15 Facts You Should Know About Côte d'Ivoire

This post was made by students of Lycee Classique of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire as an English Club project.

1. Côte d'Ivoire, meaning "Ivory Coast," is a country located in West Africa between Ghana and Liberia.

Via worldatlas.com

With a population of about 24 million, it has an area equivalent to the state of New Mexico. The climate is generally warm and humid but the topography is diverse, with mountains, beaches, forests and savannas. People from Côte d'Ivoire are called Ivorians.

2. Abidjan is the largest city and economic capital of the country.

Via worldatlas.com

With a population of over 4 million, Abidjan is a bustling economic and cultural hub. While Yamoussoukro, located in the center of the country, is the political capital of the country, the president's home as well as foreign embassies are located in Abidjan.

Take a video tour of Abidjan.

3. Côte d’Ivoire has some of the best food in the world.

Via img.aws.la-croix.com

The first thing you must do when you come to Côte d’Ivoire is EAT! There are so many delicious foods to try, but some of the most popular are:

Garba: Attiéké (cassava couscous) with fried tuna served with diced tomatoes and onions

Poulet and poisson braisé: Grilled fish and chicken

Choukouya: Stewed mutton or beef with sliced onions and warm spices

Alloco: Fried sweet plantains

Placali: Fermented pounded cassava

Foutou with sauce arachide or sauce graine : Pounded plantains with peanut sauce or palm kernel stew, usually served with meat

4. Besides French, Ivorians also enjoy speaking Nouchi.

Via poleafrique.info

Côte d'Ivoire is a French speaking country but we have our own slang called Nouchi. Nouchi is a mixture of French and many local languages that first appeared in early 80s. Nouchi was first spoken by urban youth but is now employed by Ivorians of all ages and backgrounds. We speak Nouchi because it is a way to show that you share a common identity with fellow Ivorians.

Some examples:

zooh (pronounced "zo"): pretty, beautiful, cool

go (pronounced "go"): girl

ya foye (pronounced "yah foy"): ok, no problem

s'enjailler (pronounced "san-JA-yay"): to have fun (from the English "enjoy")

Watch Nouchi in action

5. The Ivorian national soccer team, Les Eléphants, and its players are world-renowned.

Via encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

Ivorians are proud of their soccer team, which has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice since 1992, and has regularly played in the World Cup. Didier Drogba, the team's former captain, is a world-class soccer player who also played for Chelsea F.C. in London. Most elephants, or national players, also play for major clubs in Europe like Barcelona and Manchester City.

6. Côte d'Ivoire has its own unique styles of music and dance.

youtube.com

Ivorians know how to party. They have even created several of their own music genres such as Zouglou and more recently Coupé Decalé, which have become popular all over Africa and in Europe. Zouglou was born on the campus of the national university in Abidjan. It is a rythmic dance music inspired by the hardships of urban student life; each song tells a story. The Coupé Decalé style was created by Ivorian DJs in Paris, but the singer Douk Saga brought it back to Côte d’Ivoire. It is characterized by deep bass and catchy rhythms. Dancing to Coupé Decalé is exhilarating because of its quick intense movements from the knees, hips and arms.

7. Ethnic, religious and international diversity is an important part of Côte d’Ivoire’s identity.

Via i.ytimg.com

Côte d’Ivoire is one of the most diverse countries in West Africa. Its population is made up of over 60 different ethnicities like the Baoulé from the center of the country and the Malinke from the north. Each ethnic group has its own distinct language, tradition and even foods. While Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions, many Ivorians practice traditional animistic religions. In addition, Côte d’Ivoire is home to immigrants from all over West Africa and as far as Lebanon and Vietnam.

8. Ivorians love to celebrate, and we have many cultural events and festivals.

Via mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net

In Côte d’Ivoire there are many cultural events which attract people from all over the world. These events boost the economy and promote Ivorian culture. For example, the Festival des grillades is a festival to celebrate and eat grilled food. During April, we celebrate Popo Carnaval where everyone wears costumes and dances in parades. Popo means “mask” in Abouré, an ethnic language from the south of Côte d’Ivoire. In addition to these celebrations, most villages have their own traditional festivals every year.

9. Ivorians are extraordinarily welcoming.

Via routard.com

Ivorians are very generous and full of warmth; when you come to Côte d’Ivoire, people do all they can to make you feel at home. When a visitor comes to the country or to the village, people say akwaba, which means “welcome” in Baoulé, one of the ethnic languages of Côte d’Ivoire. Then they give you a big atouuuuuuu, meaning “hug” in Agni, another ethnic language.

10. Côte d'Ivoire is home to some of the most beautiful touristic sites in Africa.

Mother Nature gave Côte d’Ivoire very beautiful places like the beaches of Grand-Bassam and Assinie Mafia or the waterfall and liana bridge of Man, where you can explore or just relax.

11. The largest basilica in the world is located in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.

Via upload.wikimedia.org

Notre Dame de la Paix, or Our Lady of Peace, was built between 1985 and 1989, by the first president of Côte d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, as a gift to Pope John Paul II. The dome of the basilica is inspired by the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and has an area of 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) and a height of 158 metres (518 ft).

Take an aerial tour of the basilica here.

12. Abidjan is often called "The Paris of Africa."

Via ivorianweddings.com

Abidjan is the leading city in African fashion. Ivorian fashion creatively unites traditional African cloth, or pagne, with modern western design. Pagne is colorful material created by printing geometrical and repetitive images on cotton cloth with wax and dye. Because tailored clothing is so popular, there are good tailors and seamstresses on practically every corner.

13. Côte d'Ivoire is the biggest producer of cocoa in the world.

Via technoserve.org

Ivorian cocoa is very high quality because of the rich soil found in the country. Other major exports include coffee, rubber and cashews.

14. Côte d'Ivoire is a modern country.

Via continenttours.com

Côte d’Ivoire is an ever-developing country with modern infrastructure and technology. Sky-scrapers, commercial centers, excellent schools and universities are in many towns and cities, and the majority of people have cell phones, if not 2 or 3. Extensive travel within cities is available via taxi, bus and ferry. Traveling in the rest of the country is easy by plane, car and bus.

15. Ivorian students are engaged and dynamic... Especially the ones who wrote this post!

EducationUSA Advising Center, US Embassy, Abidjan

We are happy to share our culture with you and we can't wait to see you in Côte d'Ivoire and tell you AKWABA.

This post was conceived, written and edited by:

Rachel Nader, Fulbright Program English Teaching Assistant

Nina Toyo, Advisor

And the following students of Lycée Classique of Abidjan:

Benares Boni

Doriane Kami

Dominique Anoman

Lilian Armoo

Louis Somale

Loïc Doudjon

Grace Okafor

Sourou Traore

Cynthia Ibah

Larissa Mango

Marc-Audrey Apaloh

Ibrahim Kouyate