10 Interesting Facts about Cote d’Ivoire

If you love to travel around the world, then reading one of these following facts about Cote d’Ivoire will probably help you know more about this country. As you know, Cote d’Ivoire is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometers (124,503 square miles) and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country’s population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Cote d’Ivoire’s first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants. To get to know more about this country, here are the other facts about Cote d’Ivoire you may consider interesting.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 1: Official Name

Every country has its own official name, or famous name. Cote d’Ivoire also has its own name. Its official name is the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 2: Official Capitals

Republic of Cote d’Ivoire has two official capitals. Yamoussoukro is the political and administrative capital of Cote d’Ivoire while Abidjan serves as the economic capital of the country.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 3: Abidjan

Abidjan is the largest city in the country covering an area of 981 square miles. The country is flat with undulating plains and mountains in the north-west.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 4: Ethnic Groups

The major ethnic groups in the country include Akan (42.1%) , Voltaiques or Gur (17.6%) Northern Mandes (16.5%) Krous (11%), Southern Mandes (10%). The Lebanese and French constitute the remaining population.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 5: Official Currency

The official currency used in Cote d’Ivoire is the West African CFA franc denoted by the ISO-4217 code XOF. The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 6: Export

The Cote d’Ivoire is the largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans and palm oil. Fishing and forestry play an important role.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 7: Major Imports

The country exports rice, wheat, plastic materials, resins, agricultural chemicals and oil and gas equipment. The major imports include cocoa and cocoa products, coffee, rubber and petroleum.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 8: National Day

Cote d’Ivoire celebrates the country’s independence from France on August 7, 1960. This date is also known as their national day.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 9: Music

Each of the ethnic groups in Ivory Coast has its own music genres, most showing strong vocal polypony. Talking drums are also common, especially among the Appolo, and polyrhythms, another African characteristic, are found throughout Ivory Coast and are especially common in the southwest.

Facts about Cote d’Ivoire 10: Cuisine

The traditional cuisine of Ivory Coast is very similar to that of neighboring countries in west Africa in its reliance on grains and tubers. Cassava and plaintains are significant parts of Ivorian cuisine. A type of corn paste called “Aitiu” is used to prepare corn balls, and peanuts are widely used in many dishes. Attieke is a popular side dish in Ivory Coast made with grated cassava and is a vegetable-based couscous.

Those following facts about Cote d’Ivoire might make you want to visit the country. With all history and things, this country is really beautiful and interesting to visit. Hope you found these Cote d’Ivoire facts really interesting and joyful to read.