Cote D?Ivoire (Formerly Ivory Coast) Cote D?Ivoire formerly known as Ivory Coast is an African country which lies on the west shore of the continent. This country will be analyzed in this paper highlighting its main characteristics including its geographical setup, history, people & their attitudes and beliefs ? religion, languages, society & culture, political and legal framework and finally the role of technology in the current state of the social setup of the country. The country formed part of French possession before it was declared independent in the year 1960 which lies in the western African between Liberia and Ghana. Its history is relatively unknown however it was considered to have Neolithic culture prior to french invasion in 1637. While French remained there as major stakeholders it was in 18th century that two groups of Akan ? the Agnis invaded some parts of the country. However, this did not last long as French army made agreements with them to put their land under French protectorate and later they got hold of the remaining land too (World66.com 2009). Yamoussoukro is the capital of the Cote D?Ivoire since 1983 (Embassy of India 2006). After independence the country emerged as one of the leading cocoa beans producer and as exports rose the country?s production triple fold making it the largest cocoa beans producer in the world. The country had foreign investment coming in its agricultural sector which also led oil companies to explore opportunities due to its oil reserves. However, the social and political unrest remained a hurdle in the way of the country to realize its potential in the agricultural and oil sector. The political structure has presidential regime instated in 1960 where the head of state is the President while the head of government is the Prime Minister. After 1999 elections being declared as rigged country had its first military coup which ousted Junta leader Robert Guei and came was Laurent Gbagbo who took over the presidency. Failure of military coup in 2002 rebels became highly active and violence erupted which forced the government to make a deal with rebels known as Linas-Marcoussis Peace Accord in December 2003 through which rebel leader Guillaume Soro became the prime minister and peace was attained. However, despite of these moves to achieve political stability making way to electoral process the political grievance continues which is obstructing country?s ability to realize its economic potential and the U.N. troops remain in the country to ensure sustainable peace (CIA 2009). The country?s legal system is based on French civil law and custom law framework and Supreme Court is the highest court. The legislative branch constitute of National Assembly where membership is shared by 4 major political parties participated in elections (CIA 2009) Islam is the major religion of the country where 38.6% of the population are Muslims while Christianity is practiced by 32.8% of the population and 11.9% are indigenous. In addition to the local residents 70% and 20% of migratory workers in the country are Muslims and Christians respectively. The total population of Cote D?Ivoire is around 20.6 million people and distribution between men and women is almost 50:50 with an overall growth rate of 2.133%. A large proportion of the entire population is in the age groups 15-64 years and the median age is very low at 19.2 years. French is the national language with 60 different dialects spoken in different regions of the country. The country stretches 200 miles from north to south and terrain is mostly lush green with forest and savannahs. The climate comprises of two rainy seasons and two dry seasons however it is mostly warm throughout the year. The warmness of the weather is reflected in the behavior and attitudes of people living in the country. Modern society is very much influenced by French culture however indigenous culture is still strong and could be easily seen through architecture and art. Traditional art most driven from French attributes is still practiced and use of the Senufo carve masks, decoration of doors and windows using esoteric designs, loud drums and dance is a common a tradition. The nation also takes pride in the theatre work and is very much inclined towards literature taught at different colleges (Traveldocs.com 2009). Various technologies have been implemented in different sectors including aerospace, power, mining, cellular, military, hydrocarbon etc. The use of technology has lead to better industry performance which has recently experienced growth. However, there is still more to achieve in sectors of medicine and health however the country is committed to introducing newer and better technologies to improve its output and greater accessibility to international markets. The IT sector has attracted investment from other countries including India (Embassy of India 2006). Thus, from the above analysis it could be said that Cote D?Ivoire is one of the economically stable countries of Africa. Despite of several years of internal conflicts and damage the country?s political parties and rebels did finally agree to share power and work towards becoming a prosperous country but glitches in the political setup is still hindering the true potential of the country in its economic terms.
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