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Compare Benin (2005) - Reunion (2002)
Compare Benin (2005) z Reunion (2002)
| Benin (2005) | Reunion (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
| 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: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
| Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | 2 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
| 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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| 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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
| Birth rate | 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $869.4 million
expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
| Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Saint-Denis |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
| Coastline | 121 km | 207 km |
| Constitution | December 1990 | 28 September 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: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
| Currency | - | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
| Death rate | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
| 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 department 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 department 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
| 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 has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
| Electricity - consumption | 565.2 million kWh (2002) | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 285.2 million kWh (2002) | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
| 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) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
| 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
| Exports | NA | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
| Exports - partners | China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) |
| Fiscal year | calendar 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2004 est.) | 3.8% (1998 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
| Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
| 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 | NA | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
| 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.) |
8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| 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 | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
| Labor force | NA (1996) | 261,000 (1995) (1995) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) |
| 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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | French (official), Creole widely used |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 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 General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.66 years
male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 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: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Map references | Africa | World |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $96.5 million (2004) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2004) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | fish, arable land, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 |
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
| 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.) |
743,981 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.82% (2005 est.) | 1.52% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cotonou | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Radios | - | 173,000 (1997) |
| Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
| 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 66,500 (2003) | 268,500 (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,200 (2003) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
| Total fertility rate | 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 42.8% (1998) (1998) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) | none |
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