]! ^! Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. On 25 December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Junta leader Robert GUEI held elections in late 2000, but excluded prominent opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA, blatantly rigged the polling results, and declared himself winner. Popular protest forced GUEI to step aside and brought runner-up Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivorian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002. Rebel forces claimed the northern half of the country and in January 2003 were granted ministerial positions in a unity government under the auspices of the Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord. President GBAGBO and rebel forces resumed implementation of the peace accord in December 2003 after a three-month stalemate, but issues that sparked the civil war, such as land reform and grounds for nationality remain unresolved. The central government has yet to exert control over the northern regions and tensions remain high between GBAGBO and rebel leaders. Several thousand French and West African troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to maintain peace and facilitate the disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation process. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia ^# 8 00 N, 5 00 W ^$ Africa ^% `! 322,460 sq km `" 318,000 sq km `# 4,460 sq km ^& slightly larger than New Mexico ^' `! 3,110 km `U Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km ^( 515 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm ^* 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) ^+ mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest ^, `% Gulf of Guinea 0 m `& Mont Nimba 1,752 m ^- petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower ^. `' 9.75% `( 13.84% `) 76.41% (2001) ^/ 730 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible ^1 deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated 
]# ^3 17,298,040 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 41% (male 3,490,536/female 3,596,208) `+ 56.3% (male 4,920,726/female 4,820,326) `, 2.7% (male 231,514/female 238,730) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 19.05 years `- 19.36 years `. 18.76 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.06% (2005 est.) ^7 35.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 14.94 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 0.97 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.97 male(s)/female `1 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 90.83 deaths/1,000 live births `- 107.64 deaths/1,000 live births `. 73.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 48.62 years `- 46.05 years `. 51.27 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.58 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 7% (2003 est.) ^? 570,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 47,000 (2003 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and others are high risks in some locations water contact: schistosomiasis (2004) ^A `2 Ivoirian(s) `3 Ivoirian ^B Akan 42.1%, Voltaiques or Gur 17.6%, Northern Mandes 16.5%, Krous 11%, Southern Mandes 10%, other 2.8% (includes 130,000 Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998) ^C Christian 20-30%, Muslim 35-40%, indigenous 25-40% (2001) note: the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%) ^D French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 50.9% `- 57.9% `. 43.6% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Cote d'Ivoire `5 Cote d'Ivoire `V Republique de Cote d'Ivoire `W Cote d'Ivoire `X Ivory Coast ^H republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960 ^I Yamoussoukro; note - although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the commercial and administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan ^J 19 regions; Agneby, Bafing, Bas-Sassandra, Denguele, Dix-Huit Montagnes, Fromager, Haut-Sassandra, Lacs, Lagunes, Marahoue, Moyen-Cavally, Moyen-Comoe, N'zi-Comoe, Savanes, Sud-Bandama, Sud-Comoe, Vallee du Bandama, Worodougou, Zanzan ^K 7 August 1960 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 7 August (1960) ^M new constitution adopted 4 August 2000 ^N 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 ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Laurent GBAGBO (since 26 October 2000); `7 Prime Minister Seydou DIARRA (since 25 January 2003); note - appointed as transitional Prime Minister by President GBAGBO as part of a French brokered peace plan `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president `9 president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 October 2000 (next to be held October 2005); prime minister appointed by the president `: Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (225 seats; members are elected in single- and multi-district elections by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) `9 elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on 14 January 2001 (next to be held October 2005) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FPI 96, PDCI-RDA 94, RDR 5, PIT 4, other 2, independents 22, vacant 2 note: a Senate is scheduled to be created in the next full election in 2005 ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases, Audit Chamber for financial cases, Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases, and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit to the number of members ^S Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Eg Theodore MEL]; Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally or PDCI-RDA [Henri Konan BEDIE]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Laurent GBAGBO]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane OUATTARA]; Union for Democracy and Peace or UDPCI [Paul Akoto YAO]; over 20 smaller parties ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Daouda DIABATE `O 3421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 `P [1] (202) 797-0300 `Q [1] (202) 462-9444 ^W `N Ambassador Aubrey HOOKS `Z 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan `[ B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01 `P [225] 20 21 09 79 `Q [225] 20 22 32 59 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and weather conditions. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, engaging roughly 68% of the population. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump to 5% annual growth during 1996-99. Growth was negative in 2000-03 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and severe civil war. In November 2004 the situation deteriorated when President GBAGBO's troops attacked and killed nine French peacekeeping forces, and the UN imposed an arms embargo. Political uncertainty has clouded the economic outlook for 2005, with fear among Ivorians spreading, foreign investment shriveling, businessmen fleeing, travel within the country falling, and criminal elements that traffic in weapons and diamonds gaining ground. ^Z $24.78 billion (2004 est.) ^[ -1% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2004 est.) ^] `; 27.8% `< 19.4% `= 52.8% (2004 est.) ^^ 6.7 million (68% agricultural) (2004 est.) ^` 13% in urban areas (1998) ^a 37% (1995) _! `> 3.1% `? 28.8% (1995) _d 36.7 (1995) _" 1.4% (2004 est.) _P 11.3% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $2.412 billion `A $2.767 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (2004 est.) _Q 74.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber _% foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity, ship construction and repair _& 15% (1998 est.) _' 4.759 billion kWh (2002) _( 2.976 billion kWh (2002) _) 1.45 billion kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 29,300 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 32,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 220 million bbl (2004 est.) _S 1.35 billion cu m (2001 est.) _T 1.35 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 14.87 billion cu m (2004) _X $-421.5 million (2004 est.) _/ $5.124 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish _1 US 11.6%, Netherlands 10.3%, France 9.5%, Italy 5.5%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.7% (2004) _2 $3.36 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs _4 France 24.3%, Nigeria 19.2%, UK 4% (2004) _Y $1.95 billion (2004 est.) _5 $11.81 billion (2004 est.) _6 ODA, $1 billion (1996 est.) _7 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States _8 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 328,000 (2003) _; 1.236 million (2003) _< `B well developed by African standards but operating well below capacity `C open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized `D country code - 225; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); 2 submarine cables (June 1999) _= AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (1998) _> 14 (1999) _? .ci _@ 3,795 (2004) _A 90,000 (2002) 
]' _e `! 660 km `c 660 km 1.000-meter gauge note: an additional 622 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso (2004) _B `! 50,400 km `E 4,889 km `F 45,511 km (1999 est.) _b 980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2003) _[ condensate 107 km; gas 223 km; oil 104 km (2004) _C Abidjan, Aboisso, Dabou, San-Pedro _D 37 (2004 est.) _E `! 7 `] 1 `G 2 `^ 4 (2004 est.) _L `! 30 `^ 7 `_ 15 `T 8 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Army, Navy, Air Force _M 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2004) _] males age 18-49: 3,696,106 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,973,265 (2005 est.) _^ `` 189,354 (2005 est.) _N $180.2 million (2004) _O 1.2% (2004) 
]) _H rebel and ethnic fighting against the central government in 2002 has spilled into neighboring states, driven out foreign cocoa workers from nearby countries, and, in 2004, resulted in 6,000 peacekeepers deployed as part of UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) assisting 4,000 French troops already in-country; the Ivorian Government accuses Burkina Faso and Liberia of supporting Ivorian rebels _c `d 71,711 (Liberia) IDPs: 500,000 (2002 coup; most IDPs are in western regions) (2004) _I illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin to Europe and occasionally to the US, and for Latin American cocaine destined for Europe and South Africa; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center 