Health in Côte d'Ivoire: real progress, real challenges
9 indicators, 5 countries, 30 years of WHO/World Bank data. Côte d'Ivoire hit its 2030 physician target 7 years early. But maternal mortality remains higher than Ghana and Senegal, despite a stronger economy.
Analysis Summary
Overview
This report analyzes 9 health indicators for Côte d'Ivoire, benchmarked against France, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and the Sub-Saharan Africa average over the period 1990-2024. Data comes from the World Bank (WHO Global Health Workforce Statistics, UN inter-agency estimates for mortality), the OECD Health at a Glance 2023, and the Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Health. Indicators cover three dimensions: health workforce (physicians, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 population), financing (spending per capita in USD and as a share of GDP), and health outcomes (maternal mortality, under-5 mortality, life expectancy). Comparison countries were selected for their diversity: France as a high-income reference, Ghana and Senegal as close regional peers, Burkina Faso as a lower-income country in the sub-region, and the Sub-Saharan Africa average as a continental anchor. The analysis follows a 5-act narrative structure, starting with documented progress before examining persistent gaps.
Key findings
Côte d'Ivoire reached its PNDS 2030 target of 1 physician per 6,000 inhabitants 7 years ahead of schedule: by end 2023, the ratio stood at 1 per 5,697, totaling 5,158 physicians for 29.4 million people (0.17 per 1,000). Life expectancy rose 5 years in a decade, from 57 in 2014 to 62.1 in 2024, twice as fast as the Sub-Saharan average over the same period. Health spending per capita ($87.7 in 2023, about 53,000 FCFA) crossed the WHO minimum threshold of $86 for the first time. Maternal mortality fell 40% since 2010, from 614 to 359 deaths per 100,000 live births. Under-5 mortality dropped 31% between 2016 and 2021. These gains coexist with persistent gaps. Combined health workforce density (physicians, nurses, and midwives) reaches 0.97 per 1,000 inhabitants, only 22% of the WHO threshold for universal health coverage (4.45 per 1,000). Despite the highest GDP per capita in the group ($2,728 / 1.6 million FCFA), Ivorian maternal mortality (359/100,000) remains higher than Ghana (234) and Senegal (237). The share of GDP allocated to health (3.4%) falls below Burkina Faso (7.8%) and the WHO recommendation of 5%. Life expectancy (62.1 years) remains below the Sub-Saharan average (62.8 years).
Methodological note
All comparative data comes from the World Bank to ensure methodological consistency across countries. Two values exist for CI maternal mortality: 359 (UN modeled estimate, same method applied to all comparators in this report) and 385 (national HMIS statistics from the CI Ministry of Health). The gap between the two is documented and expected: UN modeling corrects for reporting biases but can diverge from raw national figures. Ghana's 2023 physician data (0.27 per 1,000) shows a +86% variation from 2022 (0.14/1,000); this revision is incorporated in the World Bank database and retained as-is for source consistency (flagged in the chart notes). FCFA conversions use an indicative rate of 600 FCFA per US dollar (June 2026); since the CFA franc is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate (655.957 XOF/EUR), the USD/FCFA rate fluctuates with the EUR/USD exchange rate.
Interactive Report
This analysis was produced by Klomèna YEO, freelance Analytics Engineer specialised in Finance & HR data. Available for data projects in France and internationally.