pursuant to the ordinary identification scheme, the persons concerned should be informed of this fact. This continues to raise concerns about the risk of statelessness among those who appeared on the “gray list” of 2010, as well as other individuals who are refused nationality certificates or national ID cards in the ongoing ordinary identification program that began in 2014, as discussed further in Section 5.6. 5. Profiles of Stateless Persons and Groups at Risk of Statelessness Given Côte d’Ivoire’s migration history and the complexity and interlinkages between its nationality law framework and its civil status and identification systems, it comes as no surprise that people fall through the cracks and are unable to either acquire, or prove, a nationality – whether that be of Côte d’Ivoire or another State. In Côte d’Ivoire, as elsewhere, statelessness determination requires a complex analysis on an individual case-by-case basis. This involves first identifying all countries with which an individual has ties, such as through birth, filiation, marriage, or habitual residence, and then determining whether any of those identified countries considers the individual as a national, either as a matter of law or as a matter of practice.143 But who exactly does statelessness affect in Côte d’Ivoire? This section elaborates on the profiles and considerations related to various categories of persons affected by statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire before sharing some concluding observations regarding challenges of obtaining statistics relating to statelessness in this country. 5.1. Historical migrants and their descendants Historical migrants to Côte d’Ivoire and their descendants born in the country likely comprise the largest group affected by statelessness in Côte d’Ivoire. This is a result of the high levels of immigration to the country dating back to pre-independence times, as well as the weaknesses inherent in the civil status systems in all West African States. Today, it is projected that about 24% of Côte d’Ivoire’s current population are considered to be “foreigners.”144 There are numerous challenges involved in affirming whether someone who falls within this general category of historical migrants and their descendants are stateless, or even at risk of statelessness. Importantly, the nationality laws of the countries with the highest numbers of migrants to Côte d’Ivoire, namely Burkina Faso,145 Mali,146 and Guinea,147 all apply jus sanguinis rules in attributing nationality based on descent even to those born abroad, as does Côte d’Ivoire. This attribution of nationality occurs automatically at birth. A person born outside these countries wishing to obtain recognition of their nationality must prove that he or she has one parent with the nationality of that country, which can present numerous challenges. This subsection will first address some concerns particular to the Burkinabè, Malian, and Guinean migrant communities in Côte d’Ivoire, before discussing statelessness considerations related to the acquisition of nationality by declaration program and to the particular case of Burkinabè naturalized by collective decree in 1995 and their descendants. 5.1.1. Nationality concerns for Burkinabè, Malian, and Guinean migrants According to the 1998 population census, around 2.2 million persons in Côte d’Ivoire were designated as Burkinabè nationals. Even if the movement of Burkinabè from Côte d’Ivoire back to 143 UNHCR, supra note 7, paras. 18, 23-24. See discussion in Section 2.3 above. 145 Code de la famille et de la nationalité [Burkina Faso], 1996. 146 Code de la nationalité malienne, 1995. 147 Code civil [Guinea], 1983. 144 41