Côte d'Ivoire

Although most African countries’ criminality score is driven predominantly by the strength and influence of criminal actors, Côte d’Ivoire is an obvious exception, in that it also hosts a plethora of pervasive criminal markets that have a significant negative impact on the country’s society and state structures. In particular, the country's environmental-crime markets exert a significant, and growing, negative influence on nearly all parts of society. Concerns surround illegal logging and criminalised control of the country's gold mines (leading to illegal taxation), as well as human smuggling and human trafficking for labour. The nation is both a transit and origin country for the trafficking of ivory by criminal gangs, and plays a major role in the illegal ape and birds’ markets; corruption is linked to these networking routes and activities. Due to the country’s recent turbulence, it has experienced an increase in the flow of arms, while there are also concerns that the state's fragility will lead to large-scale trafficking of illicit substances. In addition to criminal gangs that operate in the country, and corruption within the government, foreign criminal actors are also thought to have a growing detrimental impact on society. In terms of resilience, Cote d’Ivoire ranks 18th in Africa. This is due to relatively high levels of international cooperation, a strong judicial system and a robust political leadership in the fight against organised crime. However, the country's porous borders and levels of corruption need to be addressed to enhance its ability to combat organised crime effectively.