📜 A long story
Ivory Coast, 1800 → today
Ivory Coast grew from 1.09 million in 1800 to 31.2 million; a newborn can expect 31.1 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 6.9× its 1887 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 1.09 million people lived in Ivory Coast.
1900
1.51 million people.
1.4× the 1800 level
1950
2.74 million people.
1.8× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1938.
2023
31.2 million people, the latest year in this series.
11× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1971.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1988.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 2009.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Ivory Coast could expect to live 30.8 years, on average.
2023
61.9 years, the latest year in this series.
+31 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1964.
Passed 50 years in 1978.
Passed 60 years in 2019.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1887
In 1887, Ivory Coast produced about Int$584 per person, in 2011 prices.
1950
Int$1,660.
2.8× the 1887 level
Reached twice the 1887 level in 1950 (no data between 1933 and 1950, so it may have happened earlier).
2022
Int$4,010, the latest year in this series.
2.4× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1887 level in 1973.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 34% between 1982 and 1990 (Int$3,130 → Int$2,080).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1950
In 1950, fossil fuels and industry in Ivory Coast emitted about 0.2 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.5 t, the latest year in this series.
2.3× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 1970.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 63% between 1988 and 1994 (0.8 t → 0.3 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Ivory Coast had spent 0.01 years in school, on average.
1900
0.02 years.
about the same as 1870
1950
0.9 years.
+0.84 years since 1900
2015
5.4 years, the latest year in this series.
+4.5 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1980.
Passed 4 years in 2000.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).