THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 322,463 sq km; 133,425 sq miles
Population: 16,409,950 (2001)
Capital City: Yamoussoukro (110,000)
Economic Capital: Abidjan (over 3
million)
People: 60 ethnic groups make up the
indigenous population. The Akan (42%)
with its BaoulT sub-group in the
South, is the largest. Other groups are
the STnoufou (18%) and the MandT
(29% with the Dioula sub-group) in the
North, and the Krou in the West (11%
with the BTtT sub-group).
Languages: The official language is
French, but Dioula is the principal
vernacular in the north. BaoulT and
other local languages are widely used.
Religion(s): Muslim (approx. 40%),
Christian (approx. 35%); indigenous
beliefs (approx. 25%)
Currency: CFA Franc (FCFA). Pegged
at FCFA 655.957 = euro 1.00
Major Political Parties: There are 4
major parties:
PDCI-RDC - Parti DTmocratique de
C(te d'Ivoire-Rassemblement
DTmocratique Africain
FPI û Front Populaire Ivoirien
RDR û Rassemblement des
RTpublicains
UDCPI û Union DTmocratique de la
C(te d'Ivoire
PIT - Parti Ivoirien des Travailleurs
Government: C(te d'Ivoire is a
constitutional republic with a directly
elected president and a single
parliamentary chamber. Both are
elected for five years terms. The PCDI
(98) and FPI (96) have the most
deputies in parliament.
GEOGRAPHY
C(te d'Ivoire is situated on the West
Coast of Africa and borders Liberia,
Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.
The country can broadly be divided into
two areas with beaches and forests
along the coast, and a drier savannah
region with a sub-saharan climate in
the North.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent History
C(te d'Ivoire gained independence
from France in 1960, with Felix
Houphoudt-Boigny as President and
chairman of the single ruling party, the
Parti DTmocratique de la C(te d'Ivoire
(PDCI). Houphoudt-Boigny saw himself
very much as the father of the nation,
and it was only in 1990 that a
multi-party system was established. In
the first contested presidential
election, Houphoudt-Boigny easily
defeated Laurent Gbagbo (Front
Populaire Ivoirien, FPI); another leading
politician, Alassane Ouattara, was
appointed Prime Minister.
Houphoudt-Boigny died in December
1993, and was succeeded
constitutionally by the President of the
National Assembly, Henri BTdiT, also
of the PDCI. Ouattara resigned and
went abroad to join the International
Monetary Fund.
In 1994 BTdiT introduced a new
electoral code, requiring presidential
candidates to have two Ivorian parents
and to have resided in the country for
five years before the election. Both
amendments were aimed at preventing
Ouattara from standing in the 1995
presidential election when Henri
BTdiT, and the PDCI, won an
overwhelming victory. Subsequently,
the government did little to deal with
growing student and industrial unrest
or with problems over pay and
conditions in the military. BTdiT
encouraged the concept of 'IvoiritT'.
This was initially intended to emphasise
cultural values, but one effect was
increased ethnic divisions between the
largely Muslim north and more
Christian south of the country, and
with over 25% of the population coming
from outside the country, 'IvoiritT'
proved highly divisive, particularly
during a time of economic decline.
BTdiT's popularity plummeted further
in 1998 when he introduced
constitutional amendments to lengthen
the presidential term of office, raised
the residence qualification for
presidential candidates to 10 years, and
failed to address widespread
corruption and rising crime levels.
Ouattara returned in August 1999 and
obtained a nationality certificate.
However, its cancelation in October led
to unrest, with dozens of members of
his party, the Rassemblement des
rTpublicains (RDR), arrested. In
December 1999, an army mutiny over
pay and conditions rapidly turned into a
coup led by former Chief of Staff,
General Robert Guen, who had been
dismissed from the army in 1997 for
serious disciplinary offences. BTdiT
took refuge in the French embassy.
Guen promised a rapid return to
democracy, and drafted a new
constitution, again with tough
nationality restrictions on presidential
candidates. In a referendum, 86% of
voters endorsed the constitution.
General Guen himself decided to stand
in the elections of October 2000, from
which both Ouattara and BTdiT were
banned. When preliminary results
indicated Laurent Gbagbo was winning,
Guen suspended the electoral
commission and declared himself the
winner. Gbagbo supporters staged
mass demonstrations, supported by
units of the army, and Guen fled.
Gbagbo was declared the winner by a
reinstated electoral commission, but
after he refused to accept a
suggestion by Ouattara to re-run the
election, there were several weeks of
violence, largely between northerners
and southerners. Churches and
mosques were destroyed, and dozens
of people died including 57 Ouattara
supporters whose bodies were later
found in a mass grave at Yopougon, a
suburb of Abidjan.
Legislative elections in December 2000
and municipal elections in March 2001
went relatively smoothly, but the
strong support for the PCDI and the
RDR (the latter participating in 2001
only), prompted President Gbagbo
(FPI) to hold a National Reconciliation
Forum in October 2001. Gbagbo,
BTdiT, Ouattara and Guen all attended
to agree a series of recommendations
including acceptance of the October
2000 election results. Tensions rose
after eight gendarmes were acquitted
in July 2001 of charges of killing those
buried in Yopougon, after witnesses
refused to testify. Gbagbo, Bedie,
Ouattara and Guei met again in January
2002, when it became clear that Guen
had decided to support Ouattara's case
for Ivorian nationality. Ouattara was
again granted a certificate of
nationality, but would still have been
barred from contesting the presidency
because of claims that he had held
BurkinabT citizenship. In July 2002,
there was inter-ethnic violence
between RDR and FPI supporters in the
local elections.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP per head: US$ 587 (projected
2002)
Annual Growth: -1.7% (2002)
Inflation (consumer prices): +3.2%
(2002)
Major Sectors: Agriculture: 29%,
Industry: 21.6%, Services: 49%
Agricultural Products include coffee,
cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels,
corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet
potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber,
timber.
Industries include foodstuffs,
beverages, wood products, oil refining,
truck and bus assembly, textiles,
fertilizer, building materials, electricity.
Major Trading Partners: France (13%),
US (8%), Netherlands (7%), Germany
(7%), Italy (6%) (1999) Exchange rate:
Euro 1 = 655.957 FCFA
Trade Partners UK Country Profile:
Cote D'Ivoire
According to World Bank estimates,
agriculture accounts for just over 30%
of C(te d'Ivoire's GDP. It is the world's
largest producer of cocoa, accounting
for some 40% of the global market
supply, and the fifth largest producer
of coffee. It is estimated that 650,000
farmers work solely on cocoa. In
macroeconomic terms, cocoa crops
represent 40% of GDP and 60% of
export revenues. Heavy dependence on
this sector has left the economy
vulnerable to fluctuations in prices and
revenue gained from these
commodities. There has been more
recently a concerted effort to move
towards economic diversification,
particularly in agro-industry, and
petroleum products, gas and mineral
reserves. The industrial sector
accounted for 24.8% of GDP in 1999,
while manufacturing activity has
expanded rapidly, with C(te d'Ivoire
producing a variety of goods for
domestic and regional consumption.
Services have also played a significant
role in economic growth with
transport and trade accounting for
roughly 44% of GDP.
C(te d'Ivoire remains a powerhouse
amongst francophone African
countries, accounting for 40% of GDP
produced by the Economic and
Monetary Union of West African States
(UEMOA). It also plays a crucial role in
the regional economy, primarily
through remittances earned by
immigrant workers from neighbouring
countries like Mali and Burkina Faso.
This source of revenue for regional
neighbours has been severely
undermined by the political crisis in
C(te d'Ivoire.
As a member of UEMOA, C(te
d'Ivoire's exchange rate is pegged to
the euro, with monetary policy
controlled by the Central Bank of West
African States (BCEAO). Fiscal policy
therefore remains the government's
only instrument for realising financial
stability. Having said this, C(te
d'Ivoire's exports did benefit from the
devaluation of the CFA Franc in 1994.
In February 1998 a 3-year Economic
Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF)
was agreed with the IMF. In May of the
same year, international donors agreed
to provide development assistance
worth $4.1bn to support the economic
reform programme. An EU report in
mid-1999 highlighted the fraudulent use
of EU funds in the health and
de-centralisation sectors (FCFA 18bn).
Investigations led to the arrest of about
20 senior officials and an EU auditing
team travelled to Abidjan to tackle the
issue. The affair had implications for
good governance and financial
transparency, and delayed further
consideration of the second tranche of
the ESAF.
After the coup of December 1999, the
economy went into a downward spiral.
Two factors were responsible: political
instability and a slump in world cocoa
prices. At the beginning of 2001, a new
factor came into play when donor
communities, including the IMF and the
EU, withheld payments and suspended
financial aid. This was a result of the
Ivorian government's failure to pursue
a policy of national reconciliation and to
address the human rights abuses
perpetrated by the security forces.
However in June 2001 the IMF
implemented a six-month
Staff-Monitored Programme (SMP)
after two of the critical conditions for
IMF re-engagement were met, namely:
the adoption of a prudent budget and
successful EU-C(te d'Ivoire
negotiations. Sound progress on the
SMP, including the implementation of
IMF conditions concerning domestic tax
revenue, and domestic and external
arrears, led to the resumption of IMF
financial assistance in November 2001,
under a US$366m Poverty Reduction
and Growth Facility (PRGF).
The priorities for C(te d'Ivoire under
the PRGF will include clearing domestic
and external payment arrears,
liberalisation of the oil sector,
implementing and effective
privatisation programme, financial
rehabilitation of water utility and the
restructuring of the state owned
postal savings system. C(te d'Ivoire
was expected to receive significant
debt relief by qualifying for enhanced
HIPC Decision Point at end-2002.
However the political crisis postponed
the realisation of this goal. If the
political situation is not resolved
swiftly, C(te d'Ivoire may soon face
significant economic repercussions. On
a more positive note, international
donors have offered US$433m of aid
to fund reconstruction in the country
over five years if a peace deal can be
agreed and implemented.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
C(te d'Ivoire's Relations with
Neighbours
The high proportion (over 25%) of
foreign nationals in C(te d'Ivoire, and
its strong economy, mean that it is an
important player in the region.
The Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) is playing an
active role in seeking to resolve the
current crisis. Most of C(te d'Ivoire's
immediate neighbours have been
adversely affected by the crisis, having
to cope with refugee flows, blockage
of normal trade routes, and disruption
of regional economic activity. The
danger of the instability and ethnic
tension in C(te d'Ivoire spreading to
the wider region is also a significant
issue.
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