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Ivory Coast Facts & Worksheets

Ivory Coast, officially named the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on West Africa's south coast. It is the largest cocoa beans exporter in the world.

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Ivory Coast, officially named the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country on West Africa’s south coast. It is the largest cocoa beans exporter in the world.

See the fact file below for more information on the Ivory Coast or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Ivory Coast worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

History

  • Recently discovered tool fragments and weaponry confirm a human presence in Ivory Coast from as early as the Upper Paleolithic period to as late as the Neolithic period.
  • Historians believe that these inhabitants were either banished or absorbed by newer indigenous inhabitants; thus, traces of their existence are scattered throughout the country.
  • In the early 15th century, Portuguese and, later on, French explorers reached the coast.
  • Ivory Coast became part of the West African trade route where the Portuguese, British, and French purchased and traded pepper, ivory, gold, and slaves.
  • During the 1750s, Ivory Coast was invaded by the Akan people who fled from the Asante Empire in modern-day Ghana.
  • The Akan built their own kingdom, called the Baoulé Kingdom, in the middle of the Coast around the town of Sakasso.
  • The French began establishing their trading post in 1830, and Ivory Coast became an official French colony in 1893.
  • Ivory Coast also became a part of the Afrique Occidentale Française (Federation of French West Africa).
  • It was operated as an overseas territory of the Third Republic.
  • By 1943, Syndicat Agricole Africain was formed and led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It’s the first indigenous political group representing African landowners and farmers.
  • Houphouët-Boigny also formed the first political party in the country.
  • On August 7, 1960, Ivory Coast was given independence, and Houphouët-Boigny became the first president.

Geography

  • Ivory Coast is surrounded by Guinea and Liberia to the west, Burkina Faso and Mali in the north, and Ghana in the east. The south of the country faces the Gulf of Guinea.
  • An estimated 64.8% of the country is agricultural land.
  • Since 2011, the Coast has been divided into 12 districts, with two district-level autonomous cities. These districts are split into 31 regions, the regions partitioned into 108 departments, and the departments are divided into 510 sub-prefectures.
  • The two autonomous districts do not have regions but consist of departments, sub-prefectures, and communes (multiple villages).
  • No governors for the 12 districts have been appointed since 2011, hindering these districts from functioning as government entities.

Wildlife in Ivory Coast

  • Over 1,200 animal species can be found on Ivory Coast. This includes 38 amphibians, 702 birds, 111 fish species, 223 mammals, 125 reptiles, and 4,700 species of plants.
  • It is known as the most biodiverse West African country, and many of the wildlife live in the rugged interior.
  • The Assgny National Park is the largest among the 9 national parks of the Ivory Coast. It is about 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) wide.

Economy

  • Ivory Coast has a comparatively high income per capita, contributing 40% of the total GDP of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, making it the largest economy in the union.
  • Besides being the largest exporter of cocoa beans worldwide, it is also the fourth-largest exporter of goods in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Some of the factors that helped in the country’s economic growth since independence are its close ties to France, encouraging foreign investors, and making their agricultural exports diverse.
  • Competition and the fall of global marketplace prices for coffee and cocoa combined with rampant internal corruption made the life of growers, exporters, and laborers difficult.
  • Since 2009, the country’s coffee and cocoa production industry has been included in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor reported by the U.S. Department of Labor.

People and Culture

  • The major ethnic groups of Ivory Coast are the Akan (42.1%), Gur or Voltaiques (17.6%), Northern Mandés (16.5%), Krous (11%), and Southern Mandés (10%). The other 2.8% are French and Lebanese residents.
  • Each of these groups has its own music genre. Talking drums and polyrhythms are common.
  • Music genres that are popular in the country include Coupé-Décalé, zoblazo, and zouglou.
  • Some internationally successful artists from Ivory Coast are AfroB, Alpha Blondy, DJ Arafat, Dobet Gnahoré, Magic Système, Meiway, Serge Beynaud, and Tiken Jah Fakoly.
  • About 70 languages are spoken by the Ivorian people, and the official language is French.
  • The most common language, Dyula, is their trade language.
  • As of 2020, 44% of the population are Christians, 37.2% are Islamic, 10.5% follow traditional African religions, and 8.1% are irreligious.
  • The world’s largest church building is located in Yamoussoukro, the capital of the Ivory Coast.
  • Even though there are a number of universities in the Ivory Coast, a huge part of the adult population, mainly women, is illiterate.
  • Lots of children aged 6 to 10 years old don’t go to school, and most secondary education students are male.
  • The country has hosted a number of major African sporting events, including the 2013 African Basketball Championship.
  • Ivory Coast was also the host for the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie.
  • Association football, or simply football, is the most popular sport for Ivorians. Their national team has played in three World Cups.
  • Just like the neighboring countries, Ivory Coast’s traditional cuisine relies on tubers and grains.
  • One of the common street foods in the country is Alloco. It is plantain spiced with chili and steamed onions and fried in palm oil.
  • Another characteristic of the country is maquis – small, open-air restaurants.

Ivory Coast Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Ivory Coast across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Ivory Coast, officially named the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, which is a country on West Africa’s south coast. It is the largest cocoa beans exporter in the world.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Fast Facts
  • People of Ivory
  • Ivory Feast
  • Classifieds
  • The Pres did What?
  • Send Me Cocoa
  • Theobroma cacao
  • Piece of Cloth
  • Hymns from the Coast
  • Struggles of the Coast

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Link will appear as Ivory Coast Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 1, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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