Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 31.5 million inhabitants in 2024, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths often entailing animism.
The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo against a domestic insurgency led by the New Forces of Ivory Coast. Following the war, a second civil war (2010–2011) would begin over the results of the 2010 Ivorian presidential election.
Alassane Dramane Ouattara is an Ivorian politician and economist who has been President of Ivory Coast since 2010. An economist by profession, he worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of West African States, and was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993, appointed to that post by then-President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Ouattara became the president of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an Ivorian political party, in 1999.
Simone Ehivet Gbagbo is an Ivorian politician. She is the president of the Parliamentary Group of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) and is a vice-president of the FPI. As the wife of Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 to 2011, she was also First Lady of Ivory Coast prior to their arrest by pro-Ouattara forces.
Barbara Kanam Mutund, known professionally as Barbara Kanam, is a Congolese singer-songwriter, producer, television personality, philanthropist, and politician currently serving as the Director General of the Cultural Promotion Fund of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Noted for her coloratura and soprano vocal range, Kanam is considered one of the most influential figures in 21st-century Congolese and African popular music. She sings in French, Swahili, Lingala, and English, often addressing themes such as peace, love, happiness, and women's rights in her lyrics.
Salif Traoré, better known by his stage name A’salfo, is an Ivorian singer. He is the lead singer of the group Magic System. He has a career spanning more than twenty years, punctuated by several albums and distinctions for his actions through music, but also community development. The Anoumabo Urban Music Festival was created in 2008 under his leadership, and is supported by the Magic System Foundation of which he is the president.
Adé Liz is an Ivorian singer, based in France. Born in western Ivory Coast to a traditional singer mother, she relocated to Paris in 1982, where she won the César for Best Ivorian song in 1987 with Kéhi. In 1990, the Jeunes Journalistes Blacks à Paris "JJBP" awarded her the Prix de la Révélation award. In 1991, her album release Deka made a name for herself in the Afro-Caribbean community in Panama.
Obite Evan Ndicka is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Roma. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
Aka Wilfried Julien Kanga is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger or a forward for HNL side Dinamo Zagreb. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
Christopher Téa Opéri is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir and the Ivory Coast national team.
Bétika is a singer and actor from Ivory Coast.
Thérèse Allah, better known as Allah Thérèse, was a traditional singer from the village of Gbofia in the sub-prefecture of Toumodi. A pioneer of traditional Ivorian music, Allah Thérèse was made a Knight of the Ivorian Order of Merit in 2014. She was known for her signature hairstyle, "Akôrou Koffié". In her native language of Baoule, Allah translated to iroko.
Euphrasie Kouassi Yao is an Ivorian politician, who is the current special advisor to president Alassane Ouattara in charge of gender. She has also served as the Minister for the Promotion of Women, Family and Child Protection, and as a UNESCO chair on their committee on Water, Women and Decision-making.
Claire Pommet, known professionally as Pomme, is a French singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised near Lyon, she learned to play several instruments at a young age. Her debut studio album, À peu près (2017), received critical acclaim for its mixture of pop and folk music and entered the French album charts at number 91. Pomme followed with her second studio album, Les failles (2019), which became her first project to reach the top 10 in her home country. The record was later reissued as Les failles cachées (2020) and re-entered record charts in two countries. Her third studio album, Consolation, was released on 26 August 2022.
Amenan Joëlle Rosemonde Kouassi is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Washington Spirit and the Ivory Coast national team. She previously played for Division 1 Féminine club Fleury and was named in the league's team of the season two times.
Evann Ludovic Vidjannagni Guessand is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Nice. Born in France and a former French youth international, he represents the Ivory Coast internationally.
Mathilde Gerner, better known by her stage mononym Hoshi, is a French singer-songwriter.
Events in the year 2021 in Ivory Coast.
Yahia Fofana is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Angers. Born in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
