Abidjan

Abidjan

Abidjan (ăbĭjänˈ), city (2021 est. pop. 27,263,180), former capital of Côte d'Ivoire, a port on the Ébrié Lagoon (an arm of the Gulf of Guinea). Abidjan is Côte d'Ivoire's administrative center, commercial capital, and largest city. Its modern port is centered on Little Bassam Island, which is linked with the rest of the city by two bridges; the Vridi Canal passing through the lagoon bar provides access to the Atlantic Ocean. Coffee, cacao, timber, pineapples, manganese, and plantains are the chief items shipped from the port. Abidjan's major industries are food processing, sawmilling, automotive assembly, and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, beverages, and soap. A communications and transportation hub, the city is connected by road or rail with neighboring countries. An international airport is nearby. In 1934 Abidjan became the capital of France's Côte d'Ivoire colony. After 1950, the city became the financial center of French-speaking W Africa. In 1983 Yamoussoukro was designated as the national capital, but most government offices and foreign embassies are still in Abidjan. Sectarian fighting erupted between 2002-07 and again between 2010-11, leading to foreign peacekeeping forces being posted in the city. The Univ. of Abidjan, several technical colleges, and the national library and museum are in the city, which is also a popular tourist spot. A national park with a remarkable rain forest is nearby.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Abidjan

 

capital of the Republic of the Ivory Coast. Its population in 1966 was 400,000, including the suburbs. Abidjan is situated on the coast of the Ebrié Lagoon of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the country’s main seaport, the starting point of the Abidjan-Ouagadougou (Upper Volta) railroad line, and a highway junction; it also has an airfield, located 12 km to the south. It is a major commercial center. Industry includes food enterprises (canned fish, canned pineapple, and juices), light industry, woodworking, and metalworking. There are a shipyard and a branch of Dakar University. In the center of the city are business sections, parks, and the homes of the Europeans and the African elite. Abidjan’s suburbs—Treshwil in the south and Adjame in the north—have industrial areas inhabited by the impoverished African population.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Abidjan

a port in Côte d'Ivoire, on the Gulf of Guinea: the legislative capital (Yamoussoukro became the administrative capital in 1983). Pop.: 3 516 000 (2005 est.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005