It is 62 years since Ivory Coast (or Côte d’Ivoire, as it likes to be called) gained independence from the French, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, affectionately known as The Old One. Ivory Coast is among Go Volunteer Africa’s most popular volunteer destinations in Africa. We’ve rounded up some interesting tidbits about the nation on Africa’s western flank.
IT BOASTS THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE WORLD
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro surpasses even St Peter’s Basilica, with an exterior area of 30,000 square meters. Finished in 1990, its design is said to have been inspired by its Vatican City sibling, with a hefty dose of Renaissance and Baroque style. It can hold about 18,000 worshipers, though is very rarely full.
ITS MOST FAMOUS SON IS….
Didier Drogba, of course. Perhaps best remembered for his domineering time at Chelsea, the striker was born in Abidjan and represented his country 104 times, scoring 65 goals. He captained the national team for eight years from 2006 and retired as the nation’s all-time top goal scorer.
THE NATIONAL TEAM HAS A PECULIAR NICKNAME
Les Éléphants won the 1992 African Cup of Nations and again in 2015, both by beating Ghana on penalties. Yaya Toure, Wilfred Bony and Salomon Kalou have also represented the team.
BUT FOOTBALL ISN’T ITS ONLY SPORT
The only Olympic gold ever won by the Ivory Coast was in Taekwondo at Rio 2016 by Cheick Sallah Cisse. A second in the sport – bronze in the same Games – and a silver at the LA Games in 1984 in the Men’s 400 Metres complete its modest tally.
IT’S TOURISM SCENE WAS BOOMING
Popular with holidaymakers for its golden beaches, fading French colonial heritage and traditional Senufo cultural experiences, Ivory Coast has seen its annual visitor numbers rise steadily in recent years – 250,000 in 2010 up to 1.44m in 2015. It was not deemed a welcoming state in the Eighties, then again between 2002 and 2011 when the country suffered two civil wars, but a period of stability helped broaden its appeal around the world.
IT’S HOME TO THIS LUSH MOUNTAIN
Mount Nimba rises above the surrounding savannah where Ivory Coast meets Guinea and Liberia. A Unesco World Heritage Site, the mountain is covered by dense forest harboring a rich variety of flora and fauna, including chimpanzees.
THAT IS NOT ALL THOUGH……
Ivory Coast boasts three more Unesco World Heritage Sites in the shape of the historic town of Grand-Bassam, once a colonial trading post, Comoe National Park, one of the largest protected areas in West Africa, and Tai National Park, home to 11 species of monkeys.
LIFE EXPECTANCY IS LOW
While Africa is the only continent that contains nations where the average life expectancy is below 60 – and there are 21 of them – the fifth lowest is in the Ivory Coast, at 53.3 years. The lowest is nearby Sierra Leone at 50.1 years.
IT IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST COCOA PRODUCER
In 2013 it shifted 1.448million metric tonnes of cocoa beans (31.6 per cent of the world’s total), nearly double its nearest rival, Ghana.
IT HAS TWO CAPITALS
Yamoussoukro is the nation’s political capital while Abidjan is its economic capital and the largest city.
FRANCE LEFT IT’S MARK
Abidjan is the city with the third biggest French speaking population anywhere in the world. It is also the fourth most populous city in Africa, with about 4.7million people living there.
IT HAS ITS OWN ST. PAUL’S
This is St Paul’s Cathedral in Abidjan, built at a cost of $12million.
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