The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

id="id15749" >Airports - with paved runways:

total: 36 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 11 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 115 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 96 (2007)

Pipelines:

refined products 242 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 278 km narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge note: none of the railway network is in use (2007)

Roadways:

total: 35,330 km paved: 8,621 km unpaved: 26,709 km (2004)

Waterways:

730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 1 by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Caldera, Puerto Limon

Military
Costa Rica

Military branches:

no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,134,205 females age 16-49: 1,095,763 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 958,013 females age 16-49: 925,727 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 40,767 female: 38,899 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

0.4% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Costa Rica

Disputes - international:

the ICJ has given Costa Rica until January 2008 to reply and Nicaragua until July 2008 to rejoin before rendering its decision on the navigation, security, and commercial rights of Costa Rican vessels on the Río San Juan over which Nicaragua retains sovereignty

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 9,699-11,500 (Colombia) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Costa Rica is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; women and girls from neighboring states, Russia, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines are trafficked into the country for sexual exploitation; Costa Rica also serves as a transit point for victims trafficked to North America and Europe; the government identifies child sex tourism as a serious problem; men, women, and children are also trafficked within the country for forced labor in fishing and construction, and as domestic servants tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Costa Rica is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of its failure to improve its inadequate assistance to victims; while Costa Rican officials recognize human trafficking as a serious problem, the lack of a stronger response by the government is of concern (2008)

Illicit drugs:

transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis in remote areas; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising; significant consumption of amphetamines

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Cote d'Ivoire

Introduction
Cote d'Ivoire

Background:

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 West African states, but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and brought 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 citizenship, remained unresolved. In March 2007 President GBAGBO and former New Force rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. As a result of the agreement, SORO joined GBAGBO's government as Prime Minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the zone of confidence separating North from South, integrate rebel forces into the national armed forces, and hold elections. Several thousand French and UN troops remain in Cote d'Ivoire to help the parties implement their commitments and to support the peace process.

Geography
Cote d'Ivoire

Location:

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia

Geographic coordinates:

8 00 N, 5 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 322,460 sq km land: 318,000 sq km water: 4,460 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries:

total: 3,110 km border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km

Coastline:

515 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm

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)

Terrain:

mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 10.23% permanent crops: 11.16% other: 78.61% (2005)

Irrigated land:

730 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

81 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.93 cu km/yr (24%/12%/65%) per capita: 51 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible

Environment - current issues:

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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated

People
Cote d'Ivoire

Population:

20,179,602 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 40.9% (male 4,161,238/female 4,092,593) 15-64 years: 56.3% (male 5,790,503/female 5,568,621) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 285,116/female 281,531) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 19 years male: 19.2 years female: 18.9 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.156% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

32.73 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

11.17 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 69.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 77.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 54.64 years male: 53.95 years female: 55.35 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.23 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

7% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

570,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

47,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever water contact: schistosomiasis animal contact disease: rabies note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Ivoirian(s) adjective: Ivoirian

Ethnic groups:

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)

Religions:

Muslim 38.6%, Christian 32.8%, indigenous 11.9%, none 16.7% (2008 est) note: the majority of foreigners (migratory workers) are Muslim (70%) and Christian (20%)

Languages:

French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 48.7% male: 60.8% female: 38.6% (2000 est.)

Education expenditures:

4.6% of GDP (2001)

Government
Cote d'Ivoire

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire local short form: Cote d'Ivoire note: pronounced coat-div-whar former: Ivory Coast

Government type:

republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960 note: the government is currently operating under a power-sharing agreement mandated by international mediators

Capital:

name: Yamoussoukro geographic coordinates: 6 49 N, 5 17 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) 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

Administrative divisions:

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

Independence:

7 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 7 August (1960)

Constitution:

approved by referendum 23 July 2000

Legal system:

based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Laurent GBAGBO (since 26 October 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Guillaume SORO (since 4 April 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - under the current power-sharing agreement the prime minister and the president share the authority to appoint ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held 26 October 2000 (next to be held 30 November 2008; elections were to be held in 2005 but have been repeatedly postponed by the government; the UN Security Council has extended the government's mandate); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2%

Legislative branch:

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) elections: elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on 14 January 2001 (next to be held in November 2008 after the government postponed the elections in 2005 and 2006) election results: 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 that was scheduled to be created in the October 2006 elections never took place

Judicial branch:

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

Political parties and leaders:

Citizen's Democratic Union or UDCY [Theodore MEL EG]; Democratic
Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE]; Ivorian Popular
Front or FPI [Pascale Affi N'GUESSAN]; Ivorian Worker's Party or PIT
[Francis WODIE]; Opposition Movement of the Future or MFA [Innocent
Augustin ANAKY]; Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane
OUATTARA]; Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI
[Toikeuse MABRI]; over 144 smaller registered parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire
or FESCI [Serges KOFFI]; Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and
Peace or RHDP [Alphonse DJEDJE MADY]; Young Patriots [Charles BLE
GOUDE]

International organization participation:

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC,
OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO,
UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Yao Charles KOFFI chancery: 3421