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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent.

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
9 30 N, 2 15 E
Africa
total: 112,620 sq km ; land: 110,620 sq km ; water: 2,000 sq km
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
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)
25.8 cu km (2001)
Total: 0.13 cu km/yr (32%/23%/45%) ; Per capita: 15 cu m/yr (2001)
hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
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, Whaling ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
8,078,314 ; 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 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940) ; 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) ; 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.)
total: 17.7 years ; male: 17.3 years ; female: 18.1 years (2007 est.)
2.674% (2007 est.)
38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 53.44 years ; male: 52.28 years ; female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
1.9% (2003 est.)
68,000 (2003 est.)
5,800 (2003 est.)
noun: Beninese (singular and plural) ; adjective: Beninese
Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census)
Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)
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: 34.7% ; male: 47.9% ; female: 23.3% (2002 census)
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 (2007)

conventional long form: Republic of Benin ; conventional short form: Benin ; local long form: Republique du Benin ; local short form: Benin ; former: Dahomey
republic
name: Porto-Novo (official capital) ; geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E ; time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ; note: Cotonou (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)
adopted by referendum 2 December 1990
based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government ; head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president ; elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) ; election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) ; elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18
Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU] ; note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
NA
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN ; embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou ; mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou ; telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 ; FAX: [229] 21-30-03-84





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 seven 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. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. 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.
$12.18 billion (2007 est.)
$4.946 billion (2007 est.)
4.5% (2007 est.)
$1,500 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 33.2% ; industry: 14.5% ; services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
3.211 million (1996)

NA%
33% (2001 est.)
lowest 10%: 3.1% ; highest 10%: 29% (2003)
36.5 (2003)
2.5% (2007 est.)
19.8% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $936.9 million ; expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.)

cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
4.5% (2007 est.)
105 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 14.2% ; hydro: 85.8% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
587 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
595 million kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005)
16,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
8,981 bbl/day (2004)
26,180 bbl/day (2004)
8.21 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
1.086 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$278.8 million (2007 est.)
$708.7 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)
$976.3 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)

$825 million (31 December 2007 est.)
$1.6 billion (2000)


$NA
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
XOF
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
calendar year
$349.1 million (2005)
76,300 (2005)
750,000 (2005)
general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of roughly 10 per 100 persons ; domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers ; international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
660,000 (2000)
1 (2001)
66,000 (2000)
.bj
798 (2007)
4 (2002)
700,000 (2006)

5 (2007)
total: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
total: 4 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)


total: 758 km ; narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
total: 16,000 km ; paved: 1,400 km ; unpaved: 14,600 km (2005)
150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)

Cotonou

Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007)
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 (2006)
males age 21-49: 1,295,230 ; females age 21-49: 1,301,936 (2005 est.)
males age 21-49: 749,774 ; females age 21-49: 751,329 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 76,661 ; females: 75,068 (2005 est.)
1.7% (2006)

two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border
refugees (country of origin): 26,632 (Togo) (2006)
transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations

