President: Alassane Ouattara (2011)
Prime Minister: Daniel Kablan Duncan (2012)
Land area: 122,780 sq mi (318,000 sq km); total area: 124,502 sq mi (322,460 sq km)
Population (2012 est.): 21,925,093 (growth rate: 2.04%); birth rate: 30.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 63.2/1000; life expectancy: 63.2; density per sq km: 57
Capital (2009 est.): Yamoussoukro (official), 808,000; Largest city and administrative center: Abidjan, 4,009,000
Monetary unit: CFA Franc
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Geography
Location and Size
Côte d'Ivoire lies on the West African coast on the Gulf of Guinea. Its outline is roughly that of a square 560 kilometers on a side, with an area of 322,460 square kilometers-- nearly the same as New Mexico. It is bounded on the east by Ghana, on the north by Burkina Faso and Mali, and on the west by Guinea and Liberia. The entire southern border is Gulf of Guinea coastline.
Ivory Coast - Physical Features
The nation consists of a large plateau rising gradually from sea level to almost 500 meters altitude in the north. Vegetation changes from lagoon and semitropical growth in the south to savanna grassland and scrub in the north. Mountain ranges extend along the western border and a few peaks dot the northeast corner. Four major river systems flow southward forming parallel drainage basins. Cutting across these basins are three geographic regions roughly parallel to the coast--the lagoon region, the forest region, and the savanna region.
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