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Geography of Cote d'Ivoire

Location:Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
Geographic coordinates:8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references:Africa
Area:total: 322,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km, Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline:515 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
Climate:tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
Terrain:mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Gulf of Guinea 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m
Natural resources:petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower
Land use:arable land: 10.23%
permanent crops: 11.16%
other: 78.61% (2005)
Irrigated land:730 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
Environment - current issues:deforestation (most of the country's forests - once the largest in West Africa - have been heavily logged); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural effluents
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:most of the inhabitants live along the sandy coastal region; apart from the capital area, the forested interior is sparsely populated

Cote d'Ivoire Quickstats

  • Population: 18,013,409
  • Area: 322,460 sq km
  • Density: 56 /km² (141st)
  • GDP (total): $28.47 billion² (98th)
  • GDP (per capita): $1,600² (157th)
  • Literacy: 50.9%

Languages of Cote d'Ivoire

Useful to know

  • Currency: CFA franc (XOF)
  • Dial code: +225[5]

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