Ivory Coast has a very young population: 38.3% of residents are aged 0 to 14, 59.1% are 15 to 64, and 2.6% are at least 65. Responsibilities for different life transitions are distributed among the Ministry of Women, Family and Child, the Ministry of National Education and Literacy, the Ministry responsible for youth and civic service, the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection, civil-status offices, social centres and households. A birth certificate connects childhood with later access to examinations, formal employment, bank accounts and passports. Civil-status offices register a birth without charge within three months. A late registration generally requires a supplementary judgment from a tribunal and brings additional time and costs. Children attend preschool commonly at ages 3, 4 or 5, and school attendance is required from ages 6 to 16 under Law 2015-635. Children outside formal schooling may use passerelle classes or non-state and Islamic education structures. Child-protection services and the 2025–2029 national action plan on child labour address risks that are not resolved by school access alone. Youth definitions vary by programme. The Programme National Jeunesse commonly covers people under 35, while the Stratégie Nationale de la Politique de la Jeunesse refers to people over 15 and under 35. Depending on the reference population, roughly 75.6% to 77.7% of residents are under 35. The Agence Emploi Jeunes, YOMA, vocational training, apprenticeships and civic service support the move from school into work. The 2022 School-to-Work Transition Survey focuses on ages 15 to 29. School dropout, insecure informal work, early pregnancy or marriage, violence, substance use and psychological strain can disrupt this transition, and access is unequal between regions and social groups. Legal adulthood begins at 18. Marriage is civilly possible from 18 for both sexes and requires the personal consent of both partners. Customary and religious unions exist socially, but civil registration has particular importance for legal enforceability and access to related services. Parental authority creates rights and duties toward a minor child. Forced marriage and marriage involving a minor are criminal offences, with possible imprisonment of one to five years and fines of 360,000 to 1,000,000 FCFA; an urgent protection order may also be available. Employment and social protection depend largely on status and contributions. Formal salaried work can lead to coverage through the Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale (CNPS), while informal work remains widespread. For salaried CNPS members, regular retirement is generally at 60 after at least 15 contribution years and the end of salaried employment. Early retirement may begin at 55, with a permanent reduction of 5% for each year taken early. The Régime social des travailleurs indépendants (RSTI) provides basic and survivor benefits for independent workers, with regular retirement at 60 and possible early retirement at 55. A universal contributory-free old-age payment could not be confirmed nationally. Care dependency is handled mainly within families and communities. Formal alternatives are fragmented and include social centres, specialised education centres, early-childhood development centres, social and health services, and CNPS disability protection. Ivory Coast has no verified nationwide long-term-care or case-management system and no uniform care payment. Access, waiting times and costs therefore depend on location, formal status and available resources. Older people are a growing policy concern: the 2021 population census counted 1,227,136 residents aged at least 60 and 752,637 aged at least 65. Crises can interrupt several transitions at once. Between January and November 2024, 25,921 people arrived from Burkina Faso, including 15,034 children. In November 2024, about 70,500 asylum seekers were present, of whom 65,301 were registered; women and children made up 82%, 41% were of school age and more than 19% were under five. UNICEF- and UNHCR-supported humanitarian coordination provides water and sanitation, education, nutrition, psychosocial assistance, child protection and family reunification. A death can also trigger CNPS survivor benefits and an orphan benefit for children under 16.
Life stages in Ivory Coast
Human life in Ivory Coast is shaped by transitions involving birth registration, school, work, adulthood, parenthood, ageing and care. Children are minors until 18, and school attendance is required from ages 6 to 16. Young people commonly move from school toward training, apprenticeships, civic service or work, while access varies by region and social situation. Later support depends strongly on formal status, family and community networks, social-insurance contributions and available services.
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