ABSTRACT
Ivorian industry was very dynamic until the end of the 1970s. In 1960 there were fewer than one hundred firms with a combined turnover of 13 billion f.CFA.1 By 1978 this had grown to more than 500 firms with a total turnover of 600 billion. By 1984 the number of firms had again increased, to some 750, with a turnover of 1 250 billion. Average annual industrial growth was 13 per cent until 1973, and 8.5 per cent between 1974 and 1981. Manufacturing value added (MVA) grew by 3.7 per cent between 1975 and 1985. In 1960 the industrial sector represented only 14 per cent of the gross national product: this increased to an average of 23 per cent between 1971 and 1981.
