Demographics of Ivory Coast

Demographic features of the population of Ivory Coast include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Ivory Coast
Population pyramid of the Ivory Coast in 2020
Population28,713,423 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.19% (2022 est.)
Birth rate28.3 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate7.6 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy62.26 years
 • male60.07 years
 • female64.52 years
Fertility rate3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate55.67 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate1.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years38.53%
65 and over2.85%
Sex ratio
Total0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.06 male(s)/female
65 and over0.58 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityIvoirian
Language
OfficialFrench
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19502,630,000—    
19603,504,000+33.2%
19705,102,000+45.6%
19808,034,000+57.5%
199011,925,000+48.4%
200016,455,000+38.0%
201021,530,000+30.8%
202026,812,000+24.5%
source:[1][2]

Population

Demographics of Ivory Coast, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022; Number of inhabitants in thousands.
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2] the total population was 27,478,249 in 2021, compared to only 2 630 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.9%, 55.3% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.8% was 65 years or older.[3]

Total populationPopulation aged 0–14 (%)Population aged 15–64 (%)Population aged 65+ (%)
19502 630 00043.154.62.3
19553 072 00043.054.62.4
19603 638 00043.853.82.4
19654 424 00044.652.92.4
19705 416 00045.052.62.4
19756 768 00045.452.22.4
19808 501 00045.951.72.5
198510 495 00045.951.52.5
199012 518 00045.152.22.6
199514 677 00043.254.02.8
200016 582 00041.855.13.1
200518 021 00041.854.83.5
201019 738 00040.955.33.8

Population Growth

1.88% (2016 est.)[4]

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in the Ivory Coast is not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.[5]

Mid-year population (thousands)Live births (thousands)Deaths (thousands)Natural change (thousands)Crude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Total fertility rate (TFR)Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)Life expectancy (in years)
19502 737  150  89  6054.832.722.17.61238.732.11
1951  2 814  154  91  6355.032.522.57.61236.932.41
1952  2 894  159  92  6755.131.923.17.61233.132.93
1953  2 976  164  93  7155.131.423.77.60229.133.51
1954  3 063  168  94  7455.130.824.37.60224.934.09
1955  3 154  173  95  7855.030.224.87.60220.534.69
1956  3 251  178  96  8254.929.525.47.60215.835.42
1957  3 354  183  97  8754.828.925.97.60211.236.06
1958  3 463  189  97  9154.628.226.57.61206.736.77
1959  3 581  194  98  9654.427.526.97.61202.237.44
1960  3 709  202  99  10354.826.927.97.69197.838.11
1961  3 848  210  101  10954.726.328.47.72193.538.74
1962  3 998  218  102  11554.725.728.97.75189.139.40
1963  4 156  226  104  12154.625.229.37.78185.039.96
1964  4 321  234  106  12854.424.629.87.81181.040.61
1965  4 493  242  108  13554.224.130.17.84177.041.18
1966  4 671  251  109  14253.923.530.57.87173.141.82
1967  4 857  260  111  14953.722.930.87.89169.242.42
1968  5 050  269  113  15753.522.431.17.91165.343.02
1969  5 255  278  114  16453.221.831.47.93161.543.64
1970  5 477  288  115  17352.821.231.77.94157.644.33
1971  5 719  299  117  18252.620.632.17.94153.444.99
1972  5 980  311  118  19352.419.932.57.94148.945.72
1973  6 257  325  120  20652.319.333.17.94144.346.56
1974  6 549  340  121  21952.218.533.67.93139.447.51
1975  6 854  354  122  23251.917.934.07.91134.648.35
1976  7 143  368  122  24651.617.134.47.88129.849.29
1977  7 416  389  123  26652.516.635.97.83125.450.18
1978  7 701  404  124  28052.516.236.37.67121.350.93
1979  7 996  423  126  29752.815.737.17.63117.851.68
1980  8 304  438  127  31152.815.337.57.59114.852.27
1981  8 622  452  129  32352.414.937.47.54112.352.73
1982  8 948  463  131  33251.714.737.17.49110.252.92
1983  9 282  473  133  34051.014.436.67.42108.553.17
1984  9 621  481  137  34450.014.235.87.35107.153.04
1985  9 964  487  139  34848.914.034.97.27106.153.17
1986  10 309  493  142  35147.813.834.17.18105.353.20
1987  10 663  498  145  35346.713.633.17.08104.953.19
1988  11 043  507  149  35846.013.532.56.96104.753.02
1989  11 463  539  157  38247.113.733.46.84104.852.88
1990  11 911  556  165  39146.813.932.96.73105.052.60
1991  12 369  573  173  40046.414.032.46.61105.352.32
1992  12 838  589  181  40946.014.131.96.46105.552.14
1993  13 316  604  188  41545.414.231.36.31105.651.93
1994  13 802  618  196  42344.914.230.76.16105.651.74
1995  14 300  642  203  43945.014.230.86.09105.451.61
1996  14 811  663  211  45244.814.330.66.01104.751.52
1997  15 335  689  218  47045.014.330.75.95103.751.45
1998  15 859  716  228  48845.214.430.85.90102.551.11
1999  16 346  737  235  50145.014.430.65.85101.050.96
2000  16 800  753  241  51344.814.330.55.8199.350.84
2001  17 245  764  245  51944.214.130.05.7697.450.81
2002  17 684  772  247  52543.513.929.65.7195.450.89
2003  18 116  782251  53143.013.829.25.6493.350.95
2004  18 545  785  250  53542.213.528.85.5591.051.36
2005  18 970  792  250  54241.613.128.55.4688.651.82
2006  19 394  796  248  54840.912.828.25.3886.452.36
2007  19 818  800  246  55440.212.427.95.3084.152.97
2008  20 244  806  243  56339.712.027.75.2281.653.65
2009  20 678  813  239  57439.211.527.75.1578.954.39
2010  21 120  823  237  58538.811.227.65.0976.655.02
2011  21 563  832  236  59538.410.927.55.0374.655.52
2012  22 011  833  232  60137.710.527.24.9772.656.16
2013  22 469  837  229  60937.110.127.04.9270.656.75
2014  22 996  842  227  61636.69.826.84.8768.557.21
2015  23 597  857  225  63136.39.526.74.8166.657.76
2016  24 214  871  227  64436.09.426.64.7665.158.06
2017  24 848  892  228  66435.99.226.74.7463.558.48
2018  25 494  893  229  66435.09.026.04.6161.758.85
2019  26 148  904  228  67634.68.725.84.5459.859.32
2020  26 812  917  236  68134.28.825.44.4758.259.03
2021  27 478  933  247  68533.99.024.94.4256.958.60

Age distribution

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 15.V.2014): [6]
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total11 708 24410 963 08722 671 331100
0–41 902 0521 784 6953 686 74716.26
5–91 635 0391 530 6083 165 64713.96
10–141 391 7321 237 2252 628 95711.60
15–191 075 5551 039 0262 114 5819.33
20–241 022 1901 083 4042 105 5949.29
25–29997 4601 052 9242 050 3849.04
30–34908 792861 9901 770 7827.81
35–39744 301615 1681 359 4696.00
40–44555 990446 5951 002 5854.42
45–49419 350361 691781 0413.45
50–54337 817304 158641 9752.83
55–59240 117205 324445 4411.96
60–64183 494154 187337 6811.49
65-69118 203109 006227 2091.00
70-7478 64376 904155 5470.69
75-7944 04144 52088 5610.39
80-8425 86628 81854 6840.24
85-899 2069 56118 7670.08
90-944 1835 1879 3700.04
95-998 9828 57317 5550.08
100+1 8422 4524 2940.02
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–144 928 8234 552 5289 481 35141.82
15–646 485 0666 124 46712 609 53355.62
65+290 966285 021575 9872.54
Unknown3 3891 0714 4600.02
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Based on the results of the 2014 Population Census.):[7]
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total13 645 27612 808 26626 453 542100
0–42 215 5812 078 2904 293 87116.23
5–91 904 0381 738 7823 687 82013.94
10–141 619 5731 444 4943 064 06711.58
15–191 250 2591 215 1962 465 4559.32
20–241 193 8951 268 3382 462 2339.31
25–291 166 5221 233 4462 399 9689.07
30–341 062 1941 008 3462 070 5407.83
35–39869 320719 8691 589 1896.01
40–44649 418522 5771 171 9954.43
45–49489 000423 104912 1043.45
50–54393 651356 058749 7092.83
55–59280 097241 108521 2051.97
60–64214 207181 241395 4481.49
65-69137 997128 232266 2291.01
70-7492 16890 147182 3150.69
75-7951 68452 248103 9320.39
80-8430 13333 82263 9550.24
85-8910 70811 07621 7840.08
90-944 8165 96610 7820.04
95+10 01510 92620 9410.08
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–145 739 1925 261 56611 000 75841.59
15–647 568 5637 214 28314 782 84655.88
65+337 521332 417669 9382.53
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 08.XI.2021): [6]
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total15 344 99014 044 16029 389 150100
0–41 906 9181 789 3833 696 30112.58
5–92 046 7121 909 2383 955 95013.46
10–141 874 8801 698 1423 573 02212.16
15–191 698 4881 529 3433 227 83110.98
20–241 527 3411 470 4182 997 75910.20
25–291 209 3711 239 6702 449 0418.33
30–341 163 6251 148 4772 312 1027.87
35–391 033 936913 9661 947 9026.63
40–44865 312665 7421 531 0545.21
45–49609 354440 0561 049 4103.57
50–54458 662360 814819 4762.79
55–59308 261267 244575 5051.96
60–64252 433222 897475 3301.62
65-69162 331141 412303 7431.03
70-74103 482100 911204 3930.70
75-7954 91159 487114 3980.39
80-8430 40239 50269 9040.24
85-8912 54517 46130 0060.10
90-945 8859 39115 2760.05
95-992 8423 8316 6730.02
100+4 1645 90310 0670.03
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–145 828 5105 396 76311 225 27338.20
15–649 126 7838 258 62717 385 41059.16
65+376 562377 898754 4602.57
Unknown13 13510 87224 0070.08

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[8][9]

YearCBR (Total)TFR (Total)CBR (Urban)TFR (Urban)CBR (Rural)TFR (Rural)
199441.35.7 (4.7)38.84.7 (3.7)42.56.4 (5.4)
1998–9939.35.2 (4.5)36.54.0 (3.4)40.76.0 (5.2)
200538.44.635.13.640.85.5
2011–1236.85.0 (4.1)31.93.7 (3.2)40.36.3 (5.0)
202132.44.3 (3.9)29.93.6 (3.3)35.45.3 (4.9)

Fertility data as of 2011-2012 (DHS Program):[10]

RegionTotal fertility ratePercentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnantMean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Centre6.110.66.9
Centre-Est4.67.75.4
Centre-Nord5.49.66.1
Centre-Ouest5.411.05.7
Nord6.19.76.9
Nord-Est6.011.56.6
Nord-Ouest6.812.47.1
Ouest6.112.46.2
Sud4.810.66.0
Sud-Ouest5.015.55.9
Ville d'Abidjan3.16.94.2

Ethnic groups

Ethnic groups
Ethnic groups in Ivory Coast[11]
Ethnic groups
Akan
28.9%
Other (includes Pakistanis and Lebanese)
24.2%
Voltaic or Gur
16.1%
Northern Mandé
14.5%
Krou
8.5%
Southern Mandé
6.9%
Unspecified
0.9%

Ivory Coast has more than 60 ethnic groups, usually classified into five principal divisions: Akan (east and center, including Lagoon peoples of the southeast), Krou (southwest), Southern Mandé (west), Northern Mandé (northwest), Sénoufo/Lobi (north center and northeast). The Baoulés, in the Akan division, probably comprise the largest single subgroup with 15%-20% of the population. They are based in the central region around Bouaké and Yamoussoukro. The Bétés in the Krou division, the Sénoufos in the north, and the Malinkés in the northwest and the cities are the next largest groups, with 10%-15% of the national population. Most of the principal divisions have a significant presence in neighboring countries.

Of the more than 5 million non-Ivorian Africans living in Ivory Coast, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania. The white expatriate community includes roughly 50,000 French (this number may be inaccurate due to the evacuation of roughly 8,000 Frenchmen in November 2004) and possibly 40,000 Lebanese.

Languages

French is the official language, while there are 60 living indigenous languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The Dioula dialect of Bambara is the most widely spoken one.[12] Other language groups include the Gur languages, the Kru languages (including the Bété languages, Dida, Nyabwa, , and Western Krahn), the Kwa languages (including Akan, Anyin, and Baoulé), and the Senufo languages.[13]

Religion

The economic development and relative prosperity of Ivory Coast fostered huge demographic shifts during the 20th century. "In 1922, an estimated 100,000 out of 1.6 million (or 6 percent) of people in Côte d'Ivoire were Muslims. By contrast, at independence (in 1960), their share of the population had increased rapidly, and Muslims were moving southward to the cocoa-producing areas and the southern cities. By 1998, [...], Muslims constituted a majority in the north of the country, and approximately 38.6 percent of the total population. This was a significantly larger population than the next largest religious group, Christians, who constituted approximately 29.1 percent of the total."[14] In earlier decades, this shift was mainly due to large-scale immigration from neighboring countries of the interior, that has been going on since colonial times and continued to be promoted during the Houphouet-Boigny era. Since the 1990s, the widening conversion gap between different religious groups has started to tilt the demographic balance in favor of Christians.According to the last census of 2021 Muslims make up 42,5% of population (42,9% in 2014) and Christians 39,8%(33,9% in 2014).[15]

Religions of IVORY COAST (2014 est.)[11]
Religionspercent
Islam
42.5%
Roman Catholic
16.6%
Pentecostal
13.4%
No religion
12.6%
Evangelical
7.8%
Other Christian
4.2%
Animist
2.2%
Other
0.7%

Ivorian diaspora

The table below shows the number of people born in Ivory Coast who have migrated to OECD countries only (the table only includes communities consisting of at least 1,000 members).[16]

CountryIvorian-born populationSee also
 France63,441Ivorians in France
 Canada22,625[17]
 United States7,595Ivorian Americans
 Italy28,385[18]
 United Kingdom2,794Ivorians in the United Kingdom
 Belgium1,363
  Switzerland1,100

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[19]

  • One birth every 33 seconds
  • One death every 2 minutes
  • One net migrant every 360 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 46 seconds

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[20] unless otherwise indicated.

Population

28,713,423 (2022 est.)
26,260,582 (July 2018 est.)
21,058,798 (2010 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Ivory Coast in 2020
0-14 years: 38.53% (male 5,311,971/female 5,276,219)
15-24 years: 20.21% (male 2,774,374/female 2,779,012)
25-54 years: 34.88% (male 4,866,957/female 4,719,286)
55-64 years: 3.53% (male 494,000/female 476,060)
65 years and over: 2.85% (2020 est.) (male 349,822/female 433,385)
0-14 years: 39.59% (male 5,213,630 /female 5,182,872)
15-24 years: 19.91% (male 2,613,772 /female 2,615,680)
25-54 years: 34.25% (male 4,577,394 /female 4,416,408)
55-64 years: 3.47% (male 460,048 /female 451,604)
65 years and over: 2.78% (male 325,510 /female 403,664) (2018 est.)
total: 19.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 192nd
male: 20 years
female: 19.8 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate

28.3 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 35th
30.1 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 36th

Death rate

7.6 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 105th
8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 80th

Total fertility rate

3.47 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th
3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 37th
3.83 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th

Population growth rate

2.19% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 36th
2.3% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 33rd

Median age

total: 20.3 years. Country comparison to the world: 190th
male: 20.3 years
female: 20.3 years (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.6 years (2011/12 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 20-49

Contraceptive prevalence rate

23.3% (2018)
15.5% (2016)

Net migration rate

1.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 62nd
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 79th

Sex ratio

At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over0.99 male(s)/female
Total population1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 62.26 years. Country comparison to the world: 212nd
male: 60.07 years
female: 64.52 years (2022 est.)
total population: 60.1 years (2018 est.)
male: 58 years (2018 est.)
female: 62.4 years (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 83.8 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 78.5 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5.3 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 18.9 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 52.7% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.38% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)
urban population: 50.8% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.38% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

Religions

Muslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1% (2014 est.)
Muslim 42.5%, Catholic 16.6%, Pentecostal 13.4%, Evangelical 6.8%, other Christian 3%, animist 2.2%, other religion 0.7%, none 12.6% (2021 census)
note: the majority of foreign migrant workers are Muslim (72.7%) and Christian (17.7%).

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate: 2.8% (2017 est.)
people living with HIV/AIDS: 500,000 (2017 est.)
deaths: 24,000 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of riskvery high
Food or Waterborne diseasesbacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Water contactschistosomiasis
Animal contact diseaserabies

Note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

Nationality

Noun and adjective: Ivorian (Ivoirian)

Ethnic groups

other2.8% (includes 130,000 Lebanese and 14,000 French) (1998)

Education expenditures

3.7% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 112nd

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

total population: 89.9%
male: 93.1%
female: 86.7% (2019)
total population: 47.2% (2018 est.)
male: 53.7% (2018 est.)
female: 40.5% (2018 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years
male: 11 years
female: 10 years (2019)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 3.9% (2016 est.)
male: 2.8% (2016 est.)
female: 5.1% (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)