• Ivory Coast, or Côte d'Ivoire, is a country in West Africa. It shares borders with Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso. The Gulf of Guinea runs along its southern coast.

• Fast Facts

  1. Capital: Yamoussoukro
  2. Government: Republic
  3. Population: Approximately 18 million
  4. Currency: CFA Franc
  5. Official Language: French

• History

  The Côte d'Ivoire became a protectorate of France in 1843 and in 1893 Côte d'Ivoire became a French colony. It gained its independence in 1960 but maintained close ties to France. The development of a cocoa trade and foreign investment made it one of the most prosperous states in West Africa. The country was hailed for its religious and ethnic harmony maintained by its first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny. The all ended in 1999 when Robert Guei led a coup which toppled Houphouet-Boigny's successor, Henri Bedie. The country has since suffered through violent political turmoil. Although the fighting has stopped, the country is tense and divided. French and UN peacekeepers patrol the buffer zone which separates the north, held by rebels known as the New Forces, and the government-controlled south.

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