Cote d'Ivoire Missions
 Capital
Yamoussoukro (106,800, 1988 est.)
System of Government
Multiparty Republic
Area
322,463 Sq Km (124,504 Sq Mi) (slightly larger than New Mexico)
Estimated 2000 Population
16,310,500
Geography
Côte d’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast, is located on the south coast of West Africa. It is bound by Liberia and Guinea to the west, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Ghana to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The country is a mix of plains and low hills with a small mountainous area to the west. The country is fairly flat, and there are remnants of the rainforests that once covered the entire area.
 Climate
Côte d’Ivoire climate is tropical along the coast and semiarid in the far north. There are three seasons: warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October). Average temperatures in Abidjan are from 72 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit all year.
People
The population consists of more than 60 ethnic groups which are divided into seven principal cluster groups: the Akan, Krou, Lagoon, Nuclear-Mande, Peripheral-Mande, Senoufo and the Lobi. In addition, there are small numbers of Lebanese and French.
Vital Statistics
Life Expectancy at Birth: 52.0 years male, 56.0 years female (1990). Infant Mortality Rate: 88.0 per 1,000 live births (1990). HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 10.76% (1999 est.).
Religions
About 60% of the Côte d’Ivoire population follow local native tribal beliefs, 20% are Muslims, and 20% are Christians, of which Roman Catholics represent 15% and the remainder are Protestants. The foreign migratory workers are 70% Muslim and 20% Christian. The large influx of job-seekers presents many opportunities for evangelizing those separated from the strong ties of their tribal cultures.
Languages
The official language is French, although there are 60 local African languages spoken throughout the country with the four principal ones being Agni, Baoule, Senoufo and Malinke-Bambara-Dioula.
History
Until the 19th century, European contact with Côte d’Ivoire was confined to the coast, where French and Portuguese traders sought slaves and ivory. In the 1830’s, the French began signing treaties with coastal chiefs, allowing France to build forts and trading posts. As the European rush to divide Africa accelerated, France claimed Côte d’Ivoire as a colony in 1893. It remained a French protectorate until 1958 when French President de Gaulle organized a referendum for the Ivory Coast to join the French Community or achieve immediate independence. The Ivory Coast voted to become a self-governing republic in the French Community. Political life in Cote d’Ivoire was dominated by Dr. Félix Houphouët- Boigny from 1960 until his death in 1993. He was the sole candidate for the presidency at every election until 1990, and his party was the only legal political party until then. During his years in power, President Houphouët -Boigny guided the economic and political evolution of the country without any effective challenge to his rule. In 1990 economic restructuring provoked nationwide unrest and strikes which forced the president to legalize opposition parties and hold multiparty elections. In October 1990 President Houphouët-Boigny was re-elected president in the country’s first multiparty elections. In 1993 he died, after serving as President since independence. On December 25, 1999 a military coup overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan Bedie. In October 2000, Laurent Gbagbo replaced junta leader Robert Guei as president, ending ten months of military rule.
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