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Compare Barbados (2001) - Benin (2008)

Compare Barbados (2001) z Benin (2008)

 Barbados (2001)Benin (2008)
 BarbadosBenin
Administrative divisions 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure 0-14 years:
21.68% (male 30,122; female 29,572)

15-64 years:
69.44% (male 93,283; female 97,915)

65 years and over:
8.88% (male 9,432; female 15,006) (2001 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.)
Agriculture - products sugarcane, vegetables, cotton cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Airports 1 (2000 est.) 5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total:
1

over 3,047 m:
1 (2000 est.)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
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 (2007)
Area total:
430 sq km

land:
430 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. 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. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
Birth rate 13.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues:
$725.5 million

expenditures:
$750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.)
revenues: $936.9 million


expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.)
Capital Bridgetown 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)
Climate tropical; rainy season (June to October) tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline 97 km 121 km
Constitution 30 November 1966 adopted by referendum 2 December 1990
Country name conventional long form:
none

conventional short form:
Barbados
conventional long form: Republic of Benin


conventional short form: Benin


local long form: Republique du Benin


local short form: Benin


former: Dahomey
Currency Barbadian dollar (BBD) -
Death rate 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $425 million (2000 est.) $1.2 billion (2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. DALEY

embassy:
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown

mailing address:
P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055

telephone:
[1] (246) 436-4950

FAX:
[1] (246) 429-5246
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
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KING

chancery:
2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 939-9200

FAX:
[1] (202) 332-7467

consulate(s) general:
Miami and New York

consulate(s):
Los Angeles
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 none 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
Economic aid - recipient $9.1 million (1995) $374.7 million (2006)
Economy - overview Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996-2000. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Growth should remain steady in 2001, with new tourist facilities a plus factor. 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.
Electricity - consumption 667.7 million kWh (1999) 587 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 595 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 718 million kWh (1999) 105 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
100%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mount Hillaby 336 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements party to:
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:
Biodiversity
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
Ethnic groups black 80%, white 4%, other 16% 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)
Exchange rates Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
Executive branch chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)

head of government:
Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994)

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

elections:
none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general
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%
Exports $260 million (2000 est.) 0 bbl/day (2007)
Exports - commodities sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Exports - partners UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
4%

industry:
16%

services:
80% (1998)
agriculture: 33.2%


industry: 14.5%


services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.8% (2000 est.) 4.5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates 13 10 N, 59 32 W 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note easternmost Caribbean island sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways total:
1,600 km

paved:
1,578 km

unpaved:
22 km (1998)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
lowest 10%: 3.1%


highest 10%: 29% (2003)
Illicit drugs one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations
Imports $800.3 million (2000 est.) 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)
Independence 30 November 1966 (from UK) 1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 0.8% (1996) 4.5% (2007 est.)
Industries tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Infant mortality rate 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2% (2000 est.) 2.5% (2007 est.)
International organization participation ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO 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, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 19 (2000) -
Irrigated land NA sq km 120 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force 136,000 (1998 est.) 5.38 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) -
Land boundaries 0 km total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Land use arable land:
37%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
5%

forests and woodland:
12%

other:
46% (1993 est.)
arable land: 23.53%


permanent crops: 2.37%


other: 74.1% (2005)
Languages English French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004)

election results:
House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2
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
Life expectancy at birth total population:
73.25 years

male:
70.66 years

female:
75.86 years (2001 est.)
total population: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school

total population:
97.4%

male:
98%

female:
96.8% (1995 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 34.7%


male: 47.9%


female: 23.3% (2002 census)
Location Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Africa
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine total:
47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 671,545 GRT/1,125,635 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 10, cargo 28, combination bulk 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1

note:
includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Hong Kong 1 (2000 est.)
-
Military branches Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $NA -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 1.7% (2006)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
78,069 (2001 est.)
-
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
53,576 (2001 est.)
-
National holiday Independence Day, 30 November (1966) National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality noun:
Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)

adjective:
Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Natural resources petroleum, fish, natural gas small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] 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 [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]


note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
Political pressure groups and leaders Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] NA
Population 275,330 (July 2001 est.) 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.)
Population below poverty line NA% 37.4% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate 0.46% (2001 est.) 2.674% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) -
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007)
Radios 237,000 (1997) -
Railways 0 km total: 758 km


narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Religions Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% 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)
Sex ratio at birth:
1.01 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:
0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:
0.63 male(s)/female

total population:
0.93 male(s)/female (2001 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.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
NA

domestic:
island-wide automatic telephone system

international:
satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing


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)
Telephones - main lines in use 108,000 (1997) 77,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 8,013 (1997) 1.056 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) 6 (2007)
Terrain relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 11% (1999 est.) NA%
Waterways none 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)
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