Benin (2002) | Sudan (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 12 provinces; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazirah (El Gezira), Al Khartum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahdah (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shamaliyah (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Bahr al Jabal), Gharb al Istiwa'iyah (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr al Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqali (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (Nile), Shamal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr al Ghazal), Shamal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shamal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyah (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warab) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.2% (male 1,616,138; female 1,585,463)
15-64 years: 50.5% (male 1,665,439; female 1,764,966) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 65,877; female 89,742) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 8,371,628/female 8,016,880)
15-64 years: 56% (male 11,080,025/female 10,956,458) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 504,957/female 449,410) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock |
Airports | 5 (2001) | 101 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 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 (2002) |
total: 85
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US |
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. | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than 4 million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly 2 million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2008, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. |
Birth rate | 43.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 34.86 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $377.4 million
expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
revenues: $9.682 billion
expenditures: $11.59 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | name: Khartoum
geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) |
Coastline | 121 km | 853 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | constitution implemented on 30 June 1998, partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR; under the CPA, Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan signed December 2005 |
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: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 14.52 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.18 billion (2000) | $29.6 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez
embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (183) 774701/2/3 FAX: [249] (183) 774137 note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum; |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John UKEC Lueth
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
Disputes - international | Benin and Niger have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller disputed islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited; with Nigeria, several villages are in dispute along the Okpara River and only 35 km of the 436 km boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory; two villages are in dispute with Burkina Faso | the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times; while Sudan claims to administer the Hala'ib Triangle north of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel; both states withdrew their military presence in the 1990s, and Egypt has invested in and effectively administers the area; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic |
Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $1.829 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a stable 5% in the past five years, but rapid population rise 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. | Sudan's economy is booming on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and large inflows of foreign direct investment. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999. Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years despite rapid rises in average per capita income. In January 2007, the government introduced a new currency, the Sudanese Pound, at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. |
Electricity - consumption | 523.2 million kWh (2000) | 3.298 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (2000) | 3.944 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 17%
hydro: 83% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, 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 | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 2.06 (2007), 217.2 (2006), 243.61 (2005), 257.91 (2004), 260.98 (2003) |
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" |
chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: election last held 13-23 December 2000; next to be held no later than July 2009 under terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996 |
Exports | $35.3 million f.o.b. (2000) | 279,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
Exports - partners | Brazil, France, Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire (2001) | Japan 48%, China 31%, South Korea 3.8% (2006) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36%
industry: 14% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 31.5%
industry: 35.7% services: 32.8% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,040 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.4% (2001 est.) | 12.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 15 00 N, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries |
Heliports | - | 4 (2007) |
Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
- |
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; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure | - |
Imports | $437.6 million c.i.f. (2000) | 7,945 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat |
Imports - partners | France, US, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Netherlands, Japan (2001) | China 18.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.2%, UAE 5.8%, Egypt 5.3%, Germany 5.2%, India 4.6%, France 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 32% (2007 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly |
Infant mortality rate | 88.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 91.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 91.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2001 est.) | 5.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 4 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 18,630 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary |
Labor force | NA | 7.415 million (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 80%
industry: 7% services: 13% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.28%
permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 6.78%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 93.05% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; however, the CPA establishes some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Islamic law will not apply to the southern states |
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 30 March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, Alliance E'toile 4, IPD 4, other 12 |
bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; members presently appointed, but in the future 75% of members to be directly elected and 25% elected in special or indirect elections; to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held 2009) election results: NCP 355, others 5; note - replaced by appointments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.69 years
male: 48.81 years female: 50.61 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.24 years female: 50.03 years (2007 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: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 NM | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,311 GRT/26,179 DWT
by type: cargo 2, livestock carrier 1 (2007) |
Military branches | Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF): Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | 3% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,509,760
females age 15-49: 1,536,036 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2002 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 771,373
females age 15-49: 778,730 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 71,278
females: 70,088 (2002 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Saka SALEY]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties; the Coalition of Democratic Forces, [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI], an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU |
National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva Mayardit KIIR]; and elements of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; note - all political parties listed above in the Government of National Unity |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Umma Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI] |
Population | 6,787,625
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 2002 est.) |
39,379,358 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2001 est.) | 40% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.91% (2002 est.) | 2.082% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 660,000 (2000) | - |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.) |
total: 5,978 km
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2006) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25% |
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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.124 male(s)/female total population: 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 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: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 249; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (2000) | 636,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,500 (2000) | 4.683 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north |
Total fertility rate | 6.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 18.7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2006) |