Festivals in the Ivory Coast are often a celebration of cultural traditions. With a good number of the population adhering to the Muslim faith, religious events related to Islamic beliefs are widely observed. Ivoirians also celebrate different kinds of historic holidays, many of which are characterized by festive parades and colorful performances.
The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998, and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009, and 23,919,000 in July 2014.Ivory Coast's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.
The food in Cote d’Ivoire reflects the cultural diversity of its population and especially its expatriate population. Italian, Vietnamese and Chinese food is becoming increasingly popular, while Senegalese and Moroccan cuisines are specialties.