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Flag of GuineaFlag of Ivory Coast

Guinea–Ivory Coast border

A line through forest and savanna from Mount Nimba in the south to the Mali tripoint in the north, drawn inside French West Africa after France broke up French Sudan in 1899. At its southern end it crosses the Mount Nimba nature reserve, shared by the two countries.

Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction

GUINEAIVORY COASTLIBERIAMALILiberia tripoint (Mount Nuon)Mali tripoint
Today’s borderThe border runs north from the Nimba Range to the Mali tripoint.

See it on the globe:Guinea →Ivory Coast →

Carving up French Sudan

A French decree of 17 October 1899 broke up much of French Sudan. Beyla, Kankan, Kissidougou and other districts went to French Guinea; Bouna, Kong and Odienné went to Ivory Coast. The line between the two colonies was an internal boundary of French West Africa until independence, for Guinea in 1958 and Ivory Coast in 1960.[3][6][2]

It runs from the Nimba Range, where Guinea, Ivory Coast and Liberia meet on Mount Nuon, north to the divide between the Baoulé and Sankarani rivers, where it meets Mali.[1][2]

Mount Nimba

Mount Nimba rises to 1,752 metres above the surrounding savanna and is a water tower with about fifty springs between Ivory Coast and Guinea. The Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve covers 17,540 hectares, 12,540 in Guinea and 5,000 in Ivory Coast, and is home to the Nimba viviparous toad, a small semi-aquatic insectivore and chimpanzees that use stones as tools. A mining enclave borders the Guinean part.[4]

Ivory Coast closed its land borders, including this one, on 22 March 2020 because of COVID-19, and reopened them only in February 2023.[5]

Timeline

  1. 189917 October 1899

    French Sudan divided

    Districts go to French Guinea and Ivory Coast.[3]

  2. 1958

    Guinea independent

    The line becomes an international border.[6]

  3. 202022 March 2020

    Borders closed

    Ivory Coast shuts its land borders.[5]

  4. 2023February 2023

    Reopened

    Land crossings open again.[5]

More borders

Flag of GuineaGuinea

Flag of Ivory CoastIvory Coast

Sources

  1. [1]
    International Boundary Study No. 132: Côte d’Ivoire – Liberia Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 2 January 1973
  2. [2]
    International Boundary Study No. 171: Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) – Mali Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 26 November 1979
  3. [3]
    International Boundary Study No. 97: Dahomey – Upper Volta Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 1 April 1970
  4. [4]
    Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  5. [5]
    Ivory Coast reopens land borders closed since 2020 · Africanews (AFP) · 16 February 2023
  6. [6]
    International Boundary Study No. 95: Guinea – Senegal Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 2 March 1970

Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.

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