8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Ivory Coast

About 1 in 133 people born in 2023 started life in Ivory Coast. A boy can expect to live 60 years and a girl 64, up from 28 and 34 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 77% have basic drinking water.

1 in 133
odds of being born here
997,000 births · Ranked 30th of 230
60 / 64
years of life, boys / girls
Was 28 / 34 in 1950
$2,393
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 162nd of 203 · extrapolated
53%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 31 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 398 in every 1,000 births to 67.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0200400600195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth60.0 years for boys, 64.1 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 567.3 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year239,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles70%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.8%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year103 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year269 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.3.

Children per woman
02.557.510195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.28UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.0 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 43 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
8%Poorest fifth
12%Second
16%Middle
22%Fourth
43%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,393 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth43% / 8% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.3% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person4.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming47% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed71% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment64% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Abidjan, with 6.3 million people.

53%
live in cities
72%
have electricity at home
77%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Abidjan6.3 million
Abobo1.3 million
Bouaké832,371
Korhogo440,926
Daloa421,871
Languages
Share of people who can use each
French34%
French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Abidjan Autonomous District8.5 million
Bas-Sassandra District1.3 million
Sassandra-Marahoue1.3 million
Montagnes1.1 million
Vallée du Bandama District1.0 million
Savanes District838,426
Goh-Djiboua792,126
Comoé District651,387
Lagunes District630,821
Lacs District546,725

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 13 regions
  • Abidjan Autonomous District8.5 million
  • Bas-Sassandra District1.3 million
  • Sassandra-Marahoue1.3 million
  • Montagnes1.1 million
  • Vallée du Bandama District1.0 million
  • Savanes District838,426
  • Goh-Djiboua792,126
  • Comoé District651,387
  • Lagunes District630,821
  • Lacs District546,725
  • Zanzan District511,000
  • Woroba201,404
  • Denguélé District54,669

People on the move

About 3.8% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Burkina Faso, Mali, France.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Burkina Faso574,409
Mali219,185
France169,206
Residents born abroad9.0% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 3.8% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostBurkina Faso (574,409), Mali (219,185), France (169,206)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $1.8 billion a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

16% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

16%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024835Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence3,602 between 1995 and 2016UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Ivory Coast, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Ivory Coast

Elsewhere in Africa

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences