Departments of Ivory Coast

Departments of Ivory Coast (French: départements de Côte d'Ivoire) are currently the third-level administrative subdivision of the country. Each of the 31 second-level regions of Ivory Coast is divided into two or more departments. (The autonomous districts are containing departments, but have a specific status.) Each department is divided into two or more sub-prefectures. Since 2020, there are 109 departments of Ivory Coast.

Departments of Ivory Coast. Colours indicate regions and autonomous districts

Departments were first created in 1959.[1][2] During their existence, they have been first-, second-, and third-level administrative subdivisions.

Current departments

There are currently 109 departments of Ivory Coast. The departments are as follows:

Abengourou
Abidjan
Aboisso
Adzopé
Agboville
Agnibilékrou
Bangolo
Béoumi
Biankouma
Bondoukou
Bongouanou
Bouaflé
Bouaké
Bouna
Boundiali
Dabakala
Daloa
Danané
Daoukro
Dimbokro
Divo
Duékoué
Ferkessédougou
Gagnoa
Grand-Lahou
Guiglo
Issia
Katiola
Korhogo
Lakota
Man
Mankono
M’Bahiakro
Odienné
Oumé
Sakassou
San-Pedro
Sassandra
Séguéla
Sinfra
Soubré
Tabou
Transua
Tengréla
Tiassalé
Touba
Toumodi
Vavoua
Yamoussoukro
Zuénoula
Adiaké
Alépé
Bocanda
Dabou
Grand-Bassam
Jacqueville
Tiébissou
Toulépleu
Bloléquin
Akoupé
Didiévi
Kouibly
Nassian
Prikro
Sikensi
Zouan-Hounien
Madinani
Minignan
Kounahiri
Koun-Fao
Arrah
Attiégouakro
Bettié
Botro
Dikodougou
Doropo
Fresco
Guéyo
Guitry
Kani
Kaniasso
Koro
Kouto
M’Batto
Niakaramadougou
Ouangolodougou
Ouaninou
Samatiguila
Sandégué
Sinématiali
Téhini
Tiapoum
Tanda
Yakassé-Attobrou
Zoukougbeu
Buyo
Dianra
Djékanou
Facobly
Gbéléban
Kong
Kouassi-Kouassikro
M’Bengué
Méagui
Séguélon
Sipilou
Taabo
Taï
Ouellé

History

1961–69

Departments of Ivory Coast in 1961–63.

Departments of Ivory Coast in 1963–69.

Departments were established in 1961 and were the original first-level administrative subdivision of independent Ivory Coast.[3] Initially, there were just four departments: Centre, Nord, Sud-Est, and Sud-Ouest. In 1963, two more departments were created: Est was created by dividing Sud-Est, and Centre-Ouest) was created by dividing Sud-Ouest. As a result of the divisions, Sud-Est was renamed Sud and Sud-Ouest was renamed Ouest.

1969: 24 new departments

In 1969, the six departments were abolished and in their place 24 new departments were created. The following table illustrates how the old departments were divided into the new departments:

The 24 new departments that were created in 1969 (in background the 6 former departments). These boundaries were consistent until departments began to be divided in 1974.

Old department	New departments (number corresponds to position on map)
Centre	Bouaflé (8), Bouaké (9), Dimbokro (13), Katiola (18)
Centre-Ouest	Daloa (11), Gagnoa (16), Sassandra[4] (22)
Est	Abengourou (1), Bondoukou (7)
Nord	Boundiali (10), Ferkessédougou (15), Korhogo (19), Odienné (21), Séguéla (23), Touba (24)
Ouest	Biankouma (6), Danané (12), Guiglo (17), Man (20)
Sud	Abidjan (2), Aboisso (3), Adzopé (4), Agboville (5), Divo (14), Sassandra[4] (22)

Due to a lack of government resources, the 1969 changes were not fully implemented until 1974.

Subsequent divisions and relegation to second-level

From 1974 onward, new departments were occasionally created through division of pre-existing departments. New departments were created in 1974 (2), 1980 (8), 1988 (15), and 1995 (1). In 1997, when there were 50 departments, regions were created, which supplanted departments as the first-level administrative subdivision. As a result, the 50 departments became second-level divisions.

More departments were created in 1998 (8), 2005 (12), 2008 (11), and 2009 (9). By the time of the late-2011 reorganisation of the subdivisions of Ivory Coast, there were 90 departments in 19 regions.

2011 subdivision reorganisation

In the 2011 reorganisation of the subdivisions of Ivory Coast, five new departments were created, bringing the total to 95. More significantly, however, districts were created as a new first-level division. As a result, regions became second-level subdivisions and the 95 departments became third-level subdivisions.

Post-2011 changes

Since the 2011 reorganisation, 14 more departments have been created, bringing the total number to 109. Twelve departments were created in 2012, one in 2013, and one was created in 2020.

Names and governance

Departments are named after the city or town that serves as the seat of the department. In most cases, this is the most populous settlement in the department.

Each department is headed by a prefect, who is appointed by the council of ministers (cabinet) of the national government.[5] For departments that house regional capitals, the prefect of the department is the same individual as the prefect of the region, though the two offices of prefect remain distinct.[6]

Each department is divided into two or more sub-prefectures, which serve as fourth-level administrative subdivisions. There are currently 510 sub-prefectures in the country.

Current departments by district and region

Below are the departments divided by district and region with the establishment year of the departments in parentheses.

Defunct departments

There are six departments of Ivory Coast that have been eliminated.

Centre Department (1961–69)
Centre-Ouest Department (1963–69)
Est Department (1963–69)
Nord Department (1961–69)
Ouest Department (1961–69)
Sud Department (1961–69)

Maps of departments through time

Years effective	First-level subdivisions	Second-level subdivisions	Third-level subdivisions	Changes
1961–1963	4 departments	—	—	Four departments created as first-level subdivisions.
1963 (February)	5 departments	—	—	One department added (Sud-Ouest and Sud-Est split into Ouest, Sud, and Est).
1963–1969	6 departments	—	—	One department added (Ouest split into Ouest and Centre-Ouest).
1969–1974	24 departments	—	—	All previous departments abolished. 24 new departments established as first-level subdivisions.
1974–1975	25 departments	—	—	One department added (Bouna).
1975–1979	26 departments	—	—	One department added (Dabakala).
1980–1987	34 departments	—	—	8 departments added.
1988–1991	49 departments	—	—	15 departments added.
1991–1995	10 regions	49 departments	—	Regions established.
1995–1996	10 regions	50 departments	—	One department added (Agnibilékrou).
1996–1997	12 regions	55 departments	—	2 regions and 5 departments added.
1997–2000	16 regions	59 departments	—	2 regions and 4 departments added.
1997–2000	19 regions	59 departments	—	3 regions added.
2005–2006	19 regions	70 departments	—	11 departments added.
2006–2008	19 regions	72 departments	—	2 departments added.
2008–2009	19 regions	89 departments	—	17 departments added.
2009–2010	19 regions	94 departments	—	5 departments added.
2010–2011	19 regions	95 departments	—	1 department added.
2011–2012	12 districts	30 regions	95 departments	Districts created as new 1st level division. New division of regions.
2012–2013	12 districts	31 regions	107 departments	1 region and 12 departments added.
2013–2014	12 districts	31 regions	108 departments	1 department added.
2014–2020	31 regions and 2 autonomous districts	108 departments	—	Districts removed.
2020–	31 regions and 2 autonomous districts	109 departments	—	One department added.

Notes

Sato (2003).
Tice (1974).
At independence in 1960, Ivory Coast was informally divided into 19 traditional cercles, but the cercles were not official administrative subdivisions.
Sassandra Department was created from territory taken partly from Centre-Ouest Department and partly from Sud Department.
Loi n° 2014-451 du 05 août 2014 portant orientation de l'organisation générale de l'Administration Territoriale.
Ordonnance n° 2011-262 du 28 septembre 2011 portant orientation de l'organisation générale de l'administration territoriale de l'Etat.
The boundaries of Abidjan Department and Abidjan Autonomous District are the same.

References

SATO Akira (2003). "L'évolution historique de la subdivision territoriale administrative en Côte d'Ivoire" in L'administration locale en Côte d'Ivoire. Africa Research Studies 10. 日本貿易振興機構（ジェトロ）アジア経済研究所 / Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO). 2003. On-line.
TICE Robert D. (1974). "Administrative Structure, Ethnicity, and Nation-Building in the Ivory Coast" in The Journal of Modern African Studies. 12, 2 (1974). pp. 211–29. (Jstor:https://www.jstor.org/stable/159720).
"Regions of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)", statoids.com, accessed 18 February 2016. [Outdated and with many wrong statements compared to Sato (2003) comprehensive study.]
Carte du nouveau découpage administratif de la Côte-d'Ivoire (novembre 2011). [Outdated.]
Décret n°2012-612 de 4 juillet 2012 portant creation de la Region du Moronou, page 86.
Loi n°2012-1128 du 13 décembre 2012 portant organisation des collectivités territoriales

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[1] Sato (2003).

[2] Tice (1974).

[3] At independence in 1960, Ivory Coast was informally divided into 19 traditional cercles, but the cercles were not official administrative subdivisions.

[Sassandra-4] Sassandra Department was created from territory taken partly from Centre-Ouest Department and partly from Sud Department.

[loi2014-451-5] Loi n° 2014-451 du 05 août 2014 portant orientation de l'organisation générale de l'Administration Territoriale.

[ordonnance262-6] Ordonnance n° 2011-262 du 28 septembre 2011 portant orientation de l'organisation générale de l'administration territoriale de l'Etat.

[7] The boundaries of Abidjan Department and Abidjan Autonomous District are the same.