Benin (2006) | Sao Tome and Principe (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome
note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995 |
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:
47.7% (male 39,857; female 38,859) 15-64 years: 48.28% (male 38,430; female 41,246) 65 years and over: 4.02% (male 3,034; female 3,608) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock | cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish |
Airports | 5 (2006) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 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:
1,001 sq km land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | more than five 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. | Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The first free elections were held in 1991. |
Birth rate | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 42.74 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$58 million expenditures: $114 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (1993 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) |
Sao Tome |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May) |
Coastline | 121 km | 209 km |
Constitution | December 1990 | approved March 1990; effective 10 September 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 |
conventional long form:
Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe |
Currency | - | dobra (STD) |
Death rate | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.54 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $268 million (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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands |
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 |
Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 1604, New York, NY 10168, telephone [1] (212) 317-0533 |
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) | $200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program |
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. | This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence 25 years ago. However, cocoa production has substantially declined because of drought and mismanagement. The resulting shortage of cocoa for export has created a persistent balance-of-payments problem. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a significant amount of food. Over the years, it has been unable to service its external debt and has had to depend on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies, but economic growth has remained sluggish. Sao Tome is also optimistic that significant petroleum discoveries are forthcoming in its territorial waters in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea. Corruption scandals continue to weaken the economy. At the same time, progress in the economic reform program has attracted international financial institutions' support, and GDP growth will likely rise to at least 4% in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | 538.2 million kWh (2003) | 15.8 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 474 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 69 million kWh (2003) | 17 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
41.18% hydro: 58.82% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion |
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, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, 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 | mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese) |
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) | dobras per US dollar - 2390.04 (December 2000), 7,119.0 (1999), 6,883.2 (1998), 4,552.5 (1997), 2,203.2 (1996) |
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 Miguel TROVOADA (since 4 April 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Guilherma Posser da COSTA (since 30 December 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 30 June and 21 July 1996 (next to be held NA July 2001); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Miguel TROVOADA reelected president in Sao Tome's second multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - Miguel TROVOADA 52.74%, Manuel Pinto da COSTA 47.26% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $3.2 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | cocoa 90%, copra, coffee, palm oil |
Exports - partners | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) | Netherlands 18%, Germany 9%, Portugal 9% (1998) |
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 | three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $178 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
23% industry: 19% services: 58% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 1 00 N, 7 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | - |
Highways | - | total:
320 km paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1996) |
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 | $40 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products |
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) | Portugal 42%, US 20%, South Africa 6% (1998) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 12 July 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber |
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.) |
48.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (2005 est.) | 5% (2000 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 3.211 million | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing
note: shortages of skilled workers |
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:
2% permanent crops: 36% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 0% other: 61% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Portuguese (official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Portuguese legal system 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 (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 8 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP-PSD 56%, PCD 14.5%, ADI 29%; seats by party - MLSTP-PSD 31, ADI 16, PCD 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
65.59 years male: 64.15 years female: 67.07 years (2001 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: 73% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 130,843 GRT/149,048 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, container 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Army, Navy, Security Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $100.9 million (2005 est.) | $1 million (FY94) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (FY94) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
34,205 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
18,043 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 12 July (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun:
Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | NA |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 |
Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; other small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
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.) |
165,034 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.73% (2006 est.) | 3.18% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Santo Antonio, Sao Tome |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 38,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Christian 80% (Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
adequate facilities domestic: minimal system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 3,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 386,700 (2005) | 6,942 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 6.02 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | none |