Geography of Ivory Coast

Maritime claims

Ivory Coast makes maritime claims of 200 nautical miles (370 km) as an exclusive economic zone, 12 nautical miles (22 km) of territorial sea, and a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) continental shelf.

Terrain and topography

Ivory Coast's terrain can generally be described as a large plateau rising gradually from sea level in the south to almost 500 m (1,600 ft) elevation in the north. The nation's natural resources have made it a comparatively prosperous nation in the African economy. The southeastern region of Ivory Coast is marked by coastal inland lagoons that start at the Ghanaian border and stretch 300 km (190 mi) along the eastern half of the coast. The southern region, especially the southwest, is covered with dense tropical moist forest. The Eastern Guinean forests extend from the Sassandra River across the south-central and southeast portion of Ivory Coast and east into Ghana, while the Western Guinean lowland forests extend west from the Sassandra River into Liberia and southeastern Guinea. The mountains of Dix-Huit Montagnes region, in the west of the country near the border with Guinea and Liberia, are home to the Guinean montane forests.

The Guinean forest-savanna mosaic belt extends across the middle of the country from east to west, and is the transition zone between the coastal forests and the interior savannas. The forest-savanna mosaic interlaces forest, savanna and grassland habitats. Northern Ivory Coast is part of the West Sudanian Savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It is a zone of lateritic or sandy soils, with vegetation decreasing from south to north.

The terrain is mostly flat to undulating plain, with mountains in the northwest. The lowest elevation is at sea level on the coast. The highest elevation is Mount Nimba, at 1,752 metres (5,748 ft) in the far west of the country along the border with Guinea and Liberia.

Rivers

The Cavalla River drains the western border area of the Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. It forms the southern two-thirds of the border between Liberia and Ivory Coast.

The Sassandra River forms in the Guinea highlands and drains much of the western part of the Ivory Coast east of the Cavalla River.

The Bandama River is the longest river in the Ivory Coast, with a length of some 800 km (500 mi), draining the east central part of the country. In 1973 the Kossou Dam was constructed at Kossou on the Bandama, creating Lake Kossou. The capital, Yamoussoukro, is located near the river south of the lake.

The Komoé River originates on the Sikasso Plateau of Burkina Faso, and briefly forms the border between Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast before entering Ivory Coast. It drains the northeastern and easternmost portions of the country before emptying into the eastern end of the Ébrié Lagoon and ultimately the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Its waters contribute to the Comoé National Park.

Climate

The climate of Ivory Coast is generally hot and humid. Most of the country has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), although the Upper Guinean forest region bordering Liberia has a tropical monsoon climate (Am). In the north, there are three seasons: warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), and hot and wet (June to October), whilst in the south there are two rainy seasons between April and July, and between October and November, a longer dry season from December to February, and a shorter dry season in August. Temperatures average between 25 and 32 °C (77.0 and 89.6 °F) and range from 10 to 40 °C (50 to 104 °F).

Cropland

Nine percent of the country is arable land. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, a major national cash crop. Other chief crops include coffee, bananas, and oil palms, which produce palm oil and kernels. Mineral resources include petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, palm oil. Hydropower is also generated.

Forests

Ivory Coast has a large timber industry due to its large forest coverage. The nation's hardwood exports match those of Brazil. In recent years there has been much concern about the rapid rate of deforestation. Rainforests are being destroyed at a rate sometimes cited as the highest in the world. The only forest left completely untouched in Ivory Coast is Taï National Park (Parc National de Taï), a 3,600 km² (1,390 sq mi) area in the country's far southwest that is home to over 150 endemic species and many other endangered species such as the Pygmy hippopotamus and 11 species of monkeys.

Tree cover extent and loss

Global Forest Watch publishes annual estimates of tree cover loss and 2000 tree cover extent derived from time-series analysis of Landsat satellite imagery in the Global Forest Change dataset. In this framework, tree cover refers to vegetation taller than 5 m (including natural forests and tree plantations), and tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover canopy for a given year, regardless of cause.

For Ivory Coast, country statistics report cumulative tree cover loss of 3,985,675 ha (39,856.75 km²) from 2001 to 2024 (about 26.8% of its 2000 tree cover area). For tree cover density greater than 30%, country statistics report a 2000 tree cover extent of 14,866,948 ha (148,669.48 km²). The charts and table below display this data. In simple terms, the annual loss number is the area where tree cover disappeared in that year, and the extent number shows what remains of the 2000 tree cover baseline after subtracting cumulative loss. Forest regrowth is not included in the dataset.

Annual tree cover loss in Ivory Coast, 2001–2024. View chart definition.Tree cover extent in 2000 minus cumulative tree cover loss in Ivory Coast, 2001–2024 (loss-only residual; does not account for gain). View chart definition.

REDD+ reference levels and monitoring

Under the UNFCCC REDD+ framework, Ivory Coast has submitted national reference levels for results-based payments. On the UNFCCC REDD+ Web Platform, the country’s 2017 and 2024 submission packages are both listed as having assessed reference levels; a national strategy is listed as “not reported”, safeguards information as reported, and a national forest monitoring system as “not reported”.

The first assessed submission, technically assessed in 2018, covered the REDD+ activities “reducing emissions from deforestation” and “enhancement of forest carbon stocks” at national scale. Using a historical reference period of 2000–2015, the modified forest reference emission level (FREL) was reported as a time-varying benchmark, declining from about 41.2 million to 20.6 million t CO2 eq between the start and end of the reference period. The technical assessment reported that it included above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB), deadwood and litter for deforestation, and above-ground biomass and below-ground biomass for enhancement of forest carbon stocks, with CO2 only.

An updated national FREL and forest reference level (FRL) was submitted in 2024 and assessed in 2025. It expanded coverage to reducing emissions from deforestation, reducing emissions from forest degradation, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks, using a 2015–2020 reference period. The assessed values were 32,363,393 t CO2 eq per year for the FREL and −350,986 t CO2 eq per year for the FRL. The technical assessment states that the updated benchmark included AGB, BGB, deadwood, litter and soil organic carbon overall, although soil organic carbon was not included for forest degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks included only AGB; it also included CO2, CH₄ and N₂O, with non-CO2 gases counted only for deforestation.

Natural hazards

Natural hazards include the heavy surf and the lack of natural harbors on the coast; during the rainy season torrential flooding is a danger.

Extreme points

Extreme points are the geographic points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location in the country.

• Northernmost point — the point at which the border with Mali enters the Bagoé River, Savanes District
• Southernmost point — Boubré, Bas-Sassandra District
• Easternmost point — unnamed location on the border with Ghana south-west of the town of Tambi, Zanzan District
• Westernmost point — unnamed location on the border with Liberia in the Nuon River west of Klobli, Montagnes District