Côte d'Ivoire

LOCATED IN WEST Africa, the former French colony of Côte d'Ivoire (formerly known as the Ivory Coast) has a land area of 124,502 sq. mi. (322,460 sq. km.), with a population of 17,654,843 (2006 est.), and a population density of 145 people per sq. mi. (56 people per sq. km.). Over 26 percent of the country is forested, much of it equatorial rainforest, with an extensive timber industry. Arable land accounts for only 8 percent of the country, with a significant amount used for the production of coffee. Forty-one percent of the land is used for meadows and pasture, mainly low-intensity grazing of cattle, sheep, and goats.

The country generates 75.4 percent of its electricity production from fossil fuels, with the remainder from hydropower. Because of ...