Country Foundations

Ivory Coast

Constitution in force since 2016, 11,788 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
86%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
62%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−24%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
34%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 64%, gap −36%Right to life100%64%−36%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Freedom from torture100%60%−40%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%79%−21%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 54%, gap −46%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%54%−46%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 67%, practiced 56%, gap −10%Right to a fair and public trial67%56%−10%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure50%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 56%, gap −44%Due process of law100%56%−44%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of expression100%62%−38%Freedom of the press — declared 50%, practiced 54%, gap +4%Freedom of the press50%54%+4%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 60%, gap −40%Freedom of thought and conscience100%60%−40%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of religion100%76%−24%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 68%, gap +68%Academic freedom0%68%+68%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 68%, gap −32%Freedom of assembly100%68%−32%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Freedom of association100%72%−28%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 88%, practiced 71%, gap −16%Right to form and join trade unions88%71%−16%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 68%, gap +18%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%68%+18%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Right to privacy100%74%−26%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Freedom of movement100%76%−24%Right to asylum — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure100%——Right to own property — declared 75%, practiced 72%, gap −3%Right to own property75%72%−3%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 66%, gap −34%Equality before the law100%66%−34%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 38%, gap −62%Right to education100%38%−62%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 37%, gap −63%Right to health care100%37%−63%Right to shelter or housing — declared 50%, practiced 40%, gap −10%Right to shelter or housing50%40%−10%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 45%, gap −55%Independent judiciary100%45%−55%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501002000: constitutional text changed (+28 pts declared)2016: constitutional text changed (+34 pts declared)19752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1960–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −36%
  • Freedom from torture −40%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −21%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −46%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Academic freedom +68%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1992
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1992
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1973
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1995
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1995
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2014
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.