Abidjan

Largest city (pop., 1999 est.: 3,199,000) and chief port of Côte d'Ivoire. Abidjan was a rail terminus from 1904; after its lagoon was opened to the sea to create a port (1950), the city became the financial centre of French West Africa. Though it was once the country's capital and remains its seat of government, the official capital was moved to Yamoussoukro in 1983. Abidjan has a museum of traditional Ivorian art, a national library, and several research institutes.

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