Close ties to France following independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment all made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and an election brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivoirian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in the country being divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month resumption of violent conflict. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. The UN peacekeeping mission departed in June 2017. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure while rebuilding the security forces. GBAGBO is in The Hague on trial for crimes against humanity.

Source: The CIA World Factbook - Côte d'Ivoire



Your advisors at the Chamber of Commerce

Thomas Bertrand

Contact us: africa@cc.lu


Key indicators

Area
322,460 km2
Population
26,378,275 (2020 est.)
Government type
presidential republic
Languages
French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken
GDP
$61.349 billion (2020 est.)
Growth rate
1.8% (2020 est.)
HDI
162
Capital
Yamoussoukro

Macroeconomic indicators

Cote d'Ivoire is heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly two-thirds of the population. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and to climatic conditions. Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country has targeted agricultural processing of cocoa, cashews, mangoes, and other commodities as a high priority. Mining gold and exporting electricity are growing industries outside agriculture.

Following the end of more than a decade of civil conflict in 2011, Cote d’Ivoire has experienced a boom in foreign investment and economic growth. In June 2012, the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. For the last 5 years Cote d'Ivoire's growth rate has been among the highest in the world.

Source: The CIA World Factbook - Economic Overview

IMF Statistics:

Subject descriptor 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Gross domestic product, constant prices

Percent change

7.433

7.492

7.294

7.006

6.724

Gross domestic product, current prices

Percent change

(Billions)

43.048

44.439

48.354

53.095

58.055

Gross domestic product per capita, current prices

Percent change

(Units)

1,680.967

1,691.310

1,793.699

1,919.649

2,045.782

Inflation, average consumer prices

Percent change

0.422

1.000

2.000

2.000

2.000

Volume of imports of goods and services

Percent change

8.755

5.427

7.879

7.208

6.497

Volume of exports of goods and services

Percent change

-3.113

6.504

7.808

8.235

8.978

Unemployment rate

Percent change

Current account balance

Percent change

(Billions)

-2.020

-1.688

-1.830

-2.021

-2.087

Current account balance

Percent change

-4.693

-3.799

-3.785

-3.806

-3.595

Estimates

Source: The IMF Statistics - Côte d'Ivoire


Relationships with Luxembourg

Existing conventions and agreements

Non double taxation agreement

In order to promote international economic and financial relations in the interest of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Luxembourg government negotiates bilateral agreements for the avoidance of double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on fortune with third countries.

None

Air Services agreement

None

Source: Administration des contributions directes


Further information

Foreign Trade

The Statec Foreign Trade statistics provide information on the trade of goods - by product and by country. This information is collected respectively through the INTRASTAT declaration and on the basis of customs documents.

You can see the statistics on the website of the Statec.
 

Contact points in Côte d'Ivoire

Luxembourg is represented by Ambassade du Royaume de Belgique à Abidjan

Honorary consul with juridiction over the Côte d'Ivoire:

Mr Maximilien LEMAIRE

01 BP 4301
Abidjan 01
Côte d'Ivoire

Tel: (+225) 0 576 50 50 50
E-Mail : abidjan@consul-hon.lu 

Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luxembourg

Country risk as defined by Office du Ducroire for Côte d'Ivire

Ducroire is the only credit insurer covering open account deals in over 200 countries. A rating on a scale from 1 to 7 shows the intensity of the political risk. Category 1 comprises countries with the lowest political risk and category 7 countries with the highest. Macroeconomics experts also assess the repayment climate for all buyers in a country.

Link: Ducroire Office - Country Risk for Côte d'Ivoire

 

Other Useful Links:

 

 

 


Chamber of Commerce and the country