Yamoussoukro Declaration
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Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the
capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
and an autonomous
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in the Ivory Coast, with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...
, the district of Yamoussoukro covers among rolling hills and plains. Yamoussoukro became the legal capital of Ivory Coast in 1983, although the former capital Abidjan retains several political functions. Prior to 2011, what is now the district of Yamoussoukro was part of
Lacs Region Lacs Region is a defunct region of Ivory Coast. From 1997 to 2011, it was a first-level subdivision region. The region's capital was Yamoussoukro and its area was 8,875 km2. Since 2011, the area formerly encompassed by the region is the Auto ...
. The district was created in 2011 and is split into the
departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Attiégouakro Attiégouakro is a town in central Ivory Coast. Since 2009 it has been the seat of and a sub-prefectures of Attiégouakro Department Attiégouakro Department is a department of Ivory Coast. It is one of two departments in the Yamoussoukro Auto ...
and
Yamoussoukro Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the capital city of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in the Ivory Coast, with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, the ...
. In total, the district contains 169 settlements. Yamoussoukro is a
sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...
in Yamoussoukro Department and is also a commune: since 2012, the city of Yamoussoukro has been the sole commune in the autonomous district of Yamoussoukro.


History


Prehistory

Stone tools found in the country from hundreds of thousands of years ago show that the area around Yamoussoukro has been occupied since ancient times. Due to the
desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...
of the
Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, many moved south to avoid the harsh conditions.


Colonial period

Queen Yamoussou, the niece of Kouassi N'Go, ran the city of ''N'Gokro'' in 1929 at the time of
French colonization The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...
. The village of N'Gokro was renamed Yamoussoukro, the suffix ''Kro'' meaning town in Baoule. Diplomatic and commercial relations were then established, but in 1909, on the orders of the Chief of Djamlabo, the Akoué revolted against the administration. Bonzi station, from Yamoussoukro on the
Bouaflé Bouaflé is a city in central Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Bouaflé Department. It is also the seat of Marahoué Region in Sassandra-Marahoué District Sassandra-Marahoué District (, ) is one of fourteen administrati ...
road, was set on fire, and the French administrator, Simon Maurice, was spared only by the intervention of Kouassi N'Go. As the situation got worse, Maurice, judging that Bonzi had become safe, decided to transfer the French military station to Yamoussoukro, where the French Administration built a pyramid to the memory of Kouassi N'Go, Chief of the Akoué, who was assassinated in 1910 by Akoué rebels, accusing him of being too close to the French. In 1919, the civil station of Yamoussoukro was removed.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was an Ivorian politician and physician who served as the first List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, pr ...
became the leader of the village in 1939. A long period passed wherein Yamoussoukro, still a small agricultural town, remained in the shadows. This continued until after the Second World War, which saw the creation of the
African Agricultural Union The African Agricultural Union (, SAA) was the first quasi-political party in Côte d'Ivoire, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny throughout its existence. It was established on 3 September 1944 by Houphouët-Boigny and the colonial administration. His ...
, as well as the first conferences of its chief. However, it was only with independence that Yamoussoukro finally started to rise. In 1950, the village comprised 500 inhabitants.


Since independence

After 1964, the President
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Félix Houphouët-Boigny (; 18 October 1905 – 7 December 1993), affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux ("The Old One"), was an Ivorian politician and physician who served as the first List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, pr ...
made ambitious plans and started to build. One day in 1965, later called the Great Lesson of Yamoussoukro, he visited the plantations with the leaders of the county, inviting them to transpose to their own villages the efforts and agricultural achievements of the region. On 21 July 1977, Houphouët offered his plantations to the State. In March 1983, President Houphouët-Boigny made Yamoussoukro the political and administrative capital of
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
, as the city was his birthplace. This marked the fourth movement of the country's capital city in a century. Ivory Coast's previous capital cities were
Grand-Bassam Grand-Bassam () is a town in southeastern Ivory Coast, lying east of Abidjan. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Grand-Bassam Department; it is also a commune. During the late 19th century, Grand-Bassam was briefly the French colonial ...
(1893),
Bingerville Bingerville is a town in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a suburb of Abidjan city and one of four sub-prefectures of Abidjan Autonomous District. Bingerville is also a commune. The town is located about 10 kilometres east of Abidjan and lies ...
(1900), and Abidjan (1933). Most economic activity still takes place in Abidjan, and it is officially designated as the "economic capital" of the country. Yamoussoukro is the seat of
Yamoussoukro Department Yamoussoukro Department is a departments of Ivory Coast, department of Ivory Coast. The department houses the Capital (political), political capital of Ivory Coast, Yamoussoukro, and is one of two departments in the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District ...
and the neighbouring
Bélier Region Bélier Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. The region's population in the 2021 census was 415,593. The seat of the region is in Toumodi. Prior to 2017, the seat of the region was in Yamoussoukro, outside the region, and the prefect ...
, but Yamoussoukro itself is not part of the region.


Governance

Beginning in 2001, the city was governed as part of the
Yamoussoukro Department Yamoussoukro Department is a departments of Ivory Coast, department of Ivory Coast. The department houses the Capital (political), political capital of Ivory Coast, Yamoussoukro, and is one of two departments in the Yamoussoukro Autonomous District ...
and incorporated into
Lacs Region Lacs Region is a defunct region of Ivory Coast. From 1997 to 2011, it was a first-level subdivision region. The region's capital was Yamoussoukro and its area was 8,875 km2. Since 2011, the area formerly encompassed by the region is the Auto ...
. In 2011, the department was abolished and the autonomous district of Yamoussoukro was created and separated from the rest of Lacs, which became a separate district. Unlike most
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of the country, the autonomous district of Yamoussoukro is not subdivided into
regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. The district, however, is divided into departments, sub-prefectures and a commune. The district consists of the
departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Attiégouakro Attiégouakro is a town in central Ivory Coast. Since 2009 it has been the seat of and a sub-prefectures of Attiégouakro Department Attiégouakro Department is a department of Ivory Coast. It is one of two departments in the Yamoussoukro Auto ...
and
Yamoussoukro Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the capital city of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in the Ivory Coast, with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, the ...
. The departments further divided into the sub-prefectures of
Attiégouakro Attiégouakro is a town in central Ivory Coast. Since 2009 it has been the seat of and a sub-prefectures of Attiégouakro Department Attiégouakro Department is a department of Ivory Coast. It is one of two departments in the Yamoussoukro Auto ...
,
Kossou Kossou is a town in central Ivory Coast. Since 2013, it has been one of two sub-prefectures of Yamoussoukro Department, Yamoussoukro Autonomous District. The town is named after nearby Lake Kossou Lake Kossou () is Côte d'Ivoire's largest la ...
, Lolobo, and Yamoussoukro. There is one commune, which is also named Yamoussoukro, and it shares the same borders as the district. In 2011, the position of Mayor of Yamoussoukro was replaced with a district governor appointed by the head of state.


Architecture

Also noteworthy are the
Kossou Dam The Kossou Dam is an embankment dam that impounds the Bandama River about northwest of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the souther ...
, the PDCI-RDA House, the schools of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute, the Town Hall, the Protestant Temple, the Mosque, and the Palace of Hosts. The
Yamoussoukro International Airport Yamoussoukro International Airport () is a regional airport serving Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire. On November 6, 2004, Yamoussoukro Airport was attacked by French infantry after military aircraft from the airport bombed a UN peacekeeper base ...
had an average of six hundred passengers and 36 flights in 1995. It is one of two airports in Africa (with
Gbadolite Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite () is the capital of Nord-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capital Kinshasa ...
) that could accommodate the
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
.


Places of worship

Among the
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...
are predominantly
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches and temples:
Roman Catholic Diocese of Yamoussoukro The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yamoussoukro () is a diocese located in the city of Yamoussoukro in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bouaké, Bouaké in Côte d'Ivoire. History * March 6, 1992: Established as Diocese of ...
(
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
), United Methodist Church Ivory Coast (
World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body that represents churches within Methodism and facilitates cooperation among its member denominations. It comprises 80 denominations in 138 countries which together repres ...
),
Union of Missionary Baptist Churches in Ivory Coast The Union of Missionary Baptist Churches in Ivory Coast () is a Baptist Christian denomination, affiliated with the Fédération Évangélique de Côte d'Ivoire and the Baptist World Alliance, in the Ivory Coast. The headquarters is in Abidjan. ...
(
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
),
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
. There are also
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
mosques. Yamoussoukro is the site of the largest Christian church in the world: The
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (, ) is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, h ...
, consecrated by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
on 10 September 1990.


Transport

The city is served by
Yamoussoukro International Airport Yamoussoukro International Airport () is a regional airport serving Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire. On November 6, 2004, Yamoussoukro Airport was attacked by French infantry after military aircraft from the airport bombed a UN peacekeeper base ...
.


Economy

The main activities in the city are fishing, forestry, and perfume industries.Britannica
Yamoussoukro
britannica.com, USA, accessed on 7 July 2019


Climate

Yamoussoukro features a
tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(Aw) under the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. The city features a lengthy
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
covering the months of March through October, and a shorter
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
that covers the remaining four months. Like many other cities in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, Yamoussoukro is affected by the
harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...
, which serves as a primary source of the city's
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
. Despite the lengthy wet season, Yamoussoukro does not see the level of rainfall experienced in Abidjan. Yamoussoukro on average sees roughly of precipitation annually.


Education

The
Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny The Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB) is a public institute of higher education, research and production in Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire. It is named after Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country's first president ...
was founded in 1996.


Sport

The city hosted the
2019 World Draughts Championship The 2019 World Draughts Championship at the international draughts was held from September 15 to October 3, 2019, in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast under the auspices International Draughts Federation FMJD. Twenty players competed in the tournament, ...
in draughts and is home to the
Ivory Coast Open The Ivory Coast Open or Open de Côte d'Ivoire was a golf tournament in the Ivory Coast. It was founded in 1980, and was an event on the Safari Circuit the following year. It was an event on the European-based Challenge Tour schedule in 1990 and 1 ...
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
tournament. The city's two
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
teams SOA and
ASC Ouragahio ASC Ouragahio is an Ivorian football club. They play their home games at 6,000 capacity Stade de Yamoussoukro. The club was founded on 23 April 2003. References Ouragahio Ouragahio Ouragahio is a town in south-central Ivory Coast. It is ...
share the Yamoussoukro Stadium.
FC Bibo F.C. Kossou Bibó, or commonly known as F.C. Bibó is an Ivorian semi-professional football team based in Kossou, Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast. Some noteworthy players have come through the academy including Feyenoord's Sekou Cissé, WS Woluwe's Ba ...
play in the suburb of
Kossou Kossou is a town in central Ivory Coast. Since 2013, it has been one of two sub-prefectures of Yamoussoukro Department, Yamoussoukro Autonomous District. The town is named after nearby Lake Kossou Lake Kossou () is Côte d'Ivoire's largest la ...
. SOA's basketball club plays in the top division. The city was scheduled to host group stage games for the AFCON 2023, delayed due to weather conditions to January 2024.


References


External links


Yamossoukro photo gallery
* {{Authority control Capitals in Africa Districts of Ivory Coast Sub-prefectures of Yamoussoukro Communes of Yamoussoukro Regional capitals of Ivory Coast Ivory Coast geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Planned capitals