France made its initial contact with Cote d'Ivoire in 1637, when missionaries landed at Assinie near the Gold Coast (now Ghana) border; Cote d'Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. From 1904 to 1958, Cote d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the Third Republic. Until the period following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. In 1946, French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labour were abolished. In December 1958, as a result of a referendum, Cote d'Ivoire became an autonomous republic within the French community and then gained independence on August 7 th 1960. In a region whose political systems have otherwise been noted for a lack of stability (for example, those countries undergoing repeated military coups), Cote d'Ivoire showed remarkable political stability after its independence from France in 1960. Cote d'Ivoire evolved from a single-party state, beginning in 1990, and opposition parties, independent newspapers, and independent trades unions were all made legal.¹⁵

Although there has been an element of political and military instability in the recent history of the country, Cote d’Ivoire remains one of Africa's most diversified economies. Its location geographically and economically at the hub of Francophone West Africa leaves it ideally placed to capitalize on the economic development of the region.¹⁶ Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment has made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states. 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 to weather conditions. The economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly 68% of the population. The Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the 50% devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in non-traditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external finance and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. The rising world prices for cocoa will help both the current account and the government balances.¹⁷

GDP per capita is Intl $2045. This falls within the range of $8,272 ( Libya) and $346 ( Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the countries of Africa (Table 5).

Table 5 GDP per capita (Intl $): countries of Africa, 2001

Source WHO