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Quick Facts
- Population:
- GDP (PPP):
- $144.6 billion
- 2.3% growth
- 6.0% 5-year compound annual growth
- $5,365 per capita
- Unemployment:
- Inflation (CPI):
- FDI Inflow:
Côte d’Ivoire’s economic freedom score is 61.6, making its economy the 76th freest in the 2022 Index. Côte d’Ivoire is ranked 4th among 47 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is above the regional and world averages.
Côte d’Ivoire has maintained positive growth rates over the past five years, even in 2020. Its five-year compound annual growth rate is an impressive 6.0 percent. Economic freedom, however, has been on a downward trend. With declines in judicial effectiveness and fiscal health outpacing pro-business reforms, Côte d’Ivoire has recorded a 1.4-point overall loss of economic freedom since 2017 and remains in the lower half of the “Moderately Free” category. Scores for tax burden and investment freedom are relatively good, but government integrity and financial freedom exhibit weaknesses.
IMPACT OF COVID-19: As of December 1, 2021, 704 deaths had been attributed to the pandemic in Côte d’Ivoire, and the government’s response to the crisis ranked 159th among the countries included in this Index in terms of its stringency. The economy grew just 2.3 percent in 2020.
Background
Following independence in 1960, cocoa and cashew exports made Côte d’Ivoire West Africa’s second-largest economy, but prosperity did not prevent political turmoil. The North–South civil war ended in 2007, but the U.N. and France had to intervene three years later to ensure that the internationally recognized winner of the 2010 election, Alassane Ouattara, was able to take office. After his hand-picked successor died in July 2020, Ouattara announced that he would seek a third term, which he won in October 2020 with 95 percent of the vote in an election that was marred by violence. Pro-business reforms and strong private investment in such areas as agriculture, agribusiness, mining, light manufacturing, housing, and services have driven robust economic growth in recent years.
Rule of Law
Property rights and contracts are enforced, but laws regarding rural land tenure make enforcement prohibitively difficult. Very little land has clear title. Intellectual property rights are not well protected. The judiciary is ostensibly independent, but judges can be subject to political and financial influence. Corruption and bribery remain endemic and particularly affect the judiciary, police, and government contracting operations.
Government Size
The top individual income tax rate is 36 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 25 percent. The overall tax burden equals 13.1 percent of total domestic income. Government spending has amounted to 18.6 percent of total output (GDP) over the past three years, and budget deficits have averaged 3.7 percent of GDP. Public debt is equivalent to 45.7 percent of GDP.
Regulatory Efficiency
Slow government decision-making processes impede business freedom. Official unemployment figures undercount true unemployment, and labor data are generally not reliable. In 2021, reports and lawsuits concerning child labor and child trafficking on cocoa farms were filed. The government funds numerous agricultural subsidies and maintains price controls in the gas, power, and water sectors.
Open Markets
Côte d’Ivoire has four preferential trade agreements in force. The trade-weighted average tariff rate is 8.2 percent, and 15 nontariff measures are in effect. In most sectors, there are no laws that limit foreign investment. Credit allocation is based on market terms and has increased to support the private sector and economic development. The number of bank branches has more than doubled over the past decade.