Côte d'Ivoire, also called the Ivory Coast in English and officially known as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (French: République de Côte d'Ivoire), is a West African country. As you can probably tell by the name, it was a former French colony and speaks French. The country also has two capitals: Yamoussoukro, the political capital, and Abidjan, the economic capital and largest city.
The country is known as the world's biggest exporter of cocoa beans, with 31.6% of the world's cocoa coming from the country. Unfortunately, a lot of that cocoa is produced using child slavery, with more than a million children working on cocoa farms, a number of them possibly being victims of human trafficking. The Harkin–Engel Protocol, signed by the heads of eight major chocolate companies, US Senators Tom Harkin and Herb Kohl, US Representative Eliot Engel, the ambassador of the Ivory Coast, the director of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor and others, is an effort to end these practices, though it has been criticized by some groups including the International Labor Rights Forum as an industry initiative which falls short.
In addition to cocoa, the country also produces a lot of coffee, being the third-largest producer of coffee next to Brazil and Colombia, is the second largest producer of cashews after India, and is the fourth-largest exporter of goods in general in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, Nigeria and Angola.
Culture:
Media set in Ivory Coast
The Ivorian flag
This flag is a tricolor of orange, representing the land, the savannah found in the northern part of the country and its fertility, white, representing peace, and green, representing hope and also the forest of the southern part of the country.
The Ivorian natonal anthem
Salut Ô terre d'espérance;
Pays de l'hospitalité.
Tes légions remplies de vaillance
Ont relevé ta dignité.
Tes fils, chère Côte d'Ivoire,
Fiers artisans de ta grandeur,
Tous rassemblés pour ta gloire
Te bâtiront dans le bonheur.
Fiers Ivoiriens, le pays nous appelle.
Si nous avons dans la paix ramené la liberté,
Notre devoir sera d'être un modèle
De l'espérance promise à l'humanité,
En forgeant, unie dans la foi nouvelle,
La patrie de la vraie fraternité.
À toi noble Côte d'Ivoire,
Ô grand pays des bonnes gens!
Nous apportons dans la victoire,
L’hommage de nos cœurs ardents.
Dans l’amitié des peuples frères,
Dieu guide nous vers l’idéal,
Soumise à la devise chère:
Union, discipline, travail.
Pour ta grandeur, riche et noble patrie,
Nous marcherons de l’avant, pleins d’amour et pleins de foi.
De cœurs unis, au cours de notre vie,
Nous œuvrerons dans l’honneur pour le juste droit,
De cœurs unis au cours de notre vie,
À tes appels nous serons tous présents.
À tous nos compagnons de route,
À l’aube de ce jour tombés,
Pour que ne règne plus le doute,
Mais la foi, la fraternité.
À tous nos bataillons d’élite,
Dans la tombe aujourd’hui couchés,
Ô peuple tout entier redites :
Amour, honneur, fidélité.
Fiers Ivoiriens, le pays nous appelle.
Si nous avons dans la paix ramené la liberté,
Notre devoir sera d'être un modèle
De l'espérance promise à l'humanité,
En forgeant, unie dans la foi nouvelle,
La patrie de la vraie fraternité.
Et que ton drapeau nous unisse,
Que ton amour nous fortifie,
Car pour toi seul nous voulons vivre,
Et pour toi combattre et mourir.
Et vous, fière et noble jeunesse,
De tous les horizons connus,
Suivez toujours cette sagesse,
de nos ainés qui ne sont plus.
Pour ta grandeur, riche et noble patrie,
Nous marcherons de l’avant, pleins d’amour et pleins de foi.
De cœurs unis, au cours de notre vie,
Nous œuvrerons dans l’honneur pour le juste droit,
De cœurs unis au cours de notre vie,
À tes appels nous serons tous présents.
A nous qu’anime l’espérance,
En ton avenir lumineux,
Redonne toujours l’assurance,
De nous conduire en peuple heureux.
Et nous irons de par le monde,
Semer ton nom et tes bienfaits,
En clamant sur toutes les ondes,
Que sur ton sol règne la paix.
Fiers Ivoiriens, le pays nous appelle.
Si nous avons dans la paix ramené la liberté,
Notre devoir sera d'être un modèle
De l'espérance promise à l'humanité,
En forgeant, unie dans la foi nouvelle,
La patrie de la vraie fraternité.
—
We salute you, O land of hope,
Country of hospitality;
Thy full gallant legions
Have restored thy dignity.
Beloved Ivory Coast, thy sons,
Proud builders of thy greatness,
All gathered together for thy glory,
In joy will we construct thee
Proud Ivorians, the country calls us.
If we have brought back liberty peacefully,
It will be our duty to be an example
Of the hope promised to humanity,
In building, united in the new faith
The homeland of true brotherhood.
To you, noble Ivory Coast,
O great country of good people!
We bring in victory,
The homage of our ardent hearts.
In the friendship of the brotherly peoples,
God guides us to the ideal,
Subject to the motto:
For your greatness, rich and noble homeland,
We will walk forward, full of love and full of faith.
From united hearts, during our life,
We will work in honor for the just right,
Of hearts united during our life,
With your calls we will all be present.
To all our fellow travelers,
At the dawn of this fallen day,
So that there is no longer any doubt,
But faith, fraternity.
To all our elite battalions,
In the tomb today,
O whole people repetitions:
Proud Ivorians, the country calls us.
If we have brought back liberty peacefully,
It will be our duty to be an example
Of the hope promised to humanity,
In building, united in the new faith
The homeland of true brotherhood.
And let your flag unite us,
May your love strengthen us,
Because for you alone we want to live,
And for you fight and die.
And you, proud and noble youth,
From all known horizons,
Always follow this wisdom,
of our elders who are no more.
For your greatness, rich and noble homeland,
We will walk forward, full of love and full of faith.
From united hearts, during our life,
We will work in honor for the just right,
Of hearts united during our life,
With your calls we will all be present.
To us, which animates hope,
In your bright future,
Always restore the insurance,
To lead us into happy people.
And we will go around the world,
Sow your name and your benefits,
By clamoring on all the waves,
That on your soil reigns peace.
Proud Ivorians, the country calls us.
If we have brought back liberty peacefully,
It will be our duty to be an example
Of the hope promised to humanity,
In building, united in the new faith
The homeland of true brotherhood.
Government
- Unitary presidential constitutional republic
- President: Alassane Ouattara
- Vice President: Tiémoko Meyliet Koné
- Prime Minister: Robert Beugré Mambé
Miscellaneous
- Capital: Yamoussoukro (de jure), Abidjan (de facto)
- Largest city: Abidjan
- Population: 26,378,274
- Area: 322,463 km² (124,504 sq mi) (68th)
- Currency: West African CFA franc (CFA) (XOF)
- ISO-3166-1 Code: CI
- Country calling code: 225
- Highest point: Mont Nimba (1752 m/5,748 ft) (139thnote shared with Guinea)
- Lowest point: Gulf of Guinea (6,363 m/2,087 ft) (-)
