Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0029/00296.txt

Text File | 1993-07-27 | 14KB | 261 lines

$Unique_ID{bob00296}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Cote d'Ivoire
Front Matter}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{T.D. Roberts, Donald M. Bouton, Irving Kaplan, Barbara Lent, Charles Townsend, Neda A. Walpole}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{coast
ivory
abidjan
african
percent
major
area
estimated
government
french}
$Date{1973}
$Log{}
Title:       Cote d'Ivoire
Book:        Area Handbook for Ivory Coast
Author:      T.D. Roberts, Donald M. Bouton, Irving Kaplan, Barbara Lent, Charles Townsend, Neda A. Walpole
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Front Matter

Foreword

     This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area
Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military
and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the
social, economic, political, and military institutions and practices of
various countries. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's
present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be
expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced
an integrated exposition as limitations on space and research time permit. It
was compiled from information available in openly published material. An
extensive bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published
sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express
any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of
the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not represent
the official view of the United States government.

     An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as
possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, interpretations, and
conclusions are subject to modification in the light of new information and
developments. Such corrections, additions, and suggestions for factual,
interpretive, or other change as readers may have will be welcomed for use in
future revisions. Comments may be addressed to:

The Director
Foreign Area Studies
The American University
5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016

Preface to the Second Edition

     The original Area Handbook for the Ivory Coast was issued in December
1962, research and writing having been completed on October 31, 1962. At that
time Ivory Coast had been independent for little more than two years. The
following decade was one of exceptional economic growth in accordance with the
philosophy of development previously expounded; it was also a decade rich in
social change and political activity, including a major role for Ivory Coast
in African interstate relations.

     Given these developments, it was decided to supplement the original
volume with a new section entitled "Summary of Events: January 1963-December
1972." The new section has been prepared by a consulting team consisting of
Roxanne Donahey, William Kallon, Vincent Kern, Gilda Nimer, and Benjamin
Nimer, under the direction of the last. Special mention should be made of the
work of Gilda Nimer, who contributed to the research and writing and also was
librarian of the project and assistant to the director.

Country Summary

     1. COUNTRY: Republic of Ivory Coast; capital, Abidjan.

     2. GOVERNMENT: Both president and the 100-member unicameral National
Assembly are elected for five-year terms by direct universal suffrage. All
officeholders are members of the sole political party, the Democratic Party of
Ivory Coast (Parti Democratique de Cote d'Ivoire-PDCI), headed by the
president of the republic. The president is sole custodian of executive power.
He appoints and dismisses ministers, who are responsible to him, and
determines their functions.

     3. CONSTITUTION: The Constitution (promulgated on November 3, 1960)
provides for a strong presidency within the framework of a separation of
powers and for a unitary relationship between the central government and the
departements (provinces).

     4. POPULATION: Estimated 5,013,000 in 1973. Abidjan estimated at 500,000.
The sixty ethnic groups are commonly grouped into seven clusters: Akan,
Lagoon, Krou, Nuclear Mande, Peripheral Mande, Senoufo, and Lobi. There has
been substantial immigration from neighboring countries, so the foreign
population is estimated at nearly one-fourth the total. Rural migration to
urban areas, especially Abidjan, has also been substantial.

     5. SIZE: 125,780 square miles.

     6. TOPOGRAPHY: The southern boundary is a 340-mile coastline on the Gulf
of Guinea. There are coastal lagoons in the southeast. The southern region is
densely forested, especially in the thinly populated southwest. The northern
region is a savanna zone of lateritic or sandy soils, with vegetation
decreasing from south to north within the region. The inland south-central
area is lush tropical forest. The country is flat except in the northwest,
where the Man Mountains rise to 4,800 feet.

     7. CLIMATE: A warm and humid equatorial climate, with but two short dry
seasons, covers all except the northwestern area. The northwest is tropical,
with a single rainy season (March-September). The annual rainfall is over
fifty inches in both zones and heaviest along the coast and western mountain
area. The range of temperature is narrow, particularly in the south.

     8. LANGUAGES: Official language is French; many local languages.

     9. RELIGION: Almost 25 percent of the population are Muslims, 12 to 13
percent are Christians, and the remainder adhere to local religions.

     10. EDUCATION: Academic organization has followed the French model.
Primary school attendance is technically compulsory, 600,000 primary and
secondary students being enrolled in 1971/72. The 1973 expenditure for
national education was CFAF19,000, 23 percent of the operating budget. In
1971 there were 5,000 primary schools and 118 secondary schools, and a
nationwide educational television project was launched. The University of
Abidjan had an enrollment of 2,780 in 1971. It includes both a medical school
and five specialized institutes. Technical education is increasingly
emphasized and as of 1970 had its own ministry.

     11. HEALTH: Malaria is the largest single cause of illness and death, but
smallpox, yellow fever, and measles are also major health hazards. Cholera
appeared for the first time in Ivory Coast and throughout sub-Saharan Africa
in epidemic form in 1970-71. Nutritional deficiencies, polluted water, and
poor waste disposal systems continue to be the major sources of disease. In
1969 there were 218 medical doctors, most of them in Abidjan and the other
large towns. Universal free medical care is provided by the government.

     12. JUSTICE: An independent judiciary is provided for. The Supreme Court,
which acts as arbiter of the constitution, has four chambers: constitutional,
judicial, administrative, and auditing. The High Court of Justice, composed of
deputies elected from and by the National Assembly, tries members of the
government for crimes committed in the course of their duties. There is a
higher magistrates' court and the Court of State Security, which deals with
crimes against state security. There are also courts of first instance (penal,
civil, commercial, and administrative), higher courts, courts of appeal, and
labor tribunals.

     13. ADMINISTRATION: A June 9, 1969, law divides Ivory Coast into
twenty-four prefectures, nineteen of which were actually functioning at the
end of 1972. Each is headed by a perfect appointed by the central government.
There are 115 subprefectures; Abidjan and Bouake have a mayor and elected
councillors.

     14. ECONOMY: The economy is one of entrepreneurial freedom within a
framework of state planning, regulation, and a degree of direct state
investment in business. Ivory Coast is favorably disposed toward foreign
investment in the economy.

     15. INDUSTRY: Although agriculture dominates, the industrial sector has
enjoyed phenomenal growth. Primarily light consumer industry, it is mostly
foreign owned. Textiles and food processing are most important. As of
January 1971 there were 375 industrial enterprises of varying size in the
modern sector. Mining has been of minor importance, but there is a promise of
a major iron-ore extraction industry.

     16. EXPORTS: The principal exports are coffee (Ivory Coast is the world's
third largest coffee producer), tropical woods, cocoa, and bananas. Other
major exports are cotton, palm products, pineapple, manganese, and diamonds.
Primary buyers are France, other European Economic Community (EEC) countries,
the United States, and Great Britain.

     17. IMPORTS: The largest category of imports is consumer goods-cotton
products, automobiles, spare parts, and clothes-altogether 31 percent. Capital
goods, consisting mainly of machinery and transportation equipment, constitute
25 to 30 percent of imports, followed by slightly under 25 percent for raw
materials and semifinished products, which include fuel, lubricants, metals,
paper, and chemicals. Foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco account on the
average for 16 percent of imports. France, with 46 percent in 1970, is the
major supplier, followed by other EEC countries (22 percent) and the United
States (8 percent).

     18. CURRENCY: The unit is the CFA franc, issued by the African Financial
Community (Communaute Financiere Africaine), a financial grouping of seven
West African countries associated with France. As of December 1971, one United
States dollar equaled 255.785 CFA francs. The CFA franc is not pegged to gold;
the French government guarantees to convert within the franc zone at the rate
of one French franc equal to sixty CFA francs.

     19. TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Telephone. A telecommunications center linked to
the Intelstar IV satellite over the Atlantic was inaugurated in November 1972.
There are direct telephone links with Accra and Addis Ababa, and international
calls may be made through Paris. Internally a Telex relays Abidjan with
Bouake. In 1970 there were 17,000 telephone subscribers, 12,500 of them in
Abidjan. Radio. A government-controlled radio network operates two different
programs throughout most of the day and evening. One is in French, the other
partly in French and partly in several African languages. There are an
estimated 150,000 radio sets, and an estimated 600,000 listeners. Television.
There are four transmitters, eight intermediate relay stations, and four
terminal stations. In 1970 there were an estimated 10,500 receivers, and
programs are estimated to reach two-thirds of the country.

     20. TRANSPORTATION: Railroads. The Abidjan-Niger Railroad runs between
Abidjan and Ouagadougou in Upper Volta. Fast diesel cars operate between
Abidjan and Bouake. Navigable Rivers. Although none of the four major rivers
in Ivory Coast is navigable, there is a major inland waterway, a chain of
natural lagoons extending for more than 200 miles parallel to and within ten
miles of the coastline, from west of Grand-Lahou eastward to the Ghana border.
Roads. There were 21,875 miles of roads in 1971. Of this network, 10,310 miles
are usable throughout the year. All major towns are connected by all-weather
roads. In 1969 there were over 100,000 vehicles in the country, about half the
total made up of automobiles and one-third of trucks of various sizes.

     21. PORTS AND PORT FACILITIES: Abidjan is the largest port in francophone
Africa. It has fourteen wharves and 2,465 yards (2,300 meters) of docks, with
2,165 yards (2,000 meters) in deep water. It is well organized, with separate
harbor areas for various activities, including timber loading, banana storage
and loading, a fishing wharf with cold storage, and a berth for tankers. There
are floating cranes and other handling facilities and more than 125,000 square
yards (100,000 square meters) of warehouses. Expansion of facilities is
continuing.

     San Pedro is replacing Sassandra in the southwest. When complete, San
Pedro port will consist of two wharves, one banana dock, six moorings, a dock
for floating timber and a timber pool, and a fishing port.

     22. AIRFIELDS: Abidjan-Port Bouet airport has a 2,930-yard runway and is
equipped to handle international jet traffic. The terminal building
inaugurated in 1969 is designed for an annual traffic of 400,000 passengers.
Ivory Coast is also served by airports at Yamossoukro and Bouake, seven
airfields suitable for the DC-3s that are operated by the national airline,
Air Ivoire, and seventeen smaller fields.

     The multinational West African airline Air Afrique is headquartered in
Abidjan. Other airlines serving Ivory Coast include Air Congo, Air Mali,
Alitalia Ghana Airways, KLM, MEA, Nigeria Airways, PAA, Sabena, Swissair, and
UTA.

     23. INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AGREEMENTS: In addition to the United
Nations and its specialized agencies, including the Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA), Ivory Coast is a member of the Organization of African Unity
(OAU); the African Development Bank, whose headquarters is in Abidjan; the
Council of the Entente; the African, Malagasy and Mauritius Common
Organization (Organisation Commune Arficaine, Malgache et Mauricienne-OCAM)
and its specialized institutions; and the West African Economic Community
(Communaute Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest-CEAO), a solely francophone
grouping, which in 1971 became the successor organization to the West African
Customs Union (L'Union Douaniere Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest-UDEAO). It
also belongs to Afro-Malagasy Associated States (Etats Africains et Malgache
Assouts-EAMA), whose members concert policy toward the EEC, of which these
states are associated members; the Cocoa Producers' Alliance; and the
International Coffee Organization. Ivory Coast has a bilateral military
agreement with France.

     24. ARMED FORCES STRENGTH: As of July 1972 the strength of the Ivorian
armed forces consisted of a 3,100-man army, 100-man navy, and 300-man air
force. It is excellently equipped. There are paramilitary forces of
approximately 2,000 men, as well as a gendarmerie of about 800, which serves
as the national police force.