Description
Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa. Ivory Coast’s political capital is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea and Liberia to the west, Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south. The official language of the republic is French, with local indigenous languages also being widely used including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a large population of Muslims, Christians (primarily Roman Catholics), and various indigenous religions.
The flag of Ivory Coast features three equal vertical bands of orange (hoist side), white, and green. The Orange stripe expresses the splendour of national blossoming, while also serving as a reminder of the Northern Savannas. The White stripe glorifies peace in purity and union of hearts, and is the pledge of our success; and the Green stripe, expression of our hope for the future, recalls the luxuriant virgin forest of Ivory Coast, the first great source of national prosperity. The vertical alignment of the stripes symbolises the dynamic youth which heads for the future under the national motto “Union, Discipline and Work”.