Cote D'Ivoire

Military:  Cote D'Ivoire

Military branches:

Republican Forces of Cote d'Ivoire (Force Republiques de Cote d'Ivoire, FRCI): Army, Navy, Cote d'Ivoire Air Force (Force Aerienne de la Cote d'Ivoire)

note: FRCI is the former Armed Forces of the New Forces (FAFN) (2013)

Military service age and obligation:

18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary male and female military service; conscription is not enforced; voluntary recruitment of former rebels into the new national army is restricted to ages 22-29 (2012)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,247,522

females age 16-49: 5,047,901 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 3,360,087

females age 16-49: 3,196,033 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 247,011

female: 242,958 (2010 est.)

Military expenditures:

country comparison to the world: 103

Transnational Issues:  Cote D'Ivoire

Disputes - international:

disputed maritime border between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 9,126 (Liberia) (2012)

IDPs: 40,000 - 80,000 (post-election conflict in 2010-2011, as well as civil war from 2002-2004; most pronounced in western and southwestern regions) (2011)

stateless persons: 700,000 (2012); note - many Ivoirians lack documentation proving their nationality, which prevent them from accessing education and healthcare; birth on Ivorian soil does not automatically result in citizenship; disputes over citizenship and the associated rights of the large population descended from migrants from neighboring countries is an ongoing source of tension and contributed to the country's 2002 civil war; some observers believe the government's mass naturalizations of thousands of people over the last couple of years is intended to boost its electoral support base; the government in October 2013 acceded to international conventions on statelessness and in August 2013 reformed its nationality law, key steps to clarify the nationality of thousands of residents

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center (2008)

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