Cote d'Ivoire People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

28,088,455 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected

Nationality

noun: Ivoirian(s)

adjective: Ivoirian

Ethnic groups

Akan 28.9%, Voltaique or Gur 16.1%, Northern Mande 14.5%, Kru 8.5%, Southern Mande 6.9%, unspecified 0.9%, non-Ivoirian 24.2% (2014 est.)

Languages

French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken

printed major-language sample:
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1% (2014 est.)

note: the majority of foreign migrant workers are Muslim (72.7%) and Christian (17.7%)

Demographic profile

Cote d’Ivoire’s population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future because almost 60% of the populace is younger than 25, the total fertility rate is holding steady at about 3.5 children per woman, and contraceptive use is under 20%. The country will need to improve education, health care, and gender equality in order to turn its large and growing youth cohort into human capital. Even prior to 2010 unrest that shuttered schools for months, access to education was poor, especially for women. As of 2015, only 53% of men and 33% of women were literate. The lack of educational attainment contributes to Cote d’Ivoire’s high rates of unskilled labor, adolescent pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevalence.

Following its independence in 1960, Cote d’Ivoire’s stability and the blossoming of its labor-intensive cocoa and coffee industries in the southwest made it an attractive destination for migrants from other parts of the country and its neighbors, particularly Burkina Faso. The HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY administration continued the French colonial policy of encouraging labor immigration by offering liberal land ownership laws. Foreigners from West Africa, Europe (mainly France), and Lebanon composed about 25% of the population by 1998.

Ongoing economic decline since the 1980s and the power struggle after HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY’s death in 1993 ushered in the politics of "Ivoirite," institutionalizing an Ivoirian identity that further marginalized northern Ivoirians and scapegoated immigrants. The hostile Muslim north-Christian south divide snowballed into a 2002 civil war, pushing tens of thousands of foreign migrants, Liberian refugees, and Ivoirians to flee to war-torn Liberia or other regional countries and more than a million people to be internally displaced. Subsequently, violence following the contested 2010 presidential election prompted some 250,000 people to seek refuge in Liberia and other neighboring countries and again internally displaced as many as a million people. By July 2012, the majority had returned home, but ongoing inter-communal tension and armed conflict continue to force people from their homes.

Age structure

0-14 years: 38.53% (male 5,311,971/female 5,276,219)

15-24 years: 20.21% (male 2,774,374/female 2,779,012)

25-54 years: 34.88% (male 4,866,957/female 4,719,286)

55-64 years: 3.53% (male 494,000/female 476,060)

65 years and over: 2.85% (male 349,822/female 433,385) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 79.8

youth dependency ratio: 74.6

elderly dependency ratio: 5.2

potential support ratio: 19.3 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 20.3 years

male: 20.3 years

female: 20.3 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.21% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

28.67 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

7.75 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution

the population is primarily located in the forested south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast; most of the northern savanna remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations located along transportation corridors as shown in this population distribution map

Urbanization

urban population: 52.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

231,000 YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) (2018), 5.355 million ABIDJAN (seat of government) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.6 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality rate

617 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 57.36 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 64.83 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 49.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 61.8 years

male: 59.62 years

female: 64.05 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.6 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

23.3% (2018)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 90.4% of population

rural: 67.8% of population

total: 79.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 9.6% of population

rural: 32.2% of population

total: 20.8% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

4.2% (2018)

Physicians density

0.23 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 75.9% of population

rural: 32.7% of population

total: 54.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 24.1% of population

rural: 67.3% of population

total: 45.5% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

2.1% (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

380,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

13,000 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

10.3% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

12.8% (2016)

Education expenditures

3.3% of GDP (2018)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 47.2%

male: 53.7%

female: 40.5% (2018)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years

male: 10 years

female: 9 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 5.5%

male: 4.7%

female: 6.5% (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Cote d'Ivoire on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Cote d'Ivoire 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cote d'Ivoire 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.