POPULATION 16,804,784
MUSLIM 38.5 percent
AFRICAN INDIGENOUS 31.5 percent
ROMAN CATHOLIC 19.5 percent
PROTESTANT 6.0 percent
HARRIST 1.5 percent
OTHER CHRISTIAN 3.0 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire—until 1986 also officially known by its English translation, the Ivory Coast—is a former French colony on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Bordered by Liberia and Guinea to the west, Ghana to the east, and Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Côte d'Ivoire is located in a low-lying region, with areas of savanna and forest. Its economy is based largely on agriculture. Ivorians include more than 60 ethnic groups, each with its own language or dialect, that fall within five large ethnic clusters: Akan, Kru, Northern Mande, Southern Mande, and Voltaique (Gur).

Côte d'Ivoire's religious pluralism complements its cultural and linguistic diversity. Ivorians have adapted Islam and Christianity to their...