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]

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 regions 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[5]
1	Abidjan (District Autonome d'Abidjan)				4,707,404
2	Bas-Sassandra (District du Bas-Sassandra)	San-Pédro	Gbôklé	Sassandra	400,798
			Nawa	Soubré	1,053,084
			San-Pédro	San-Pédro	826,666
3	Comoé (District du Comoé)	Abengourou	Indénié-Djuablin	Abengourou	560,432
			Sud-Comoé	Aboisso	642,620
4	Denguélé (District du Denguélé)	Odienné	Folon	Minignan	96,415
			Kabadougou	Odienné	193,364
5	Gôh-Djiboua (District du Gôh-Djiboua)	Gagnoa	Gôh	Gagnoa	876,117
			Lôh-Djiboua	Divo	729,169
6	Lacs (District des Lacs)	Dimbokro	Bélier	Yamoussoukro[6]	346,768
			Iffou	Daoukro	311,642
			Moronou	Bongouanou	352,616
			N'Zi	Dimbokro	247,578
7	Lagunes (District des Lagunes)	Dabou	Agnéby-Tiassa	Agboville	606,852
			Grands-Ponts	Dabou	356,495
			La Mé	Adzopé	514,700
8	Montagnes (District des Montagnes)	Man	Cavally	Guiglo	459,964
			Guémon	Duékoué	919,392
			Tonkpi	Man	992,564
9	Sassandra-Marahoué (District du Sassandra-Marahoué)	Daloa	Haut-Sassandra	Daloa	1,430,960
			Marahoué	Bouaflé	862,344
10	Savanes (District des Savanes)	Korhogo	Bagoué	Boundiali	375,687
			Poro	Korhogo	763,852
			Tchologo	Ferkessédougou	467,958
11	Vallée du Bandama (District de la Vallée du Bandama)	Bouaké	Gbêkê	Bouaké	1,010,849
			Hambol	Katiola	429,977
12	Woroba (District du Woroba)	Séguéla	Béré	Mankono	389,758
			Bafing	Touba	183,047
			Worodougou	Séguéla	272,334
13	Yamoussoukro (District Autonome du Yamoussoukro)				355,573
14	Zanzan (District du Zanzan)	Bondoukou	Bounkani	Bouna	267,167
			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.

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 at statoids.com 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).