Benin

§1. Benin Introduction

Background:
  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.

§2. Benin Geography

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

Geographic coordinates:
  9 30 N, 2 15 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 112,620 km²
  land: 110,620 km²
  water: 2,000 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

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

Coastline:
  121 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 200 nm

Climate:
  tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Terrain:
  mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

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

Natural resources:
  small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

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

Irrigated land:
  120 km² (1998 est.)

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

Environment - current issues:
  inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife
  populations; deforestation; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
    Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
    Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
    Wetlands
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

§3. Benin People

Population:
  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.)

Age structure:
  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.)

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

Population growth rate:
  2.73% (2006 est.)

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

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

Net migration rate:
  0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  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.)

Infant mortality rate:
  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.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 53.04 years
  male: 51.9 years
  female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  1.9% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  68,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  5,800 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
  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)

Nationality:
  noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Beninese

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

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

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

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

§4. Benin Government

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

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

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

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

Independence:
  1 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
  National Day, 1 August (1960)

Constitution:
  December 1990

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

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the
    president is both the chief of state and head of government
  head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note -
    the president is both the chief of state and head of government
  cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
  elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff
    election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006)
  election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote -
    Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9%
  note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round
    presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore
    SOGLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly
    Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the
    second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was
    postponed four days because both SOGLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging
    electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of
    State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match"

Legislative branch:
  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 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other
    small parties) 31

Judicial branch:
  Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour
  Supreme; High Court of Justice

Political parties and leaders:
  African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for
  Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social
  Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces
  [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI];
  Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA];
  Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC
  [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and four small
  parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star
  Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF
  [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
  note: approximately 20 additional minor parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEMAC, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC,
  NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI,
  UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
  chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656
  FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL
  embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou
  mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou
  telephone: [229] 30-06-50
  FAX: [229] 30-06-70

Flag description:
  two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical
  green band on the hoist side

§5. Benin Economy

Economy - overview:
  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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $8.669 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $4.312 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  3.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $1,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 33.9%
  industry: 13.6%
  services: 52.5% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
  NA

Unemployment rate:
  NA%

Population below poverty line:
  33% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  3.2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  20.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

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

Agriculture - products:
  cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock

Industries:
  textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement

Industrial production growth rate:
  8.3% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:
  69 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  538.2 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  474 million kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  400 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
  12,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
  4.105 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  1.218 billion m³ (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
  $-155.1 million (2005 est.)

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

Exports - commodities:
  cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa

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

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

Imports - commodities:
  foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products

Imports - partners:
  China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $523.7 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $1.6 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $342.6 million (2000)

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

Exchange rates:
  Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005),
  528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Benin Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  72,800 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  386,700 (2004)

Telephone system:
  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

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (2001)

Internet country code:
  .bj

Internet hosts:
  814 (2005)

Internet users:
  100,000 (2005)

§7. Benin Transportation

Airports:
  5 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 4
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2005)

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

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

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

Ports and terminals:
  Cotonou

§8. Benin Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force

Military service age and obligation:
  21 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; in practice,
  volunteers may be taken at the age of 18; both sexes are eligible for
  military service; conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 21-49: 1,207,071
  females age 21-49: 1,216,180 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 21-49: 670,170
  females age 21-49: 630,078 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 72,841
  females: 71,428 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $100.9 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.3% (2005 est.)

§9. Benin Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  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

Illicit drugs:
  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


<Factbook 2006>
