Compare Benin (2005) - French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004)

Compare Benin (2005) z French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004)

	Benin (2005)	French Southern and Antarctic Lands (2004)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts named Ile Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, and Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam; excludes "Adelie Land" claim in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
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.)	-
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)	-
Airports	5 (2004 est.)	none
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	total: 7,829 sq km land: 7,829 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen; excludes "Adelie Land" claim of about 500,000 sq km in Antarctica that is not recognized by the US
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware
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.	The Southern Lands consist of two archipelagos, Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen, and two volcanic islands, Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul. They contain no permanent inhabitants and are visited only by researchers studying the native fauna. The Antarctic portion consists of "Adelie Land," a thin slice of the Antarctic continent discovered and claimed by the French in 1840.
Birth rate	41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $869.4 million expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	-
Capital	Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government	-
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	antarctic
Coastline	121 km	1,232 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	conventional long form: Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands conventional short form: French Southern and Antarctic Lands local long form: Territoire des Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises local short form: Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises
Death rate	13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of France since 1955; administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur Michel CHAMPON (since 20 December 2004), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves HERMOSO (since NA)
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 France)
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 France)
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	French claim to "Adelie Land" in Antarctica is not recognized by the US
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 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.	Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations and French and other fishing fleets. The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion.
Electricity - consumption	565.2 million kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - imports	300 million kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - production	285.2 million kWh (2002)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Ross on Iles Kerguelen 1,850 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	NA
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 - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (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 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"	-
Exports	NA	-
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa	-
Exports - partners	China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004)	-
Fiscal year	calendar year	-
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side	the flag of France is used
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 36.3% industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	5% (2004 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	43 00 S, 67 00 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	islands component is widely scattered across remote locations in the southern Indian Ocean
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	NA	-
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	-
Imports - partners	China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)	-
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	-
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	-
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)	-
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.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.8% (2004 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.)	0 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	0 km
Land use	arable land: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (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	the laws of France, where applicable, apply
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	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 52.66 years male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)	-
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	southeast of Africa, islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about equidistant between Africa, Antarctica, and Australia; note - French Southern and Antarctic Lands include Ile Amsterdam, Ile Saint-Paul, Iles Crozet, and Iles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Adelie Land"; the US does not recognize the French claim to "Adelie Land"
Map references	Africa	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm from Iles Kerguelen (does not include the rest of French Southern and Antarctic Lands)
Merchant marine	-	total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,092,387 GRT/5,056,658 DWT by type: bulk 4, cargo 2, chemical tanker 19, container 11, liquefied gas 7, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: Denmark 2, France 49, Japan 4, Monaco 5, Norway 5, Sweden 5 (2004 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of France
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)	-
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	-
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are extinct volcanoes
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	fish, crayfish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	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.)	no indigenous inhabitants (July 2002 est.) note: in 2002, there were 145 researchers whose numbers vary from winter (July) to summer (January) (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	-
Population growth rate	2.82% (2005 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Cotonou	none; offshore anchorage only
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	-
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)	-
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: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 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	volcanic
Total fertility rate	5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	NA	-
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)	-

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