27 October 2000) appointed by the president
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 October 2000 (next is scheduled to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Laurent GBAGBO elected president; percent of vote - Laurent GBAGBO 59.4%, Robert GUEI 32.7%, Francis WODIE 5.7%, other 2.2%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (225 seats; members are elected in single- and multi-district elections by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: elections last held 10 December 2000 with by-elections on 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FPI 96, PDCI-RDA 94, RDR 5, PIT 4, other 2, independents 22, vacant 2
note: a Senate is scheduled to be created in the next full election in 2005
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consists of four chambers: Judicial Chamber for criminal cases, Audit Chamber for financial cases, Constitutional Chamber for judicial review cases, and Administrative Chamber for civil cases; there is no legal limit to the number of members
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party of Cote
d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally or PDCI-RDA [Aime Henri Konan
BEDIE]; Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Laurent GBAGBO]; Ivorian
Worker's Party or PIT [Francis WODIE]; Rally of the Republicans or
RDR [Henriette DAGRI-DIABATE]; Union for Democracy and Peace [Gen.
Robert GUEI]; over 20 smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer), OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU,
WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Youssouf BAMBA
chancery: 3421 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 797–0300
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
George MU
embassy: 5 Rue Jesse Owens, Abidjan
mailing address: B. P. 1712, Abidjan 01
telephone: [225] 20 21 09 79
FAX: [225] 20 22 32 59
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and has the colors reversed - green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is green (hoist side), white, and red; design was based on the flag of France
Cote d'Ivoire Economy
Economy - overview: Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to weather conditions. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 68% of the population. After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in growth to 5% annually in 1996–99. Growth was negative in 2000 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and post-coup instability. In 2001–02, a moderate rebound in the cocoa market could boost growth back above 3%; however, political instability could impede growth again.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $26.2 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: −0.3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 32%
industry: 18%
services: 50% (1998)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.8% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 68% agricultural (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 13% in urban areas (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (2000 est.)
Industries: foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity
Industrial production growth rate: 15% (1998 est.)
Electricity - production: 4.06 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 75.37%
hydro: 24.63%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 3.183 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 593 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber
Exports: $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: cocoa 33%, coffee, tropical woods, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton, fish (1999)
Exports - partners: France 15%, US 8%, Netherlands 7%, Germany 6%,
