Abidjan

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Abidjan
Abidjan coat of arms
Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
Abidjan
Abidjan
Basic data
District : Abidjan
Mayor : Robert Beugré Mambé (2011-2020)
Coordinates : 5 ° 20 ′  N , 4 ° 2 ′  W Coordinates: 5 ° 20 ′  N , 4 ° 2 ′  W
Area : 422 km²
Residents : 4,395,243 (2014 census)
Website : www.abidjan.district.ci
The ten independent communities of Abidjan
View over the city
Plateau and the Ébrié lagoon

Abidjan [ abiˈd͡ʒaːn , French abidˈʒɑ̃ ] is the largest urban agglomeration on the Ivory Coast , located on the Gulf of Guinea . Abidjan was the country's capital between 1933 and 1983. In 2002 the ten city districts were upgraded to independent municipalities and the mayor's office was abolished. These parishes are grouped together as Abidjan Ville and form the Abidjan district with four sub-prefectures . The former city grew rapidly from 65,000 inhabitants in 1950 to a metropolitan area with 3,692,570 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). According to the 2014 census, the city has 4,395,243 inhabitants.

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Abidjan was ranked 208th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

geography

Abidjan is located in the southeast of the Ivory Coast about 100 km west of the border with Ghana . It is located on the Ébrié lagoon , an elongated estuary parallel to the coast into which the Agnébi , and Comoé rivers flow.

Political structure

Abidjan is divided into the following 10 municipalities or cities, each with its own city council and mayor:

  • Abobo : A rapidly growing city populated mainly by immigrants from the countryside with insufficient infrastructure and rather poor conditions.
  • Adjamé : small in area, but large in economic importance due to the broad commercial activities that are carried out here. This leads to major health problems for the population in the slums of Adjamés.
  • Attécoubé : the Banco Forest National Park is on the territory of this commune .
  • Cocody : This city is known for its fine residential areas such as Deux-Plateaux or Riviera . In addition to diplomats and members of the government, it is mainly famous and rich people who live here. In addition, the state university as well as some private universities and, in addition to the state television RTI, also the residence of the president are in Cocody.
  • Koumassi : Mixed residential and industrial area
  • Marcory : Partly simple residential areas, in the center with Bietry and Zone 4 an upper class quarter that used to be inhabited by Europeans
  • Plateau : This municipality forms the economic and largely also the political center, even though Yamoussoukro has been the official administrative capital of the Ivory Coast since 1983. The Palace of the President and the National Assembly are to this day in Plateau. The skyscrapers , unusual for Africa, give Abidjan a very modern look.
  • Port-Bouët : The refineries of the Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), the international airport “Félix Houphouët-Boigny” and the Adjouffou district are located in this municipality .
  • Treichville : the real heart of Abidjan. In addition to the free port also here is the station of " Abidjan-Niger Railway » to the north of the country and Burkina Faso to Ouagadougou . In addition to the port and the industry around it, Treicheville is a trading center for the residents of the metropolis. An immense range of shops and stores offers an enormous variety of products. There are also many restaurants, cafés and - at night - a diverse nightlife with all its charms and dangers. But none of this can hide the fact that Treichville is now just a reflection of itself and a poor African city.
  • Yopougon : The most populous city in the agglomeration of Abidjan is divided into residential and industrial areas.

In addition, the three sub-prefectures Anyama , Songon and the former capital Bingerville (until 1933) belong to the Abidjan district.

Climate table

Abidjan
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
15th
 
31
23
 
 
49
 
32
24
 
 
107
 
32
25th
 
 
141
 
32
25th
 
 
292
 
31
24
 
 
593
 
29
23
 
 
205
 
28
23
 
 
37
 
27
22nd
 
 
81
 
28
23
 
 
136
 
29
23
 
 
144
 
31
24
 
 
74
 
31
24
Temperature in ° Cprecipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Abidjan
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 30.7 31.5 31.9 31.8 30.9 29.1 28.3 27.3 27.9 29.4 31.0 30.9 O 30th
Min. Temperature (° C) 23.2 24.1 24.6 24.6 24.2 23.1 22.7 21.7 22.6 23.4 23.8 23.6 O 23.5
Precipitation ( mm ) 15th 49 107 141 292 593 205 37 81 136 144 74 Σ 1874
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 7.0 7.3 7.0 7.1 6.3 4.2 4.2 3.5 4.5 6.3 7.4 6.5 O 5.9
Rainy days ( d ) 1 3 6th 9 14th 19th 9 6th 7th 11 12th 5 Σ 102
Water temperature (° C) 27 27 28 28 28 27 26 24 25th 25th 27 27 O 26.6
Humidity ( % ) 84 86 83 82 84 86 85 86 89 87 83 83 O 84.8
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
30.7
23.2
31.5
24.1
31.9
24.6
31.8
24.6
30.9
24.2
29.1
23.1
28.3
22.7
27.3
21.7
27.9
22.6
29.4
23.4
31.0
23.8
30.9
23.6
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g
15th
49
107
141
292
593
205
37
81
136
144
74
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

history

Modern skyscrapers in the Plateau district
The central boulevard De Gaulle
Beach in Cocody

The city of Abidjan, founded in 1886, began to grow after the landing stage opened in 1931. In 1933, Abidjan became the capital of the Ivory Coast within the French West Africa colony . After the opening of the Vridi Canal , the port became an important free port. Although Yamoussoukro was designated as the new capital by the then President Félix Houphouët-Boigny in 1983 , there are still numerous government offices and embassies , as well as the National Library and the National Museum in Abidjan. On August 9, 2001 it was decided to divide the city into its ten districts by 2002 and to upgrade them to independent communities. Since then, Abidjan has officially been a district with a governor and unites these ten cities with three others.

On December 31, 2012 , 61 people died and more than 200 were injured in a mass panic during the central New Year's Eve celebration and the thank-you ceremony of Alassane Ouattara (for the political power struggle that lasted from December 2010 to April 2011, with around 3,000 people killed).

population

With just under 4.4 million inhabitants, Abidjan is the largest metropolitan area in the Ivory Coast . According to the 2014 census, 77.5% of the population were Ivorians, the remainder of the population had other nationalities .

Socially there are big differences between the inhabitants. The wealthy residents of the city increasingly live in the districts of Cocody and Plateau. The lower social classes can be found mainly in Abobo.

Population development

Population growth from 1975 to 2014:

year population
1975 (census) 951.216
1988 (census) 1,929,079
1998 (census) 2,877,948
2014 (census) 4,395,243

The city's population is growing rapidly due to rural exodus. A population of 10.7 million is forecast for the year 2050.

religion

Both Islam and Christianity are common in Abidjan . Abidjan is one of the four archdioceses of the Ivory Coast. The seat of the Archdiocese of Abidjan is the cathedral Saint-Paul du Plateau . Built in 1980 and renovated in 2008, the cathedral is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. The Evangelical Church , the Adventists and the Pentecostal Church are also represented in the city.

There are also numerous mosques in the Abidjan agglomeration , with the most famous and largest in Cocody , Treichville and Plateau .

Infrastructure

education

The place has a university and several technical colleges, as well as an international school. In the French-influenced metropolis, many French people can still be found in important economic positions, but also very many Lebanese as owners of smaller factories and, above all, in trade.

traffic

Boat trip in Abidjan

The towns of Abobo, Adjamé, Attécoubé, Cocody, Plateau and Yopougon are on the mainland north of the Ébrié lagoon . This is where the name «Abidjan North» comes from. Treichville, Koumassi, Marcory and Port-Bouët are part of Abidjan South. The two parts of the metropolis are connected between Treichville and Plateau by two bridges, the Pont Houphouët-Boigny ( railroad and road) and the Pont Charles de Gaulle (only road). There are traffic jams on the roads every day during rush hour. The construction of a third, duty-bound bridge ( Pont Henri-Konan-Bédié ) between Marcory and Cocody was awarded to a French-led consortium. This bridge opened in 2014. There are ferry and boat connections to some parts of the city and to more distant places on the Ébrié lagoon. Abidjan has an international airport .

economy

Important branches of industry are automobile production as well as the wood, chemical and textile industries. Coffee , cocoa , wood and pineapples are shipped via the port of Abidjan . In 2010, 42 percent of all cocoa beans worldwide were handled here. The headquarters of the major manufacturers Nestlé , Cargill , Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Barry Callebaut are located in Abidjan, and they buy almost the entire cocoa harvest of the Ivory Coast.

The city is the seat of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières , the regional exchange of the Union Monétaire Ouest Africaine ( UMOA ).

Personalities

Town twinning

The city maintains the following city ​​partnerships :

Web links

Commons : Abidjan  - collection of images, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Abidjan  - in the news

Individual evidence

  1. a b Results of the 2014 census . Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  2. Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Accessed July 30, 2018 .
  3. Law n ° 2001-478 of August 9, 2001 and n ° 2002-44 of January 21, 2002.
  4. At least 60 dead after mass panic in Ivory Coast , accessed on January 1, 2013
  5. Accident in Ivory Coast: Many dead in mass panic on New Year's Eve ( Memento from January 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on January 1, 2013)
  6. Abidjan (Département, Ivory Coast) - population statistics, graphics, map and location. Retrieved November 17, 2017 .
  7. a b Cote d'Ivoire: Everyday Life. In: LIPortal - the country information portal. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  8. Ivory Coast: Districts & Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information. Retrieved January 6, 2019 .
  9. City population 2050 | Sustainability Today. Accessed July 24, 2018 .
  10. ^ International Community School of Abidjan. In: www.icsabidjan.org. Retrieved July 1, 2016 .
  11. Côte d'Ivoire: et le pont Henri Konan Bédié enjambera la lagune… February 14, 2014, accessed on March 17, 2019 (fr-fr).
  12. ^ Côte d'Ivoire: Ouattara inaugure le 3e pont d'Abidjan. In: JeuneAfrique.com. December 16, 2014, accessed on March 17, 2019 (fr-fr).