Benin (2001) | New Caledonia (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Iles Loyaute, Nord, and Sud |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29% (male 32,030/female 30,714)
15-64 years: 64.6% (male 70,294/female 69,506) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 6,513/female 7,437) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 25 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 2 (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 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s has dissipated. |
Birth rate | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $861.3 million
expenditures: $735.3 million, including capital expenditures of $52 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Noumea |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 121 km | 2,254 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1998 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France since 1956 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | none | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $274.6 million (1997) | $880 million annual subsidy from France (1998) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than one-fourth of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 510.2 million kWh (1999) | 1.471 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 226 million kWh (1999) | 1.581 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001), 129.43 (2000) |
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, 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" |
chief of state: President of France Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner Michel MATHIEU (since 15 July 2005)
head of government: President of the Government Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU (since 10 June 2004) cabinet: Consultative Committee elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress; note - last election held 29 June 2004 when Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU was elected on the third vote with 8 votes for and 3 abstentions |
Exports | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | Japan 22%, France 16.5%, Taiwan 12.3%, South Korea 12%, Spain 6.3%, Australia 6.1%, China 4.8%, South Africa 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 30% services: 65% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | no natural harbors | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 6 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
total: 5,432 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) | France 40.3%, Singapore 10.9%, Australia 9.1%, New Zealand 4.9% (2004) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), UPU, WFTU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1993 est.) | 160 sq km (1991) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | NA | 79,400 (including 15,018 unemployed) (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 7%, industry 23%, services 70% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.38%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 99.29% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands; formerly under French law |
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 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7 |
unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres Territorial (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds 1 seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007; between now and 2010 New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; New Caledonia also elects 2 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 and 16 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.04 years
male: 71.07 years female: 77.16 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92% female: 90% (1976 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,261 GRT/1,600 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; 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]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caleonian Union or UC [leader NA]; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS [leader NA] (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independent) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 6,590,782
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 2001 est.) |
216,494 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | 1.28% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | Noumea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 620,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 52,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,295 (1997) | 80,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) | 6 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.31 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 19% (1996) |
Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | - |