Ivorian

Ivorians as a people group are the citizens of Côte d'Ivoire counted by nationality rather than by ethnicity. The country's peoples fall into four broad families: the Akan (Baoulé, Agni and the lagoon peoples), the Northern Mande (Malinke, Dioula), the Gur peoples of the north (Senufo, Lobi, Koulango) and the Kru (Bété, Guéré) and Southern Mande (Dan, Gouro) of the west. French is the national language and Dioula the common language of trade. Abroad, Ivorians share a national identity, French and the Abidjan slang Nouchi. Splitting them into their peoples is a recommendation, since no source counts them.

Attiéké (fermented cassava couscous) with grilled fish, alloco (fried plantain), foutou with sauces and garba are the dishes of home, and maquis, open-air eateries, are where Ivorians meet. Coupé-décalé and zouglou music, the national football team, the Elephants, and church choirs carry community life abroad, alongside heavy obligations to send money to family.

Côte d'Ivoire is religiously divided: the 2021 census counted 42.5% Muslims, mostly Sunni Malinke, Dioula and northern peoples; 39.8% Christians (Catholics, Methodists, fast-growing evangelical and Pentecostal churches, and Ivorian churches such as the Harrist church); and 12.6% with no religion. Traditional belief in ancestors, spirits and masks, strong among the Senufo, Dan and Gouro, runs beneath both faiths, and many seek healing and protection from prophets and diviners.

The Bible is available in French, Baoulé, Dioula and many other Ivorian languages, with the JESUS film and Global Recordings audio. Southern and central Ivorians are largely Christian with strong churches, while the Muslim Malinke, Dioula and many northern peoples remain among the less reached.