Country profilesIvory Coast

Humanitarian profile

Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) was Francophone West Africa’s economic powerhouse for decades until a 2002-3 civil war dashed its reputation as a model of ethnic stability. A 2007 peace deal  was slow to be implemented and the causes of the conflict – such as land reform – remain unresolved. Until then, Ivory Coast was one of the few countries in Africa never to experience a coup attempt, military takeover or civil war. The north is mainly Muslim, the south mainly Christian. It supplies 40 percent of the world’s cocoa along with rubber, cotton and coffee. Its plantations have long supported immigrant labourers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea though instability has disrupted this economic lifeline for its poorer neighbours. Flooding is a recurrent problem, disrupting the lives of large numbers of people.

Country snapshot

Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) was considered Francophone West Africa’s economic powerhouse for more than three decades after gaining independence from France in 1960. However, the country’s reputation as a model of ethnic stability and economic development unravelled during a 2002-3 civil war that split the world’s top cocoa grower in half. A 2007 peace deal was meant to clear the way for the northern rebels to be disarmed and the country to be reunited with a national election. But the vote, eventually held in 2010 after numerous postponements, has deepened divisions. Issues that caused the conflict – such as land reform and nationality – remain unresolved.

Government

Under Ivory Coast’s constitution, the president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term with no limits on the number of terms served. Executive power is vested in the president who has the right to appoint a prime minister and cabinet.

President Laurent Gbagbo took office in 2000 after defeating army ruler Robert Guei in presidential polls. The general, who was behind a 1999 military coup, was forced out by Gbagbo’s supporters after rigging the vote and proclaiming himself the winner. Gbagbo’s rule was soon marred by attempted coups and rising ethnic tension. A failed coup in 2002 ignited fighting that split the country in two, with rebels holding the mainly Muslim and animist north and pro-Gbagbo troops the south which largely follows Christianity and traditional beliefs. A peace deal was signed in 2007 and Gbagbo named rebel leader Guillaume Soro prime minister.  

Ivory Coast's electoral commission declared northerner Alassane Ouattara winner of elections in 2010 which were meant to reunite the country. However, the Constitutional Council, headed by a Gbagbo ally, overturned the result and declared Gbagbo the winner, saying there had been fraud in some areas.

Economy

The economy is the third biggest in sub-Saharan Africa. Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa producer, supplying 40 percent of the world market. The country is also one of Africa’s top growers of rubber, cotton and coffee. As a result, the economy is sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these commodities. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, Ivory Coast is dependent on agriculture although its oil and gas sectors are growing.

History

Ivory Coast’s founding father President Felix Houphouet-Boigny led the country to independence from France in 1960. The former French government minister and later, veteran statesman, forged the West African nation’s reputation as a haven of stability in a turbulent region.

For almost 40 years, Ivory Coast was one of the few countries on the continent that had never experienced a coup attempt, military takeover or civil war. Foreign investment and the development of cocoa for export made Ivory Coast one of the most prosperous African countries, with Houphouet-Boigny allowing immigrant labourers from neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea to work in the plantations.

But in the 1980s Houphouet-Boigny’s rule was shaken by recession and collapsing coffee and cocoa prices. He bowed to demands for multi-party elections in 1990, defeating opposition leader Laurent Gbagbo at the ballot box.

Houphouet-Boigny, who towered over the country for 33 years, died in 1993. His hand-picked successor Henri Konan Bedie won a 1995 election boycotted by the main opposition but was toppled in a coup staged by former army chief Robert Guei in 1999. The years after Houphouet-Boigny’s death were marked by a rise in Ivorian nationalism – Ivoirite – which generated xenophobic policies.

Gbagbo, who spear-headed protests that forced Houphouet-Boigny to accept multi-party politics, won power in a presidential election in 2000. Two years later a failed coup attempt split the country in two with rebels seizing the north.

In 2007 a peace deal was signed, intended to pave the way for disarming the rebels and reuniting the country in a national election. But the polls were repeatedly postponed. Eventually held in 2010, the election ended in a bitter dispute with both Gbagbo and his challenger, Alassane Outtara, claiming victory. World leaders and regional bodies have recognised Ouattara as the president.

After decades of tolerance for migrant workers, much of the Ivorian crisis has focussed on or been stoked by questions of nationality and who is allowed live or work on the fertile land. Consequently, the question of who is eligible to vote is deeply sensitive on all sides.

Legal snapshot

The Supreme Court consists of four chambers with jurisdiction over criminal cases residing at the judicial chamber, financial cases with the Audit Chamber; judicial review cases with the Constitutional Chamber and civil cases with the Administrative Chamber.

Ivory Coast was ranked 154 out of 180 in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating that the corruption is perceived as rampant in the country.