Côte d’Ivoire Travel Guide

Côte d’Ivoire — Country and Tourist Information

Browse the Côte d’Ivoire Photo Gallery

Country Facts

Location: West African coast.
Language: The official language is French. The main African languages are Yacouba, Senoufo, Baoulé, Betie, Attie, Agni and Dioula (the market language).
Area: 322,462 sq km (124,503 sq miles).
Time Zone: GMT.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are standard.
Population: 17.1 million (2005).
Population Density: 53 per sq km.
Capital City: Yamoussoukro (administrative and political capital since 1983). Population: 110,000 (2005). Abidjan (economic capital). Population: 3 million (2005).
Government: Republic. Gained independence from France in 1960. In 1999, the army took power and installed a National Council for Public Salvation.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Guillaume Soro since March 2007.
Head of State: President Laurent Gbagbo since 2000.
Religion: 34% Christian, 27% Muslim, 15% traditional beliefs. It is important to note, however, that these percentages are based on census results in 1998, of which some Muslim foreign workers may have been excluded - therefore, the Muslim percentage may be higher than is indicated here.

Recent History

Veteran politician Laurent Gbagbo, who was elected president in 2000 for a five-year mandate, was given a seventh successive year in power in November 2006 under a UN plan to find lasting peace.

The president appointed rebel leader Guillaume Soro in March 2007, weeks after the former arch rivals signed a power-sharing peace deal which handed positions in a transitional government to Soro’s New Forces.

The deal envisaged that elections would be held within 10 months and foresaw the dismantling of the buffer zone between the rebel north and the south.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +225. International telecommunications are available in major towns and centers.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with international mobile phone operators.

Internet

Public access is available at Internet cafes in Abidjan.

Media

The government has used the media under its control, particularly the state broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI), as a powerful tool in the country's ongoing crisis. As Ivorian forces launched attacks on rebels in the north in late 2004, state media fell into propaganda while opposition and independent newspapers based in Abidjan were raided and ceased publication.

FM relays of foreign stations in the city such as the BBC, Radio France Internationale and Africa No1 were disrupted. Radio is Côte d'Ivoire's most-popular medium. There are approximately 30 low-power, non-commercial community radio stations, including some run by the Catholic Church.

There are no private terrestrial TV stations, although pay-TV services are provided by Canal Satellite Horizons. Rebels in the center of the country use state radio and TV facilities in Bouake for their own broadcasts. In August 2004, UN peacekeepers launched their own radio station, ONUCI FM. The station is now available in Abidjan and rebel-held towns in the north.

Post

Airmail to Europe takes up to two weeks.Mon-Fri 0730-1200 and 1430-1800.

Press

• All newspapers are in French.
• The main dailies include state-owned newspaper Fraternité Matin, Notre Voie, which is owned by the ruling party, and opposition newspaper Le Patriote.
• Soir Info, Le Jour, Le Front, L'Inter and 24 Heures are all privately owned.

Radio

• State-run Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) operates La Chaîne Nationale and Fréquence 2; Radio Nostalgie is a private, Abidjan FM station.
• Africa No1 is a relay of a Gabon-based pan-African station, with some local programming.
• Radio Espoir is an Abidjan Catholic station; Radio Paix Sanwi is an Aboisso Catholic station.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2010
25 Dec Christmas

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
15 Feb Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
25 Apr Easter Monday
1 May Labor Day
2 Jun Ascension
13 Jun Whit Monday
28 Jun Lailat al-Miraj (Ascent of the Prophet)
7 Aug Independence Day
15 Aug Assumption
26 Aug Lailat al Qadr (Revelation of the Quran)
30 Aug Korité (End of Ramadan)
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
6 Nov Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice)
15 Nov Peace Day
25 Dec Christmas

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
4 Feb Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
9 Apr Easter Monday
1 May Labor Day
17 May Ascension
28 May Whit Monday
17 Jun Lailat al-Miraj (Ascent of the Prophet)
7 Aug Independence Day
15 Aug Lailat al Qadr (Revelation of the Quran)
15 Aug Assumption
19 Aug Korité (End of Ramadan)
25 Oct Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice)
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
15 Nov Peace Day
25 Dec Christmas
(a) Holidays that fall on a Sunday are often observed on the following day. (b) Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations. During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be interrupted. Some disruption may continue into Eid al-Fitr itself. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha may last anything from two to 10 days, depending on the region.

Contact Information

Office Ivoirien du Tourisme et de l'Hôtellerie

2nd Floor, ex-EECI Building, place de la Republique, Abidjan 01 BP 8538, Côte d'Ivoire
Tel: 2025 1600.
Website: www.tourismeci.org

Embassy of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the UK

2 Upper Belgrave St, London SW1X 8BJ, UK
Tel: (020) 7235 6991.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1230; 1500-1730 (visa application); 1400-1730 (visa collection).