Economy - overview:
Cote d'Ivoire is among the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and weather conditions. Despite government attempts to diversify the economy, it is still heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, engaging roughly 68% of the population. Growth was negative in 2000-03 because of the difficulty of meeting the conditions of international donors, continued low prices of key exports, and severe civil war. In November 2004, the situation deteriorated when President GBAGBO's troops attacked and killed nine French peacekeeping forces, and the UN imposed an arms embargo. Political turmoil damaged the economy in 2005, with fear among Ivorians spreading, foreign investment shriveling, French businesses and expats fleeing, travel within the country falling, and criminal elements that traffic in weapons and diamonds gaining ground. The government will continue to survive financially off of the sale of cocoa, which represents 90% of foreign exchange earnings. Though the 2005 harvest was largely unaffected by past fighting, the government will likely lose between 10% and 20% of its cocoa harvest to northern rebels, who smuggle the cocoa they control to neighboring countries where cocoa prices are higher. The government remains hopeful that ongoing exploration of Cote d'Ivoire's offshore oil reserves will result in significant production that could boost daily crude output from roughly 33,000 barrels per day (b/d) to over 200,000 b/d by the end of the decade.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$26.11 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$16.13 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.8% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,500 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 27.7%
industry: 16.7%
services: 55.6% (2005 est.)
Labor force:
6.95 million (68% agricultural) (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
13% in urban areas (1998)
Population below poverty line:
37% (1995)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 28.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
45.2 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
8.7% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.434 billion
expenditures: $2.83 billion; including capital expenditures of $420 million (2005 est.)
Public debt:
70.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, cocoa beans, bananas, palm kernels, corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sweet potatoes, sugar, cotton, rubber; timber
Industries:
foodstuffs, beverages; wood products, oil refining, truck and bus assembly, textiles, fertilizer, building materials, electricity, ship construction and repair
Industrial production growth rate:
15% (1998 est.)
Electricity - production:
5.127 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption:
3.418 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports:
1.35 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production:
32,900 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves:
220 million bbl (2005 est.)
Natural gas - production:
1.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
1.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
29.73 billion cu m (2005)
Current account balance:
-$289 million (2005 est.)
Exports:
$6.49 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities:
cocoa, coffee, timber, petroleum, cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, fish
Exports - partners:
France 23.7%, Netherlands 10.8%, US 10.2%, Nigeria 7.5%, Italy 4.8% (2004)
Imports:
$4.759 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities:
fuel, capital equipment, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
France 32.7%, Nigeria 20.3%, Thailand 2.8% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.95 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external:
$13.26 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $1 billion (1996 est.)
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
