Ivory Coast: Economic and Political Overview
Over the past decade, Côte d’Ivoire has steadily transformed its economy, achieving one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growth rates. As the world’s top cocoa producer, it maintained strong GDP growth, averaging 8.2% from 2012 to 2019, and effectively managed the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite global challenges and tighter financial conditions, growth remained strong at 6.2% in 2023 and rose to 6.5% in 2024, driven by robust public and private investment and private consumption. Growth is expected to average 6.5% in 2025-2026, driven by sound policies, a growing extractive sector, and investment in infrastructure and agriculture. The "Calao" oil field could further enhance prospects, attract investors, and improve financing conditions.
Fiscal data for the first ten months of 2024 indicates that consolidation remained on track, with revenues, including grants, rising by 10.2% year-on-year, while expenditure grew by 5.9%. Therefore, the central government deficit for the year aligned with the 4% of GDP target, driven by ongoing tax reforms and administration measures. Controlled spending and under-execution of capital expenditure kept expenditure growth low. Fitch expects the deficit to reach 3% of GDP in 2025 and remain stable in the following years. Government debt remained stable at 58% in 2024 and is projected to decline to 52.7% by 2026. WAEMU fiscal convergence criteria remain suspended, with new ones under development. Although WAEMU's inflation has declined from its 2022 peak, it remained above target at 3.5% in 2024. Regional inflation is expected to reach its target by 2025, while reserves should gradually increase, driven by resumed bond issuances, recovering exports, and Euro Area monetary easing.
Extreme poverty fell to 10.3% in 2024, down 0.4 percentage points from 2023, marking a reversal after three years of increase. Higher cocoa farmgate prices boosted agricultural incomes, benefiting a large share of the workforce, particularly rural workers and the poor. Lower food inflation and growth in industry and services also contributed to poverty reduction (World Bank). The unemployment rate was estimated by the World Bank at 2.3% in 2023 (latest data available); however, around 40% of the workforce is employed in the informal sector. Finally, it has to be noted that the country’s GDP per capita (PPP) is still very low, estimated at USD 7,648 in 2024 by the IMF.
| Main Indicators | 2023 (E) | 2024 (E) | 2025 (E) | 2026 (E) | 2027 (E) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 78.89 | 86.99 | 95.46 | 103.94 | 113.76 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.5 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 2,537 | 2,720 | 2,902 | 3,072 | 3,268 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 58.1 | 59.3 | 55.9 | 54.1 | 52.4 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -6.34 | -4.69 | -1.21 | -1.68 | -2.21 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -8.0 | -5.4 | -1.3 | -1.6 | -1.9 |
Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database, October 2021
Côte d'Ivoire is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocoa (30% of the world's production), one of the three biggest producers and exporters of cashew, and a major exporter of palm oil, coffee and oil. Furthermore, it is one of West Africa's leading cotton producers, with its seed cotton production for the 2024/2025 season anticipated to increase by 6%. The country’s economy is mainly based on agriculture: the primary sector contributes to 14.4% of the GDP and employs 45.2% of the country's active population (World Bank). The government is trying to maximise agricultural output by developing raw material processing units. In recent years, rubber output has increased substantially. Moreover, the country has some mining activities, particularly of precious minerals, such as gold and diamonds, but also others like nickel. According to the FAO, total cereal production in 2024 was estimated at 3.3 million tonnes, roughly 7% above the average of the previous five years.
The industrial sector contributes to 23.9% of the GDP and employs only 10.4% of the active population (World Bank). Key sectors include agro-processing, petroleum refining, and manufacturing. Agro-processing is a cornerstone of the Ivorian industrial landscape, with cocoa processing being particularly significant due to Cote d'Ivoire's status as the world's largest producer of cocoa beans. Additionally, the country's oil refining industry benefits from its status as a regional hub for petroleum products and the sector has been gaining weight, leveraging a steady growth rate and major investments. Manufacturing, including textiles, chemicals, and food processing, is also an important sector, driven by government efforts to diversify the economy and promote industrialization, and is estimated to account for 14% of GDP (World Bank). Compared to the same period in 2023, the country's industrial production volume increased by 6.1% in the first nine months of 2024 (data INS).
The services sector contributes to 54.6% of the GDP and employs 44.4% of the workforce (World Bank). Like in many other African countries, the tertiary sector has grown at a relatively rapid rate in the last several years. The telecommunications sector is booming and is one of the key drivers of services. Côte d’Ivoire has the most developed banking sector in the WAMU area. The banking sector comprises 28 banks and four financial establishments (data Central Bank of West African States). The tourism sector is also growing, with the country welcoming over 2.1 million tourists in the first half of 2024.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 45.2 | 10.4 | 44.4 |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 14.4 | 23.9 | 54.6 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | -1.7 | 6.1 | 9.4 |
Source: World Bank, Latest Available Data. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.}}
Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
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Latest Update: May 2025
