- Country name
- conventional long form: Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
conventional short form: Côte d'Ivoire
local long form: République de Côte d'Ivoire
local short form: Cote d'Ivoire
former: Ivory Coast
etymology: name, which means "Ivory Coast" in French, reflects the ivory trade in the region from the 15th to 17th centuries; the French version of the name has been used internationally since 1986, at the country's request - Government type
- presidential republic
- Capital
- name: Yamoussoukro (legislative capital), Abidjan (administrative and economic capital); note - the US Embassy is in Abidjan
geographic coordinates: 6 49 N, 5 16 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: formerly a village named N'Gokro, Yamoussoukro is named after Queen YAMOUSSOU, who ruled during the early 20th century; Abidjan's name may have come from a misunderstanding when a French explorer asked a group of women the name of the village -- thinking it was a question about what they were doing, they replied "t'chan m’bi djan," which in the Ebrie language means "I return from cutting leaves," so the explorer recorded the name of the locale as Abidjan - Administrative divisions
- 12 districts and 2 autonomous districts*; Abidjan*, Bas-Sassandra, Comoe, Denguele, Goh-Djiboua, Lacs, Lagunes, Montagnes, Sassandra-Marahoue, Savanes, Vallée du Bandama, Woroba, Yamoussoukro*, Zanzan
- Legal system
- civil law system based on the French civil code; Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court reviews legislation
- Constitution
- history: previous 1960, 2000; latest draft completed 24 September 2016, approved by the National Assembly 11 October 2016, approved by referendum 30 October 2016, promulgated 8 November 2016
amendment process: proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament; consideration of drafts or proposals requires an absolute majority vote by the parliamentary membership; passage of amendments affecting presidential elections, presidential term of office and vacancies, and amendment procedures requires approval by absolute majority in a referendum; passage of other proposals by the president requires at least four-fifths majority vote by Parliament; constitutional articles on the sovereignty of the state and its republican and secular form of government cannot be amended - International law organization participation
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Cote d'Ivoire
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Alassane Dramane OUATTARA (since 25 October 2025)
head of government: Prime Minister Robert BREUGRE MAMBE (since 17 October 2023)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a single renewable 5-year term; vice president elected on same ballot as president; prime minister appointed by the president
most recent election date: October 2030
election results: 2025: Alassane OUATTARA reelected president; percent of vote - Alassane OUATTARA (RDR) 91.2%, Jean Louis BILLON (DC) 3.1%, Simone Gbagbo (MCG) 2.4%, Ahoua Don MELLO (Ind.) 2.0%, other 1.3% 2020: Alassane OUATTARA reelected president; percent of vote - Alassane OUATTARA (RDR) 94.3%, Kouadio Konan BERTIN (PDCI-RDA) 2.0%, other 3.7%
expected date of next election: October 2030 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Parliament (Parlement)
legislative structure: bicameral - Legislative branch - lower chamber
- chamber name: National Assembly (Assemblée nationale)
number of seats: 255 (all directly elected)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 3/6/2021 to 6/12/2021
parties elected and seats per party: Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) (139); Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA)-Together for Democracy and Sovereignty (EDS) (49); Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) (23); Independents (26); Other (18)
percentage of women in chamber: 13.4%
expected date of next election: December 2025 - Legislative branch - upper chamber
- chamber name: Senate (Sénat)
number of seats: 99 (66 indirectly elected; 33 appointed)
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 5 years
most recent election date: 9/16/2023
percentage of women in chamber: 24.5%
expected date of next election: September 2028 - Judicial branch
- highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into Judicial, Audit, Constitutional, and Administrative Chambers; consists of the court president, 3 vice presidents for the Judicial, Audit, and Administrative chambers, and 9 associate justices or magistrates)
judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the Superior Council of the Magistrature, a 7-member body consisting of the national president (chairman), 3 "bench" judges, and 3 public prosecutors; judges appointed for life
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (organized into civil, criminal, and social chambers); first instance courts; peace courts - Political parties
- African Peoples' Party-Cote d'Ivoire or PPA-CI Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI Ivorian Popular Front or FPI Liberty and Democracy for the Republic or LIDER Movement of the Future Forces or MFA Pan-African Congress for People's Justice and Equality or COJEP Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace or RHDP Rally of the Republicans or RDRTogether for Democracy and Sovereignty or EDS Together to Build (UDPCI, FPI,and allies) Union for Cote d'Ivoire or UPCI Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI
- Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahima TOURE (since 13 January 2022)
chancery: 2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-0300
FAX: [1] (202) 204-3967
email address and website: info@ambacidc.orgAmbassade de Cote D’ivoire aux USA (ambaciusa.org) - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Jessica Davis BA (since 2 March 2023)
embassy: B.P. 730 Abidjan Cidex 03
mailing address: 2010 Abidjan Place, Washington DC 20521-2010
telephone: [225] 27-22-49-40-00
FAX: [225] 27-22-49-43-23
email address and website: AbjAmCit@state.govhttps://ci.usembassy.gov/ - International organization participation
- ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNMISS, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- Independence
- 7 August 1960 (from France)
- National holiday
- Independence Day, 7 August (1960)
- Flag
- description: three equal vertical bands of orange (left side), white, and greenmeaning: orange stands for the savannah and fertility, white for peace and unity, green for the forests of the south and the hope for a bright future; design based on France's flag
- National symbol(s)
- elephant
- National color(s)
- orange, white, green
- National anthem(s)
- title: "L'Abidjanaise" (Song of Abidjan)
lyrics/music: Mathieu EKRA, Joachim BONY, and Pierre Marie COTY/Pierre Marie COTY and Pierre Michel PANGO
history: adopted 1960; named after the former capital city of Abidjan - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 5 (2 cultural, 3 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Comoé National Park (n); Historic Grand-Bassam (c); Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (n); Sudanese-style Mosques (c); Taï National Park (n)