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Compare Benin (2006) - Barbados (2004)
Compare Benin (2006) z Barbados (2004)
| Benin (2006) | Barbados (2004) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 44.1% (male 1,751,709/female 1,719,138)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 2,067,248/female 2,138,957) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 75,694/female 110,198) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 21% (male 29,294; female 29,020)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 95,675; female 99,864) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,370; female 15,066) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton |
| Airports | 5 (2006) | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
over 3,047 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 (2006) |
- |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | 2.5 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. | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. |
| Birth rate | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | name: Porto-Novo (official capital)
geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government) |
Bridgetown |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; rainy season (June to October) |
| Coastline | 121 km | 97 km |
| Constitution | December 1990 | 30 November 1966 |
| 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: Barbados |
| Currency | - | Barbadian dollar (BBD) |
| Death rate | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $668 million (2003) |
| 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
| 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 Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
| Disputes - international | Benin and Burkina Faso military clash in 2006 over sections of riverine boundary involving disputed villages and squatters; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin as a consequence of a 2004 joint task force to resolve maritime and land boundary disputes, but clashes among rival gangs along the border persist; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | Barbados intends to take its claim before UNCLOS arbitration that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
| Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $9.1 million (1995) |
| 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. Many of these proposals are included in Benin's application to receive Millennium Challenge Account funding - for which it was a finalist in 2004-05. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, 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, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2004, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. |
| Electricity - consumption | 538.2 million kWh (2003) | 725.4 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 474 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 69 million kWh (2003) | 780 million kWh (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers |
| 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held March 2011) election results: YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components |
| Exports - partners | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) | US 18.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, UK 14%, Jamaica 7.8%, Saint Lucia 6.2%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.7% (2003) |
| 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 | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.355 billion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 2.2% (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 13 10 N, 59 32 W |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | easternmost Caribbean island |
| Highways | - | total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
| 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 | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components |
| Imports - partners | France 21.8%, Ghana 7.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, China 6.7%, UK 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Togo 4.5%, Thailand 4.2%, Nigeria 4% (2005) | US 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.6%, UK 6.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 30 November 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | -3.2% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 79.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 74.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 12.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2005 est.) | -0.5% (2003 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) |
| Labor force | 3.211 million | 128,500 (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 10%, industry 15%, services 75% (1996 est.) |
| 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: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts |
| 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 (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 71.64 years
male: 69.51 years female: 73.81 years (2004 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 has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 5, Greece 7, Hong Kong 7, Italy 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 10 registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Royal Barbados Defense Force (Troops Command and Coast Guard) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.9 million (2005 est.) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2005 est.) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 77,714 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 53,127 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | petroleum, fish, natural gas |
| Net migration rate | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [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 |
Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] |
| Population | 7,862,944
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 2006 est.) |
278,289 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.73% (2006 est.) | 0.36% (2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
- |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 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 - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 134,000 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 386,700 (2005) | 140,000 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region |
| Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 10.7% (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |
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