Benin (2004)

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Benin 2004 year


Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	0-14 years: 46.8% (male 1,711,075; female 1,679,439) 15-64 years: 51% (male 1,802,990; female 1,890,915) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 68,890; female 96,724) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Airports	5 (2003 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.)
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
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.
Birth rate	42.57 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $698.9 million expenditures: $613.2 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)
Capital	Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	121 km
Constitution	December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Currency	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Death rate	13.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)
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
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
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 ICJ ad hoc judges have been selected to rule on disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones
Economic aid - recipient	$342.6 million (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.
Electricity - consumption	631.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	376 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	274.3 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
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
Ethnic groups	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999)
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 NA 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 SOGOLO (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 SOGOLO 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"
Exports	0 kWh (2001)
Exports	$485 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners	China 21.1%, India 18%, Thailand 6.8%, Ghana 5.8%, Niger 4.4%, Indonesia 4.1% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP	purchasing power parity - $7.742 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 36.4% industry: 14.5% services: 49.1% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways	total: 6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
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
Imports	376 million kWh (2001)
Imports	$726 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	China 29.5%, France 14.9%, UK 4.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%, Thailand 4.6% (2003)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001)
Infant mortality rate	total: 85.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1.5% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	NA (1996)
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Land use	arable land: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 NA 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
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 50.81 years male: 50.25 years female: 51.39 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	none
Military branches	Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$98.3 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.7% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 1,638,010 females age 15-49: 1,647,850 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 835,561 females age 15-49: 835,633 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 77,552 females: 81,841 (2004 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
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 4 other 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
Population	7,250,033 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 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	37% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	2.89% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
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
Telephones - main lines in use	66,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	236,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	5.95 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)

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