Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged.

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo

9 30 N, 2 15 E

total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km
water: 2,000 sq km

total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km

121 km

territorial sea: 200 nm

tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m

small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37%
other: 74.1% (2005)

120 sq km (2003)

hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March

inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification

sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands

7,862,944
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 44.1% (male 1,751,709/female 1,719,138)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 2,067,248/female 2,138,957)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 75,694/female 110,198) (2006 est.)

total: 17.6 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 18 years (2006 est.)

2.73% (2006 est.)

38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 79.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 74.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years
female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)

5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)

1.9% (2003 est.)

68,000 (2003 est.)

5,800 (2003 est.)

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and others are high risks in some locations
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese

African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500

indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%

French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6%
male: 46.4%
female: 22.6% (2002 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin
local long form: Republique du Benin
local short form: Benin
former: Dahomey

republic under multiparty democratic rule; dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989

Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government

12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou

1 August 1960 (from France)

National Day, 1 August (1960)

December 1990

based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31

Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice

The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Many of these proposals are included in Benin's application to receive Millennium Challenge Account funding - for which it was a finalist in 2004-05. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region.

$8.669 billion (2005 est.)

$4.312 billion (2005 est.)

3.9% (2005 est.)

$1,100 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 33.9%
industry: 13.6%
services: 52.5% (2004 est.)

33% (2001 est.)

3.2% (2005 est.)

20.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock

textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement

8.3% (2001 est.)

69 million kWh (2003)

538.2 million kWh (2003)

474 million kWh (2003)

400 bbl/day (2003)

12,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

4.105 million bbl (1 January 2002)

1.218 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

-$155.1 million (2005 est.)

$826.9 million f.o.b. (2005 est.)

cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa

China 29.5%, India 18.8%, Ghana 6.4%, Niger 6%, Indonesia 4.3%, Nigeria 4.3% (2004)

$1.043 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products

China 32.5%, France 13.1%, Thailand 6.8%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.5% (2004)

$523.7 million (2005 est.)

$1.6 billion (2000)

$342.6 million (2000)

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

calendar year

72,800 (2004)

386,700 (2004)

general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections
international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)

1 (2001)

.bj

814 (2005)

100,000 (2005)

5 (2005)

total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)

total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2005)

total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)

total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km
unpaved: 5,430 km (1999)

150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)

Cotonou

Army, Navy, Air Force

Benin and Burkina Faso military clash in 2006 over sections of riverine boundary involving disputed villages and squatters; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin as a consequence of a 2004 joint task force to resolve maritime and land boundary disputes, but clashes among rival gangs along the border persist; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones

transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure