half of Cōte d'Ivoire. In the north they give way to open woodlands and savannas.
Economy
Cōte d'Ivoire is one of the more prosperous nations in Africa, with an expanding economy based primarily on agriculture. The nation maintains close economic ties with France. Since independence France has provided much of the skilled labor, managerial personnel, and private investment capital essential to economic growth.
Cōte d'Ivoire's basic currency unit is the CFA (African Financial Community) franc.
About two-thirds of the Ivorian workers are farmers, and agriculture provides most of the nation's foreign exchange earnings. Food crops—mainly rice, corn, yams, plantains, cassava, and taros—are widely grown both on the subsistence level and commercially. Production has generally kept pace with the needs of the growing population. Coffee and cacao beans are by far the chief cash and export crops. These crops are produced mainly on small farms, but plantation agriculture is also important.
Except for goats, sheep, and poultry, livestock is not widely kept by the Ivorians. Cattle raising is restricted by the tsetse, a disease-carrying fly that infests much of the country. The fishing industry is relatively well developed and has great potential for continued growth. Fish is a major source of protein, especially in the south.
Other major sectors of the economy include lumbering and manufacturing. Lumberin has contributed greatly to the nation's development since independence, with timber being a major export. Manufacturing consists mainly of agricultural processing, textile milling, petroleum refining, and the making of wood products, metal goods, and such basic chemical products as soap, paint, and fertilizer. Most of the manufacturing is done in Abidjan and Bouaké. Offshore oil fields supply part of the nation's petroleum. Other known mineral resources consist chiefly of diamonds, mined from alluvial sands along the coast, and iron ore deposits in the western uplands.
Cōte d'Ivoire's highway system is fairly extensive in the south, where most cities are accessible by paved routes. Elsewhere, most roads are unpaved. The only railway is a north-south line that links Abidjan with Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Deepwater ports are at Abidjan and San Pedro; Abidjan is the nation's chief port and one of the busiest in western Africa. The city also has an international airport.
People
In 1988 the population was 10,815,694. The largest cities are Abidjan (1,929,079) and Bouaké (329,850). Although Yamoussoukro (106,786) is the official capital, Abidjan is the actual seat of government.
Cōte d'Ivoire has more than 60 ethnic groups. The largest are the Bauolé (15 per cent of the population), Sénoufo (10 per cent), Bete (6 per cent), Agni (3 per cent), and various Mandé peoples (17 per cent). Cōte d'Ivoire has a large nonindigenous population, about 27 per cent, which includes Lebanese, French, and Mossi people (from Burkina Faso). French is the official language, but indigenous tongues predominate. Variants of Mandé are spoken throughout the country as commercial tongues. About 60 per cent of the people are animists; 25 per cent, Muslims; and 13 per cent, Christians (most of whom are Roman Catholics).
Primary schooling begins at age seven and lasts six years. It is followed by seven years of secondary school. There is an extensive system of private Roman Catholic schools. The leading institution of higher learning is the National University of Ivory Coast at Abidjan. The literacy rate is about 55 per cent.
Government
Under the constitution of 1960, Cōte d'Ivoire is a republic. The head of state is a president, directly elected for a five-year term. The president appoints the prime minister (head of government) and cabinet. The legislature is the National Assembly, whose members are elected for five-year terms. The highest court is the High Council of Judiciary. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into prefectures and autonomous municipalities.
History
The dense rain forests of Cōte d'Ivoire inhibited for centuries the development of large political states, and through much of its history the area was divided into small chief-doms. One of the earliest large states was Jaman, founded by the Abron people in the 1600's and centered around their trading city of Bondoukou in eastern Cōte d'Ivoire. In the early 1700's the Sénoufo people established a state centered around their city of Kong in northern Cōte d'Ivoire. Later in the century, the Baoulé founded a state in central Cōte d'Ivoire and the Agni established two states farther east, Indénié and Sanwi.
The first Europeans to arrive in Cōte d'Ivoire, in the late 1400's, were the Portuguese, who came to trade for gold, pepper, and ivory. The area later became a center for the slave trade. The first French trading post was built in 1687. In 1886 France took possession of the entire coastal region. During 1887--88 two French explorers, Louis Binger and Maurice Treich-Laplène, working separately, traversed the interior and signed treaties with various chiefdoms, making them protectorates and placing them nominally under French control. Although the area was not fully under French control, in 1893 France made Côte d'Ivoire a colony and Binger the first governor.
French attempts to impose their rule with military force over all of Cōte d'Ivoire met with resistance for several years. The most formidable foe was Samori Touré, who established an empire that extended over parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Cōte d'Ivoire. His empire collapsed after the French captured him in 1898. In 1904 Cōte d'Ivoire was made part of French West Africa.
The French introduced coffee and cacao plantations and a lumbering industry to make the colony self-supporting. Roman Catholic missionaries entered the colony and established many schools, which helped create an educated and Westernized elite in the indigenous population. Many members of the elite began to protest against French rule, especially its practice of forced labor, by which every adult male was forced to work 10 days each year without compensation on public works or on plantations. In 1944 Felix Houphouët-Boigny founded the African Agricultural Union, which in 1945 succeeded in getting the French to abolish forced labor.
After World War II, Houphouët-Boigny founded the Democratic party to work for independence. The country became an autonomous member of the French Community in 1958, and in 1960 became independent. Houphouët-Boigny became president, and gradually established authoritarian rule, making the Democratic party the sole legal party.
Under Houphouët-Boigny, Cōte d'Ivoire attracted Western investment, developed its resources, and became one of the more prosperous nations of Africa. The country's population was one of the continent's fastest growing, especially in the cities, as immigrants from surrounding nations, notably Mossi people from Burkina Faso, flocked to Cōte d'Ivoire for jobs. In the late 1970's, however, a worldwide drop in coffee and cocoa prices and a great increase in oil prices produced an economic decline.
Houphouët-Boigny in the 1990's faced growing resistance to his regime. In early 1990, following severe riots against austerity measures imposed by the government and growing corruption within the government, he permitted the formation of opposition parties and multiparty elections. In late 1990, in the first contested elections since independence, Houphouët-Boigny and his party won an overwhelming victory. During 1991--92 violent clashes between police and political protesters kept the country in turmoil. In 1993 Houphouët-Boigny died.
f also ABIDJAN; FLAG (color page).
