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.

 

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 sq km;land: 110,620 sq km;water: 2,000 sq km

 

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: 18.08%;permanent crops: 2.4%;other: 79.52% (2001)

 

Irrigated land: 120 sq km (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

 

People

 

Population: 7,460,025

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 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458);15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610);65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.)

 

Median age: total: 16.56 years;male: 16.12 years;female: 17.01 years (2005 est.)

 

Population growth rate: 2.82% (2005 est.)

 

Birth rate: 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Death rate: 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female;under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female;15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female;65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female;total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

 

Infant mortality rate: total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births;male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births;female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

 

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 50.51 years;male: 50.14 years;female: 50.89 years (2005 est.)

 

Total fertility rate: 5.86 children born/woman (2005 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 (2004)

 

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: 40.9%;male: 56.2%;female: 26.5% (2000)

 

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

 

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. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, 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. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise.

 

GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.338 billion (2004 est.)

 

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2004 est.)

 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)

 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 36.3%;industry: 14.3%;services: 49.4% (2004 est.)

 

Labor force: NA (1996)

 

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): 2.8% (2004 est.)

 

Investment (gross fixed): 19.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Budget: revenues: $869.4 million;expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

 

Agriculture - products: cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)

 

Industries: textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)

 

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

 

Electricity - production: 285.2 million kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - consumption: 565.2 million kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - imports: 300 million kWh (2002)

 

Oil - production: 700 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - consumption: 11,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - exports: NA

 

Oil - imports: NA

 

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

 

Natural gas - proved reserves: 608.8 million cu m (1 January 2002)

 

Current account balance: $-159.9 million (2004 est.)

 

Exports: $720.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

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

 

Exports - partners: China 30.2%, India 15.6%, Thailand 6%, Ghana 5.9%, Niger 4.5% (2004)

 

Imports: $934.5 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products

 

Imports - partners: China 29.7%, France 13.8%, Thailand 7.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.6% (2004)

 

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $839.3 million (2004 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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)

 

Fiscal year: calendar year

 

Communications

 

Telephones - main lines in use: 66,500 (2003)

 

Telephones - mobile cellular: 236,200 (2003)

 

Telephone system: general assessment: NA;domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections;international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 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: 879 (2004)

 

Internet users: 70,000 (2003)

 

Transportation

 

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

 

Highways: total: 6,787 km;paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways);unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)

 

Waterways: 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)

 

Ports and harbors: Cotonou

 

Airports: 5 (2004 est.)

 

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1;1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)

 

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 (2004 est.)
 

Transnational Issues

 

Disputes - international: two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; 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