Bondoukou department

Bondoukou is one of the 58 departments of the Ivory Coast and is located in the northeast of the country.

structure

Together with the Tanda and Bouna departments, Bondoukou forms the Zanzan region . The department itself is divided into the four provinces of Pinango, Foumassa, Akidom and Ahinifié, each with its own provincial board. The district has two registered municipalities, one is Bondoukou , which is the regional capital , and the municipality of Sandégué , and 20 other small municipalities. Bondoukous sub-prefectures are Bondoukou (city), Sorobango, Taoudi, Sandégué, Sapli-Sépingo, Laoudi-Bâ, Bondo, Yorobodi, Dimandougou, Tabagne and Gouméré.

geography

The Bondoukou department borders on the Bouna department in the north, the Republic of Ghana in the east, the Tanda department in the south and the Dabakala and M'bahiakro departments in the west , from which it is separated by the Comoé River . The distance to the economic metropolis Abidjan is approximately 424 km.

The area of ​​Bondoukou is 9,972 km² with a population of 338,501 (1975 - 296,551).

Climate and vegetation

The Bondoukou rainy season is in July. The vegetation is determined by extensive grassland of the savannah typical of the Guinea-Sudan area .

population

The population of Bondoukou is composed of different ethno-cultural groups, which differ according to geographical and / or linguistic origins. The most important is the Kulango ethnic group . Other historical groups are the Abron , Lobi , Dioula , Nafana , Dêgha and the Djimini .
In modern times, immigrants from Ghana , Benin , Togo , Niger , Nigeria , Burkina Faso , Senegal , Mali and Lebanon joined the Bondoukou population.

history

The population of Bondoukou consists largely of four ethno-cultural groups who immigrated to the region between the 16th and 19th centuries.
In the 16th century, the Kulango people first came from regions north of the Ivory Coast, mainly to what is now the Buona department; later they settled the entire area between the Comoé and the Volta Noire rivers , where they now make up the majority of the population. A second group, the Lobi , which like the Kulango are of voltaic origin, supplemented the dominant position of the Kulango in the 19th century. In the 17th century, the Nafana from the Senufo group came from the northwest , followed by the Malinké and the Djamala, to Bondoukou. Its members mainly specialized in gold trading and processing.

Around 1660 the Dioula (originating in Niger ) founded a commercial as well as a religious center in Bondoukou, which they connected to their trade routes between the Niger Valley and the Akan area in the southeast.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the Abron people were pushed from the southeast into the Bondoukous region by the expansion of the Ashanti Empire into Ghana. Here they established a powerful kingdom, which was known for its special political organization and military strength. From the Kulango they conquered the Nassian and Barabo districts and also carried out several raids on the then kingdom of Bouna.
Like the Abron, the members of the Agni Bona and Bini ethnic groups had to flee from Ghana a century later because of clashes with the Ashanti . However, through countless wars, the Abron were able to secure their supremacy over their neighbors.

The last representatives of the voltaic cultural group, the Dêgha after Bondoukou, or Zanzan , came from northern Ghana in the 19th century .
Starting from the first settlements in the Bondoukou area, each of the ethnic groups expanded their territory further inland. This was mainly done to open up new hunting grounds, to bring gold mines under one's own control or to create new plantings.

religion

Bondoukou is the seat of the Bondoukou diocese .

economy

Agriculture , consisting of arable farming and cattle breeding, is important for Bondoukou . In the region mainly yams (220,000 t per year) are grown, which is used by large parts of the population as a source of food . Other products include peanuts , corn , sorghum , millet , cassava , rice , coffee and cocoa .

Mining is also carried out; mainly bauxite and manganese are extracted. Gold can also be found in traces .

Apart from a sawmill, other forms of industry are virtually non-existent in the Bondoukou department .

Infrastructure

In the area of ​​the Bondoukou department there are 244 (6 of them private) primary schools, 10 (6 of them private) secondary schools and an academy. The public secondary schools are located in Bondoukou (city), Tabagne and Sandégué.
One hospital, 52 health centers and four pharmacies are listed for health care. The health centers are subdivided into Centers de Santé Urbain (CSU), Centes de Santé Rurale (CSR), Centers de Traitement Ambulatoire (CTA), Infirmerie Générale, Formations Sanitaires Privées (FSP), Institut National de l'Hygiène Publique (INHP) and various Dispensaires Ruraux (Di.R.) et Urbains (Di.U.) .

The only airport in the district is Soko Airport near Bondoukou City. It has a 1500 m runway. ( ICAO : DIBU, IATA code : BDK)

Of the 218 villages, 36 are connected to the national electricity network.

In the telecommunications sector, Bondoukou is connected to the national fixed network operated by CI-Télécom. The mobile network is provided by the providers Orange , MTN and Moov.

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} République de Côte d'Ivoire - Ministère d'Etat, Ministère d'Economie et des Finances: Trésor Public Ivoirien - Département de Bondoukou ( Memento of the original of December 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Bondoukou online - demographics as of November 2007 ( memento of the original from December 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (2003 census)  
3. ^ Jacques Bersani, Chiffres du Monde 1989. Paris: Encyclopaedie Universalis, 1989. (1975 census)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Bondoukou online - Infrastructure as of November 2007 ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Information about Bondoukou at the Aéro-Club d'Abidjan
• Bondoukou online