Bouaké is the second largest city in Côte d'Ivoire, based on the cotton industry. It is a centre for Baoulé people and is known for crafts.
The city lies north of Yamoussoukro on the Abidjan to Ouagadougou railway. The city largely grew from the 1970s after the construction of the Kossou Dam flooded land to the west.
Bouaké is known for its large carnival and market and for St Michael's Cathedral (Bouaké) .
French and United Nations peacekeepers currently reside in the city as part of an enforced ceasefire between the rebel-held north and the government-held south.
After the attempt to overthrow the president Laurent Gbagbo had failed, the rebel fources FN (forces nouvelles) led by Guillaume Soro made Bouaké their center of control. Subsequently, the university, opened in 1996, was closed down in September 2002. Financed by Unesco, the university will reopen in April.
On November 4, 2004, governmental forces used Sukohi-25's to raid the city as an opening movement towards "territorial liberation," according to Captain Jean-Noël Abbey of the Côte D'Ivoire army.
Korhogo, 225 km north of Bouaké, was also targeted.