country in WC Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea, west of Ghana: formerly a French territory, it became independent in 1960: 123,855 sq mi (320,783 sq km); pop. 10,813,000; cap. Yamoussoukro
A section of coastal western Africa along the Gulf of Guinea roughly corresponding to present-day Côte d'Ivoire. It was named for the large quantities of ivory traded there in precolonial times.