Cote d'Ivoire National Holiday

Independence Day

The 7th of August is the celebrated Day of Independence from France in 1960.

Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (French: République de Côte d'Ivoire), is a country in West Africa. It borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea.

Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Ivory Coast a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the European scramble for Africa. Ivory Coast became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbors, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Ivory Coast has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009 and 22,400,835 in July 2013. Ivory Coast's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants. They represent several different peoples and language groups. An estimated 65 languages are spoken in the country. One of the most common is Dyula, which acts as a trade language as well as a language commonly spoken by the Muslim population, but the official language is French.