Districts of Ivory Coast

The districts of Ivory Coast (French: districts de Côte d’Ivoire) are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the country. The districts were created in 2011 in an effort to further decentralise the state,[1][2] but in practice most of them have not yet begun to function as governmental entities.[3]

Districts of Ivory Coast
Also known as: Districts de Côte d'Ivoire
Location	Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Number	14 Districts
Subdivisions	Regions

There are 14 districts, including two autonomous districts around the cities of Yamoussoukro and Abidjan. The remaining 12 districts are further subdivided into 31 regions, which are further subdivided into 108 third-level subdivisions, the departments (French: départements). Departments are subdivided into 510 sub-prefectures (French: sous-préfectures). The lowest level of administrative organisation, which exist in limited numbers, is the commune. Although they are not divided into regions, the autonomous districts do contain departments, sub-prefectures, and communes.

Governance and purpose

Each district is meant to be headed by a governor, who is appointed by the council of ministers (cabinet) of the national government.[4] However, apart from governors for the two autonomous districts, no district governor has yet been nominated; the inaction has largely been in response to apprehensions by the regional prefects that district governors will usurp their authority and responsibilities.[3]

Districts have been given four primary responsibilities:[4]

1. to administer major development projects in the district;
2. to balance the application of state investments and programmes throughout the district in order to minimise regional disparities;
3. to promote the economic and cultural potentials of large groups; and
4. to combat regionalism.

Precise distinctions in the jurisdiction of districts as compared to regions has yet to be established. Because of the lack of district governors, the governments of the non-autonomous districts have not yet begun to function.

List of districts

Districts of Ivory Coast

The following is the list of districts, district capitals and each district's regions

Map no.	District	District capital	Regions	Region seat	Population (District)	Population Regions[5]	Area KM² Districts (M²)
1	Abidjan (District Autonome d'Abidjan)				4,707,404		2,119 (818)
2	Bas-Sassandra (District du Bas-Sassandra)	San-Pédro	Gbôklé	Sassandra	2,280,548	400,798	25,800 (10,000)
			Nawa	Soubré		1,053,084
			San-Pédro	San-Pédro		826,666
3	Comoé (District du Comoé)	Abengourou	Indénié-Djuablin	Abengourou	1,203,052	560,432	14,173 (5,472)
			Sud-Comoé	Aboisso		642,620
4	Denguélé (District du Denguélé)	Odienné	Folon	Minignan	289,779	96,415	20,997 (8,107)
			Kabadougou	Odienné		193,364
5	Gôh-Djiboua (District du Gôh-Djiboua)	Gagnoa	Gôh	Gagnoa	1,605,286	876,117	17,580 (6,790)
			Lôh-Djiboua	Divo		729,169
6	Lacs (District des Lacs)	Dimbokro	Bélier	Yamoussoukro[6]	1,258,604	346,768	28,500 (11,000)
			Iffou	Daoukro		311,642
			Moronou	Bongouanou		352,616
			N'Zi	Dimbokro		247,578
7	Lagunes (District des Lagunes)	Dabou	Agnéby-Tiassa	Agboville	1,478,047	606,852	23,280 (8,990)
			Grands-Ponts	Dabou		356,495
			La Mé	Adzopé		514,700
8	Montagnes (District des Montagnes)	Man	Cavally	Guiglo	2,371,920	459,964	31,050 (11,990)
			Guémon	Duékoué		919,392
			Tonkpi	Man		992,564
9	Sassandra-Marahoué (District du Sassandra-Marahoué)	Daloa	Haut-Sassandra	Daloa	2,293,304	1,430,960	23,940 (9,240)
			Marahoué	Bouaflé		862,344
10	Savanes (District des Savanes)	Korhogo	Bagoué	Boundiali	1,607,497	375,687	40,210 (15,530)
			Poro	Korhogo		763,852
			Tchologo	Ferkessédougou		467,958
11	Vallée du Bandama (District de la Vallée du Bandama)	Bouaké	Gbêkê	Bouaké	1,440,826	1,010,849	28,518 (11,011)
			Hambol	Katiola		429,977
12	Woroba (District du Woroba)	Séguéla	Béré	Mankono	845,139	389,758	31,088 (12,003)
			Bafing	Touba		183,047
			Worodougou	Séguéla		272,334
13	Yamoussoukro (District Autonome du Yamoussoukro)				355,573		3,500 (1,350)
14	Zanzan (District du Zanzan)	Bondoukou	Bounkani	Bouna	934,352	267,167	38,251 (14,769)
			Gontougo	Bondoukou		667,185

2011 administrative subdivision changes

Regions of Ivory Coast prior to 2011

Prior to September 2011, Ivory Coast's first-level administrative subdivisions were 19 regions. In 2011, the regions were reorganized into the 14 districts (12 regular districts and 2 autonomous districts).[1][2] The following is a summary of how the districts were constructed from the former regions:

• The largest city, Abidjan, and the political capital, Yamoussoukro, and their surrounding areas were split to form autonomous districts. Abidjan was formerly part of Lagunes Region and Yamoussoukro was formerly part of Lacs Region.
• Of the 19 regions, the northern regions of Denguélé, Savanes, Vallée du Bandama, and Zanzan were re-designated as districts with no change in territory.
• The old Agnéby region and what remained of Lagunes Region were merged to form the new Lagunes District.
• The old Bafing and Worodougou Regions were merged to form the new Woroba District.
• The Department of Fresco was transferred from the former Sud-Bandama Region to the Bas-Sassandra Region to form the new Bas-Sassandra District, while the remainder of Sud-Bandama Region merged with Fromager Region to form the new Gôh-Djiboua District.
• The old Dix-Huit Montagnes and Moyen-Cavally Regions merged to form the new Montagnes District.
• The old Haut-Sassandra and Marahoué Regions merged to form the new Sassandra-Marahoué District.
• The old N'Zi-Comoé Region and what remained of Lacs Region were merged to form the new Lacs District.
• The old Moyen-Comoé and Sud-Comoé Regions were merged to form the new Comoé District.

See also

ISO 3166-2:CI Districts of the Ivory Coast

References

1. "Décentralisation : Le gouvernement créé 12 districts et 30 régions", abidjan.net, 29 September 2011.
2. Décret n° 2011-263 du 28 septembre 2011 portant organisation du territoire national en Districts et en Régions.
3. "Les chefs de San Pedro demandent l’érection de leur cité en district autonome", 8 March 2015.
4. Ordonnance n° 2011-262 du 28 septembre 2011 portant orientation de l'organisation générale de l'administration territoriale de l'Etat.
5. "Districts of Côte d'Ivoire". Statoids. Institut National de la Statistique, Côte d'Ivoire.
6. While Yamoussoukro is the seat of Bélier region, the city itself is not part of the region.

• Carte du nouveau découpage administratif de la Côte-d'Ivoire (novembre 2011).