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Compare Benin (2005) - British Virgin Islands (2008)
Compare Benin (2005) z British Virgin Islands (2008)
| Benin (2005) | British Virgin Islands (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | 3 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
| 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. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $869.4 million
expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
| Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 121 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | December 1990 | 13 June 2007 |
| 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: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Death rate | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | 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 six 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. 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 more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 565.2 million kWh (2002) | 41.85 million kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 285.2 million kWh (2002) | 45 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| 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 | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
| 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 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 SOGLO (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 SOGLO 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
| Exports | NA | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2004 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| 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 |
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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | NA | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2004 est.) | 2% (2005) |
| 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 | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | NA (1996) | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
| 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: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English (official) |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English 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 2003 (next to be held 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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.66 years
male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $96.5 million (2004) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2004) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 four 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 |
Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 7,460,025
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 2005 est.) |
23,552 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.82% (2005 est.) | 1.923% (2007 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cotonou | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 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: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 66,500 (2003) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,200 (2003) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 3.6% (1997) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) | - |
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