Located on the Gulf of Guinea, between Liberia, and Guinea, Ivory Coast, known also as Côte d'Ivoire was a French colony until 1960, when became independent. Former political capital and primary economic center of the country, Abidjan is the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris and Kinshasa. Located in Ébrié Lagoon on several converging peninsulas and islands connected by bridges, it is considered a cultural hub of West Africa, being characterized by a high level of industrialization and urbanization. The city grew up quickly after the construction of a new wharf in 1931, and the completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled it to become an important sea port. In 1983 Yamoussoukro was designated as the official capital city of Ivory Coast, but almost all political institutions and foreign embassies are still in Abidjan.
