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Compare Benin (2005) - Indian Ocean (2003)
Compare Benin (2005) z Indian Ocean (2003)
| Benin (2005) | Indian Ocean (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | - |
| 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.) |
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| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | - |
| Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | - |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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| 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.) |
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| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 68.556 million sq km
note: includes Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Flores Sea, Great Australian Bight, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Java Sea, Mozambique Channel, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Savu Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | about 5.5 times the size of the US |
| 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 Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean). Four critically important access waterways are the Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia). The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Indian Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
| 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.) |
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| Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | - |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean |
| Coastline | 121 km | 66,526 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 |
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| Death rate | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | - |
| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
| 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. | The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. |
| 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: Java Trench -7,258 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea |
| 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 |
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| 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" |
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| 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 | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.) |
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| 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 | 20 00 S, 80 00 E |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait |
| Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
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| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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| 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.) |
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| 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.) | - |
| 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 |
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| Land use | arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
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| 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 | - |
| 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 |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.66 years
male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.) |
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| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
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| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia |
| Map references | Africa | Political Map of the World |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | - |
| 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 |
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| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules |
| 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 |
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| 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.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | - |
| Population growth rate | 2.82% (2005 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | Cotonou | Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | - |
| Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
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| 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.) |
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| 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 |
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| 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 | surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge |
| 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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