Economy of Côte d'Ivoire
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The Ivorian economy is largely market based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Almost 70% of the Ivorian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. Côte 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. Despite attempts by the government to diversify the economy, it is still largely dependent on agriculture and related activities.
GDP per capita grew 82% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 360% in the 1970s. But this proved unsustainable and it shrank by 28% in the 1980s and a further 22% in the 1990s. This coupled with high population growth resulted in a steady fall in living standards. Gross national product per capita, now rising again, was about U.S. $727 in 1996. (It was substantially higher two decades ago.) After several years of lagging performance, the Ivorian economy began a comeback in 1994, due to the devaluation of the CFA franc and improved prices for cocoa and coffee, growth in nontraditional primary exports such as pineapples and rubber, limited trade and banking liberalization, offshore oil and gas discoveries, and generous external financing and debt rescheduling by multilateral lenders and France. The 50% devaluation of franc zone currencies on 12 January 1994 caused a one-time jump in the inflation rate to 26% in 1994, but the rate fell sharply in 1996-1999. Moreover, government adherence to donor-mandated reforms led to a jump in growth to 5% annually in 1996-99. A majority of the population remains dependent on smallholder cash crop production. Principal exports are cocoa, coffee, and tropical woods. Principal U.S. exports to Cote d'Ivoire are rice and wheat, plastic materials and resins, Kraft paper, agricultural chemicals, telecommunications, and oil and gas equipment. Principal U.S. imports are cocoa and cocoa products, petroleum, rubber, and coffee.
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[edit] Infrastructure
By developing country standards, Côte d'Ivoire has an outstanding infrastructure. There is a network of more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of paved roads; modern telecommunications services, including a public data communications network; cellular phones and Internet access; two active ports, one of which, Abidjan, is the most European in West Africa; rail links-in the process of being upgraded-both within the country and to Burkina Faso; regular air service within the region and to and from Europe; and real estate developments for commercial, industrial, retail, and residential use. Côte d'Ivoire's location and connections to neighboring countries makes it a preferred platform from which Europeans conduct West African business operations. The city of Abidjan is one of the most modern and liveable cities in the region for wealthy French expatriates. Its school system is highly regarded and includes an excellent international school based on a U.S. curriculum and several excellent French-based schools.
Côte d'Ivoire has stepped up public investment programs after the stagnation of the pre-devaluation era. The government's public investment plan accords priority to investment in human capital, but it also will provide for significant spending on economic infrastructure needed to sustain growth. Continued infrastructure development is also expected to occur because of private sector activity.
In the new environment of government disengagement from productive activities and in the wake of recent privatizations, anticipated investments in the petroleum, electricity, water, and telecommunications sectors, and in part of the transport sector, will be financed without any direct government intervention.
[edit] External trade and investment
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a key role in the Ivorian economy, accounting for between 40% and 45% of total capital in Ivorian firms. France is overwhelmingly the most important foreign investor. In recent years, French investment has accounted for about one-quarter of the total capital in Ivorian enterprises, and between 55% and 60% of the total stock of foreign investment capital.
The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Cote d'Ivoire was valued at $2,327 million in 2005 by the World Bank.[1]
[edit] Economic Data
GDP (purchasing power parity): $28.52 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $16.57 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,600 (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
[edit] See also
- Politics of Côte d'Ivoire
- Départements of Côte d'Ivoire
- Geography of Côte d'Ivoire
- Demographics of Côte d'Ivoire
- Economy of Africa
- Economics of cocoa
[edit] External links
- Economy of Côte d'Ivoire at the Open Directory Project
- West African Agricultural Market Observer/Observatoire du Marché Agricole (RESIMAO), a project of the West-African Market Information Network (WAMIS-NET), provides live market and commodity prices from fifty seven regional and local public agricultural markets across Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Togo, and Nigeria. Sixty commodities are tracked weekly. The project is run by the Benin Ministry of Agriculture, and a number of European, African, and United Nations agencies.
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