Yamoussoukro

capital city of Côte d'Ivoire

Yamoussoukro is the capital city of Côte d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast). About 200,000 people live in this city. Yamoussoukro became the capital in 1983. Abidjan was the capital before that.

Yamoussoukro
Location within Côte d'Ivoire
Location within Côte d'Ivoire
Coordinates: 06°49′00″N 05°17′00″W / 6.81667°N 5.28333°W / 6.81667; -5.28333
CountryCôte d'Ivoire
RegionLacs
DepartmentYamoussoukro
Government
 • Governor Augustin Abdoulaye Thiam HouphouëtAugustin Abdoulaye Thiam Houphouët
Area
 • Total3,500 km2 (1,350 sq mi)
Population
 (2005)
 • Total200,659
 • Density148.5/km2 (385/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC

History of Yamoussoukro

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Before the Second World War, Yamoussoukro was a small city. It was mainly made up of farms. In 1964, the president of Côte d'Ivoire decided to make Yamoussoukro the capital because it was where he grew up. In 1983, Yamoussoukro became the capital of Ivory Coast. In 1990, the Pope opened the biggest church in the world. It is called Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro. In 2004, Yamoussoukro's airport was attacked by France because airplanes from that airport had killed 9 people from France.

Important things in Yamoussoukro

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Yamoussoukro is famous for the biggest church in the world, The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro. Also, it is very tall.

Other websites

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  Media related to Yamoussoukro at Wikimedia Commons