Ivory Coast is one of the most economically successful countries in West Africa, and about 20% of its population is workers from neighboring countries Guinea, Burkina Faso and Liberia.
Since 2016, the Ivory Coast has been the fastest growing economy in Africa, with an astonishing annual growth rate of around 8%, which is much higher than the surrounding nations. Even though the country is doing well financially overall, there is extreme wealth inequality and over half of the coast remains in poverty. The growth the Ivory Coast is experiencing is due to the African Development Bank returning to the area in 2014, the building of the HKB bridge to connect the wealthy residential part of the country to the industrial districts, and large investments in the country’s energy sector.
It is projected that the rate of growth will slow slightly in the Ivory Coast, but the increase in population will still be significant and is expected to nearly double within the next 30 years or so. Current predictions believe that the growth rate will peak at 2.52% by 2020, and will slow down to 2.03% by 2050. During that time, the population is expected to grow from 26,1 million to 51,3 million. Current projections also have the population at 33,3 million in 2030 and 41,8 million in 2040.
