Religion in Ivory Coast

Religion in Ivory Coast (2021 census)^[1]

Islam (42.5%)

Christianity (39.8%)

No religion (12.6%)

Traditional faiths (2.2%)

Undeclared^{[note 1]} (2.2%)

Other (0.7%)

Religion in Ivory Coast is diverse, with no particular religion representing the majority of the population. According to the 2021 census, Islam (mainly Sunni) is professed by 42.5% of the total population, while adherents of Christianity (mainly Catholic and Evangelical) represented 39.8% of the population. In addition, 12.6% of Ivorians reported to be non-religious and 2.2% claimed to follow Animism.^[1]^[3]^[4]

According to the 2020 estimate by the Pew Research Center, Muslims are the largest religious group at 44% of the total population, followed by Christians at 37.2% of the population. It also projected 8.1% of Ivorians to be unaffiliated and 10.5% as adherents of Traditional African religions.^[5]^[4]

Christianity is practised in a variety of forms throughout the country though mostly in the south.^[4]^[6] Islam has been practised in the far north for roughly seven centuries, shifting in influence over time due to contact with the Muslim areas to the north and immigration.^[6] Christian missionaries arrived at the coast in the 17th century but did not win converts in large numbers until the 19th century.^[6] Christianity's appeal was strongest among educated Africans and those who sought advancement through European contact.^[6]

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Yamoussoukro's Notre-Dame de la Paix, the world's largest basilica - a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 37". the Guardian. 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
^ "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Cote d'Ivoire". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Cote d'Ivoire". The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. United States Government. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
^ "Religions in Ivory Coast | PEW-GRF". Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Byrnes, Rita (1988). "The Role of Religion". In Handloff, Robert Earl (ed.). Cote d'Ivoire: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 64–73. OCLC 44238009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

[:1-1] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] "Yamoussoukro's Notre-Dame de la Paix, the world's largest basilica - a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 37". the Guardian. 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2022-10-22.

[4] "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Cote d'Ivoire". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2022-09-27.

[ciaFB-5] "Cote d'Ivoire". The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. United States Government. Retrieved 6 May 2017.

[6] "Religions in Ivory Coast | PEW-GRF". Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2021-04-17.

[:0-7] Byrnes, Rita (1988). "The Role of Religion". In Handloff, Robert Earl (ed.). Cote d'Ivoire: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 64–73. OCLC 44238009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

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