Benin (2006) | Martinique (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | none (overseas department of France) |
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: 22.4% (male 49,112/female 47,697)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 145,531/female 145,250) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 20,423/female 24,887) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane |
Airports | 5 (2006) | 2 (2004 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) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly more than six 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. | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. |
Birth rate | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 14.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $900 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
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) |
Fort-de-France |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid |
Coastline | 121 km | 350 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | 4 October 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 Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
Death rate | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $180 million (1994) |
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 | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) |
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. | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. |
Electricity - consumption | 538.2 million kWh (2003) | 1.095 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 474 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 69 million kWh (2003) | 1.178 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 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 | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) 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 Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples (2001 est.) |
Exports - partners | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2000) |
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 | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 14 40 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants |
Highways | - | total: 2,105 km (2000) |
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 cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods |
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) | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2000) |
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 | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism |
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: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (1990) |
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 | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 3.211 million | 165,900 (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) |
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: 10.38%
permanent crops: 9.43% other: 80.19% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | French, Creole patois |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French legal system |
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 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 2001 (next to be held September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 79.04 years
male: 79.43 years female: 78.64 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.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.9 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land |
Net migration rate | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 |
Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP |
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.) |
432,900 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.73% (2006 est.) | 0.76% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Fort-de-France, La Trinite, Marin |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
- |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 172,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 386,700 (2005) | 319,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 27.2% (1998) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |