Côte d’Ivoire

As the largest economy in the WAEMU zone, Côte d’Ivoire ranks among sub-Saharan Africa’s most dynamic economies. With a well-diversified export base anchored by cocoa (world’s leading producer), coffee, and rubber, Côte d’Ivoire recorded the strongest growth in the Union in 2021 following COVID-19-related contraction in 2020. Growth is projected to remain robust at 6.7% in 2022, underpinned by commodity strength and domestic demand.

Consistent with other WAEMU economies, Côte d’Ivoire’s tertiary sector remains the largest value contributor to GDP. The services sector’s share declined from 61.7% in 2016 to 60.2% in 2020, but is projected to recover to 61.7% in 2021 and stabilize at 61.3% in 2022. This reflects resilience in commerce, finance, and transport services supporting the export economy.

Côte d’Ivoire’s inflation rate increased 1.8 percentage points to 4.2% in 2021, exceeding the WAEMU convergence criterion of 3% by 1.2 percentage points. Inflationary pressures persisted in 2022 amid adverse global conditions, with inflation estimated at 5.2%—driven by elevated commodity prices and exchange rate depreciation.

Côte d’Ivoire’s fiscal position improved in 2021 following the COVID-19-driven peak in 2020. The budget deficit narrowed to 4.9% of GDP in 2021 from 5.4% in 2020. However, the fiscal position is projected to deteriorate in 2022, with the deficit widening to 6.8% of GDP—reflecting elevated public investment and infrastructure spending aligned with the National Development Plan.

Public debt has accelerated substantially over recent years. The public debt-to-GDP ratio increased from 37.5% in 2019 to 46.3% in 2020 and reached 50.9% in 2021. In 2022, the ratio is projected to climb to 56.8% of GDP—an increase of nearly 6.0 percentage points—driven by Eurobond issuances and enhanced capital spending on the National Development Plan.

To elevate Côte d’Ivoire to upper-middle-income country status, the government adopted an ambitious National Development Plan (PND) for 2021–2025. The plan emphasizes robust productive investment to drive industrial development—a cornerstone of structural economic transformation. The strategic targets are: (i) average real GDP growth of 7.6% over 2021–2025, and (ii) fiscal deficit convergence below the WAEMU criterion of 3.0% by 2024.