Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Ivory Coast. Most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.6 years (2011/12 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 480 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia |
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Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 5 00 W |
Map references | Africa |
Tarrain | mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest |
Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower |
Natural Hazards | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
Irrigated Land | 730 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 3,458 km |
Border Countries | Burkina Faso 545 km; Ghana 720 km; Guinea 816 km; Liberia 778 km; Mali 599 km |
Coastline | 515 km |
Climate | 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) |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 318,003 sq km |
Water Area | 4,460 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Continental shelf | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Monts Nimba 1,752 m |
Lowest point | Gulf of Guinea 0 m |
Mean elevation | 250 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 64.8% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 9.1% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 14.2% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 41.5% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 32.7% (2018 est.) |
Other | 2.5% (2018 est.) |
The population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors as shown in this population distribution map
In Ivory Coast, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Akan 38%, Voltaique or Gur 22%, Northern Mande 22%, Kru 9.1%, Southern Mande 8.6%, other 0.3% (2021 est.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 2.13% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 27.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 3.3% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | |
Total fertility rate | 3.4 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 1.67 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 27.8% (2020) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 60.3% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 3.4% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | 1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Ivoirian | Ivoirian(s) |
Languages | |
Religions | Muslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1% (2014 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 36.1% (male 5,437,108/female 5,390,782) |
15-64 years | 60.9% (male 9,200,957/female 9,060,748) |
65 years and over | 3% (2024 est.) (male 401,967/female 490,196) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 79.2 |
Youth dependency ratio | 74.9 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 4.3 |
Potential support ratio | 19.3 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 21.2 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 21.2 years |
Female | 21.2 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 53.1% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 3.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 231,000 YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) (2018), 5.686 million ABIDJAN (seat of government) (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.01 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 1.02 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.82 male(s)/female |
Total population | 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 52.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 59.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 45.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 63.2 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 60.9 years |
Female | 65.4 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 89.9% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 69.1% of population |
Improved: total | total: 79.8% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 10.1% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 30.9% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 20.2% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 77.8% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 35% of population |
Improved: total | total: 57.1% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 22.2% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 65% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 42.9% of population (2020 est.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | very high (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
Vectorborne diseases | malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024) |
Water contact diseases | schistosomiasis |
Animal contact diseases | rabies |
Respiratory diseases | meningococcal meningitis |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 1.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 1.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 0.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 9.4% (2020 est.) |
Male | 17.9% (2020 est.) |
Female | 0.9% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 7% |
Women married by age 18 | 27% |
Men married by age 18 | 3.5% (2016 est.) |
Cote d’Ivoire’s population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future because almost 60% of the populace is younger than 25 as of 2020, the total fertility rate is holding steady at about 3.5 children per woman, and contraceptive use is under 30%. The country will need to improve education, health care, and gender equality in order to turn its large and growing youth cohort into human capital. Even prior to 2010 unrest that shuttered schools for months, access to education was poor, especially for women. The lack of educational attainment contributes to Cote d’Ivoire’s high rates of unskilled labor, adolescent pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevalence.
Following its independence in 1960, Cote d’Ivoire’s stability and the blossoming of its labor-intensive cocoa and coffee industries in the southwest made it an attractive destination for migrants from other parts of the country and its neighbors, particularly Burkina Faso. The HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY administration continued the French colonial policy of encouraging labor immigration by offering liberal land ownership laws. Foreigners from West Africa, Europe (mainly France), and Lebanon composed about 25% of the population by 1998.
Ongoing economic decline since the 1980s and the power struggle after HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY’s death in 1993 ushered in the politics of "Ivoirite," institutionalizing an Ivoirian identity that further marginalized northern Ivoirians and scapegoated immigrants. The hostile Muslim north-Christian south divide snowballed into a 2002 civil war, pushing tens of thousands of foreign migrants, Liberian refugees, and Ivoirians to flee to war-torn Liberia or other regional countries and more than a million people to be internally displaced. Subsequently, violence following the contested 2010 presidential election prompted some 250,000 people to seek refuge in Liberia and other neighboring countries and again internally displaced as many as a million people. By July 2012, the majority had returned home, but ongoing inter-communal tension and armed conflict continue to force people from their homes.
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