Abidjan - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the relative size of the expatriate community? How would you describe overall morale among expatriates?
There are a lot of expats. Overall morale depends on attitude. Some people hate it here and are just biding their time. If you have a good attitude there is plenty of fun and beauty to be found. The food scene is good, people are friendly and helpful. There are plenty of things to do and see, if you don't mind a little bit of "roughing it". This is not a shiny, sparkly high level ecotourism kind of place. You need to explore, and be up for anything. And there are several nice beach front towns within a short drive. - Mar 2021
Large, but mostly French speaking. Morale is high in the community but not necessarily at the embassy. - May 2020
Well, lots of Francophone countries, and lots of African due to the AFDB. Over 140,000 Lebanese and other Arabs. Limited Americans/non-Francophone Europeans. Growing People's Republic of China presence. - Feb 2020
Huge community. The largest are French and Lebanese. - Mar 2017
Small. Mostly NGOs, UN, and other embassies. There is a large Lebanese community, but these people have lived here for generations. - Jun 2009
Embassies here generally have one or two people a piece, so the diplomatic community is somewhat small, apart from the Americans and perhaps the French. There is a large number of UN personnel and French military in Abidjan. There are also many NGOs working in Cote d'Ivoire, so there are definitely opportunities to meet expats, particularly if you speak French. The expat community is smaller, so you will see and recognize the same people at the same places after awhile. - Jan 2009
