Ivory Coast Country Overview
Where is Ivory Coast located? The Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, is a country that can be found in western Africa. Almost 50 years ago, the Ivory Coast emancipated itself from the French colonial occupation. The time zone map, which divides countries vertically into world time zones along longitude lines, indicates that Ivory Coast is in a time zone where Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) applies. This means that there is no time shift to the coordinated world time. As in most countries in Africa, there is no changeover to daylight saving time in Ivory Coast in summer.
Bordering Countries of Ivory Coast
According to abbreviationfinder, Ivory Coast, located in West Africa, is bordered by seven countries; Burkina Faso to the north, Mali and Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Ghana to the east, and Atlantic Ocean to the south. It has a total land boundary of 2,574 km which includes 584 km with Burkina Faso, 545 km with Mali, 816 km with Guinea, 778 km with Liberia and 501 km with Ghana.
Ivory Coast borders Burkina Faso in its northern region and is separated by a line drawn between its Bandama region and Burkina Faso’s Kénédougou region. The two countries have had strong ties since Ivory Coast’s independence from France in 1960 and have since worked towards strengthening their relationship through joint initiatives such as agricultural projects within their shared boundaries.
To Ivory Coast’s northeast lies Mali which surrounds it on three sides; these borders are formed by rivers such as River Bandama in north-western region, River Niger in central region and River Milo in eastern region. The two countries have had friendly relations since 1962 when they signed a peace treaty but have since worked towards improving their ties through economic cooperation such as joint infrastructure projects within their shared boundaries.
Ivory Coast also shares borders with Guinea on its extreme northwestern tip; this border is formed by a line drawn between Ivory Coast’s Haut Sassandra region and Guinea’s Nzérékoré Prefecture. Despite having tense relations at times due to territorial disputes over oil-rich regions of Gulf of Guinea, both countries have been working together for years now on issues such as water management projects within their shared rivers.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Ivory Coast is 27,481,086, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 27,481,086 |
| Population growth rate | 2.26% |
| Birth rate | 27.70 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 57.66 years |
| Men | 56.57 years |
| Women | 58.78 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 39.59% |
| 15-64 years | 57.63% |
| 65 years and above | 2.78% |
| Median age | 20.50 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 1.03 |
| Population density | 85.22 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 44.90% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 74% Ivorians (over 60 ethnic groups, especially Gur and Mande groups: approx. 23% Baule, 18% Bete, 15% Senufo, 14% Agni-Ashanti, 11% Malinké, 10% Kru), 15% Burkines, 5% Malians, etc. | |
| Religions | |
| Christians 34%, Muslims 27%, no religion 21%, animists 15%, others 3% (1998) note: the majority of foreigners (migrants) are Muslims (70%) and Christians (20%) | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.516 |
| HDI ranking | 165th out of 194 |
People in Ivory Coast
The residents of the Ivory Coast are called Ivorians after the French country name. They are composed of 60 peoples or tribes. You can see the names of the greatest nations on the map. The Kwa peoples are green here, the largest group in the population (42.1 percent). The Baule are among them as the largest group.
More and more people are drawn to the cities. This is called rural exodus. 51 percent of people now live in cities.
Every woman has almost five (4.6) children on average. Children and young people make up a large proportion of the population.
The proportion of people who cannot read and write (illiterate) is still very high at 47 percent, even if the value has been falling for years.
Languages in Ivory Coast
Until 1960, the Ivory Coast was under French colonial rule. The French had made French the official language and that was retained after independence. School lessons are also held in French.
In addition to French, around 70 national languages are spoken. That’s because so many different peoples live here. The most common is Dioula (pronounced: Di-ula). It is mainly spoken in the north and is also considered a commercial language. 61 percent of Ivorians speak Dioula. This is followed by the language of the Baule peoples. It is spoken mainly in the center of the country.
The N’Ko script is used as the Dioula scriptused. You can see them in the picture on the right. You write them from right to left. If you wish a good morning on Dioula, it means: I ni sogoma !
Religions in Ivory Coast
The proportion of Christians and Muslimsis about the same, namely 35 to 40 percent each. The north is more Muslim, the south Christian. 25 percent of the population profess traditional West African religions. Their proportion is falling as the number of Muslims increases.