Benin
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Benin (officially "Republic of Benin") is a nation in western Africa between Nigeriaon the east and Togo on the west. Its geography is a narrow strip of land running north-south. In the south, its' coast faces onto the Bight of Benin on the east Atlantic Ocean.
Benin's major environmental issues include: inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; and desertification.
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 Krekou 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. Yayi has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Geographic Coordinates: 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Area: 112,620 km2 (110,620 km2 land and 2,000 km2 water)
arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37%
other: 74.1% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 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
Natural Hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
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
Climate: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Government
Government Type: Republic
Capital: Porto-Novo
Independence Day: 1 August 1960 (from France)
Legal System: based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
International Agreement:
Environment-international Agreement:
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
People and Society
Population: 8,294,941
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 43.6% (male 1,824,803/female 1,790,723)
15-64 years: 54% (male 2,210,525/female 2,268,138)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 80,081/female 120,671) (2008 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.619% (2008 est.)
Birthrate: 37.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 11.67 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth:
total population: 53.85 years
male: 52.67 years
female: 55.06 years (2008 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 4.96 children born/woman (2008 est.)
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: 34.7%
male: 47.9%
female: 23.3% (2002 census)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 25.8 cu km (2001)
Freshwater Withdrawal:
total: 0.13 cu km/yr (32%/23%/45%)
per capita: 15 cu m/yr (2001)
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Irrigated Land: 120 sq km (2003)
Resources
Natural Resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Energy
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 105 million kWh (2005) | 587 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | 595 million kWh (2005) | |
| Oil | 0 bbl/day (2007) | 9,232 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2007) | 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 8.21 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Conflict
International Disputes: in September 2007, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over two villages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from 2005 International Court of Justice decision; 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 cross-border gang clashes; talks continue between Benin and Togo on funding the Adjrala hydroelectric dam on the Mona River
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 9,444 (Togo) (2007)
Economy
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 though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. 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. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $12.1 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $5.433 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 33.2%
industry: 14.5%
services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 37.4% (2007 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Exports: cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Export Partners: China 23.1%, Indonesia 8.3%, India 7.2%, Niger 5.8%, Togo 4.7%, Nigeria 4.7%, Belgium 4% (2006)
Imports: foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Import Partners: China 45.1%, France 8.2%, US 6.6%, Thailand 6.4%, Malaysia 4.8% (2006)
Economic Aid Recipient: $374.7 million (2006)
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF)
Ports and Terminals: Cotonou
Further Reading