FIFA 2014 World Cup Ranking:  23rd

Star Player: Didier Drogba

Didier Drogbais touted as Cote d’Ivoire’s star footballer at the 2014 World Cup. Didier Drogba, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a Striker for Galatasaray in the Süper Lig. He is the captain and all-time top scorer of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time.

Wikimedia: Rayand

Until 2005, Cote d’Ivoire’s greatest accomplishment was winning the 1992 African Cup of Nations against Ghana on penalties at the Stade Leopold Senghor in Dakar, Senegal.

They have qualified for three consecutive World Cups, first in Germany in 2006, losing to Argentina and the Netherlands and beating Serbia and Montenegro as they failed to progress beyond the group stage. They qualified again for South Africa in 2010 and did not get through the group stage again. FIFA currently ranks Ivory Coast first among African nations.

COUNTRY STATS:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $28.28 billion

GDP per capita (PPP): $1,800 (per capita)

Government Structure: republic; multiparty presidential regime established 1960

Corruption index: 27 (ranked 136/177)

Religious Demographics: 38.6% Muslim, 32.8% Christian, 11.9% Indigenous,16.7% None

Literacy Rate: 56.9% of population

Health Barriers: 

Access to Drinking Water Source 76% 

35% of people living in rural areas do not have access to safe drinking water

HIV prevalence rate: 3.2%

% of Population Under 14: 38.4%

Contraceptive Prevalence: 18.2%

Wikimedia: Rei-artur

Development History of Côte d'Ivoire: 

Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Ivory Coast, is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea.

Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after independence.

An 1843–44 treaty made Ivory Coast a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa. 

Ivory Coast became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Ivory Coast has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002.

Ivory Coast is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President of Ivory Coast. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone. 

Through production of coffee and cocoa, the country was an economic powerhouse during the 1960s and 1970s in West Africa. However, Ivory Coast went through an economic crisis in the 1980s, leading to the country's period of political and social turmoil. The 21st-century Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash-crop production being dominant.

The official language is French, although many indigenous local languages are widely used, including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin and Cebaara Senufo. The main religions are Islam, Christianity (primarily Roman Catholic) and various indigenous religions.

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World Cup Country Profles: Cote D'Ivoire