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| Benin |
 Click to enlarge |
Home Reference Maps Appendixes
| Background: |
Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989, the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. |
| 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 water: 2,000 sq km land: 110,620 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: 15.28% permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.) |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 |
| Population: |
7,041,490 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 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291) 15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 16.4 years male: 15.9 years female: 16.9 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.95% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 51.08 years male: 50.35 years female: 51.84 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| 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) |
| Economy
- overview: |
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise 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 speeded-up structural reforms. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
5.4% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $1,070 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 38% industry: 15% services: 47% (2002 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
37% (2001 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3.3% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
NA |
| Unemployment
rate: |
NA% |
| Budget: |
revenues: $377.4 million expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
| Industries: |
textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
8.3% (2001 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
274.3 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 14.2% hydro: 85.8% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
631.1 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
376 million kWh (2001) |
| Oil
- production: |
700 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- consumption: |
11,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- exports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- imports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- proved reserves: |
4.105 million bbl (January 2002 est.) |
| Natural
gas - proved reserves: |
608.8 million cu m (January 2002 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
| Exports: |
$207 million f.o.b. (2002) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
| Exports
- partners: |
India 21%, Italy 13%, Thailand 12%, Brazil 8% (2001) |
| Imports: |
$479 million c.i.f. (2002) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
| Imports
- partners: |
China 35%, France 14%, UK 5%, Togo 4% (2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$1.6 billion (2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$342.6 million (2000) |
| Currency: |
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Currency
code: |
XOF |
| Exchange
rates: |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999), 589.952 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| |
