Compare Benin (2006) - Qatar (2005)

Compare Benin (2006) z Qatar (2005)

	Benin (2006)	Qatar (2005)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	10 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Sa'id, Umm Salal
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: 23.7% (male 104,453/female 100,295) 15-64 years: 72.9% (male 437,118/female 191,830) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 21,599/female 7,756) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock	fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish
Airports	5 (2006)	4 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 2 (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: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km	total: 11,437 sq km land: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly smaller than Connecticut
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.	Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the amir, who had ruled the country since 1972. His son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, overthrew him in a bloodless coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
Birth rate	38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.54 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $766.8 million expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $10.17 billion expenditures: $7.61 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2004 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)	Doha
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Coastline	121 km	563 km
Constitution	December 1990	ratified by public referendum on 29 April 2003, endorsed by the Emir on 8 June 2004, effective on 9 June 2005
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: State of Qatar conventional short form: Qatar local long form: Dawlat Qatar local short form: Qatar note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar
Death rate	12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$18.62 billion (2004 est.)
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 Chase UNTERMEYER embassy: Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 488 4101 FAX: [974] 488 4298
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 Nasir bin Hamad bin Mubarak al-KHALIFA chancery: 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603 FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 consulate(s) general: Houston
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
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.	Oil and gas account for more than 55% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have given Qatar a per capita GDP about 80% of that of the leading West European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 16 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 14 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total and third largest in the world. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore natural gas reserves to offset the ultimate decline in oil production. In recent years, Qatar has consistently posted trade surpluses largely because of high oil prices and increased natural gas exports, becoming one of the world's fastest growing and highest per-capita income countries.
Electricity - consumption	538.2 million kWh (2003)	9.046 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)	9.727 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities
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, Ozone Layer Protection 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	Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%
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)	Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003), 3.64 (2002), 3.64 (2001), 3.64 (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: Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani (since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he ousted his father, Amir KHALIFA bin Hamad al-Thani, in a bloodless coup); Crown Prince TAMIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, third son of the monarch (selected Heir Apparent by the monarch on 5 August 2003); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of Minister of Defense and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces head of government: Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 30 October 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 20 January 1998); First Deputy Prime Minister HAMAD bin JASIM bin JABIR al-Thani (since 16 September 2003; also Foreign Minister since 1992); Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Hamad al-ATTIYAH (since 16 September 2003; also Energy Minister since NA 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary note: in April 2003, Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council (CMC), which has consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services; the first election for the CMC was held in March 1999
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa	liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel
Exports - partners	China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005)	Japan 41.9%, South Korea 15.8%, Singapore 9.1%, India 5.4% (2004)
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	maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 31.6% industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 0.3% industry: 58.2% services: 41.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.5% (2005 est.)	8.7% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	25 30 N, 51 15 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits
Heliports	-	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 1,230 km paved: 1,107 km unpaved: 123 km (1999 est.)
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 bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals
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 26.6%, US 9.5%, Saudi Arabia 9.4%, UAE 6.3%, Germany 5.2%, Japan 5.2%, UK 5.1% (2004)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	3 September 1971 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	10% (2003 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair
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: 18.61 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.5% (2005 est.)	3% (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, 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	ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO
Irrigated land	120 sq km (2003)	130 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice	Court of Appeal note: under the new judiciary law issued in 2003, the former two court systems, civil and Islamic law, were merged under a higher court, the Court of Cassation, established for appeals
Labor force	3.211 million	140,000 (2004 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km	total: 60 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km
Land use	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)	arable land: 1.64% permanent crops: 0.27% other: 98.09% (2001)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters
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 Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed) note: no legislative elections have been held since 1970 when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have had their terms extended every four years since; the new constitution, which came into force on 8 June 2004, provides for a 45-member Consultative Council, or Majlis al-Shura; the public would elect two-thirds of the Majlis al-Shura; the amir would appoint the remaining members
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.04 years male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)	total population: 73.67 years male: 71.15 years female: 76.32 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: 89% male: 89.1% female: 88.6% (2004 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
Map references	Africa	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line
Merchant marine	-	total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 525,051 GRT/772,635 DWT by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 8, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 6 (Kuwait 6) (2005)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$100.9 million (2005 est.)	$723 million (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2005 est.)	10% (FY00)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)	Independence Day, 3 September (1971)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Qatari(s) adjective: Qatari
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	haze, dust storms, sandstorms common
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	petroleum, natural gas, fish
Net migration rate	0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 702 km; oil/gas/water 41 km (2004)
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	none
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	none
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.)	863,051 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	2.73% (2006 est.)	2.61% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Doha
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	-
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%	Muslim 95%
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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.28 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.88 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: modern system centered in Doha domestic: NA international: country code - 974; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat
Telephones - main lines in use	76,300 (2005)	184,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	386,700 (2005)	376,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	1 (plus three repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel
Total fertility rate	5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.87 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	2.7% (2001)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	-

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