Compare Benin (2006) - Singapore (2005)

Compare Benin (2006) z Singapore (2005)

	Benin (2006)	Singapore (2005)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	none
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: 16% (male 366,971/female 342,295) 15-64 years: 75.9% (male 1,639,842/female 1,719,829) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 157,636/female 199,147) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock	rubber, copra, fruit, orchids, vegetables, poultry, eggs, fish, ornamental fish
Airports	5 (2006)	10 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 10 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 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: 692.7 sq km land: 682.7 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly more than 3.5 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.	Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Birth rate	38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	9.49 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $766.8 million expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $17.05 billion expenditures: $18.45 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.8 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)	Singapore
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	tropical; hot, humid, rainy; two distinct monsoon seasons - Northeastern monsoon from December to March and Southwestern monsoon from June to September; inter-monsoon - frequent afternoon and early evening thunderstorms
Coastline	121 km	193 km
Constitution	December 1990	3 June 1959; amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore 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: Republic of Singapore conventional short form: Singapore
Death rate	12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.16 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$19.4 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 Franklin L. LAVIN embassy: 27 Napier Road, Singapore 258508 mailing address: FPO AP 96507-0001 telephone: [65] 6476-9100 FAX: [65] 6476-9340
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 CHAN Heng Chee chancery: 3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 537-3100 FAX: [1] (202) 537-0876 consulate(s) general: San Francisco consulate(s): New York
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	disputes persist with Malaysia over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's extensive land reclamation works, bridge construction, maritime boundaries, and Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Putih - parties agree to ICJ arbitration on island dispute within three years; Indonesia and Singapore pledged in 2005 to finalize their 1973 maritime boundary agreement by defining unresolved areas north of Batam Island; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait
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.	Singapore, a highly developed and successful free market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and a per capita GDP equal to that of the Big 4 West European countries. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing. It was hard hit in 2001-03 by the global recession, by the slump in the technology sector, and by an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, which curbed tourism and consumer spending. The government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle and will continue efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub. Fiscal stimulus, low interest rates, a surge in exports, and internal flexibility led to vigorous growth in 2004, with real GDP rising by 8 percent, by far the economy's best performance since 2000.
Electricity - consumption	538.2 million kWh (2003)	32 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	474 million kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	69 million kWh (2003)	35.33 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Singapore Strait 0 m highest point: Bukit Timah 166 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	industrial pollution; limited natural fresh water resources; limited land availability presents waste disposal problems; seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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	Chinese 76.8%, Malay 13.9%, Indian 7.9%, other 1.4% (2000 census)
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)	Singapore dollars per US dollar - 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003), 1.7906 (2002), 1.7917 (2001), 1.724 (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 Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN (since 1 September 1999) head of government: Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong (since 12 August 2004); Senior Minister GOH Chok Tong (since 12 August 2004); Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew (since 12 August 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers Shunmugan JAYAKUMAR (since 12 August 2004) and Tony TAN Keng Yam (since 1 August 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for six-year term; last appointed 17 August 2005 (next election to be held by August 2011); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by president; deputy prime ministers appointed by president election results: Sellapan Rama (S. R.) NATHAN appointed president in August 2005 after Presidential Elections Committee disqualified three other would-be candidates
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa	machinery and equipment (including electronics), consumer goods, chemicals, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005)	Malaysia 15.2%, US 13%, Hong Kong 9.8%, China 8.6%, Japan 6.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Thailand 4.3%, South Korea 4.1% (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	two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; near the hoist side of the red band, there is a vertical, white crescent (closed portion is toward the hoist side) partially enclosing five white five-pointed stars arranged in a circle
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 31.6% industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 0% negligible industry: 32.6% services: 67.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $27,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.5% (2005 est.)	8.1% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	1 22 N, 103 48 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	focal point for Southeast Asian sea routes
Highways	-	total: 3,130 km paved: 3,130 km (including 150 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002)
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	as a transportation and financial services hub, Singapore is vulnerable, despite strict laws and enforcement, to be used as a transit point for Golden Triangle heroin and as a venue for money laundering
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs
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)	Malaysia 15.3%, US 12.7%, Japan 11.7%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 5.7%, South Korea 4.3%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	9 August 1965 (from Malaysian Federation)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	11.1% (2004 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction, life sciences, entrepot trade
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: 2.29 deaths/1,000 live births male: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.5% (2005 est.)	1.7% (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	APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	120 sq km (2003)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice	Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the president with the advice of the prime minister, other judges are appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice); Court of Appeals
Labor force	3.211 million	2.18 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	manufacturing 18%, construction 6%, transportation and communication 11%, financial, business, and other services 49%, other 16% (2003)
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: 1.64% permanent crops: 0% other: 98.36% (2001)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common 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 Parliament (84 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in addition, there are up to nine nominated members; the losing opposition candidate who came closest to winning a seat may be appointed as a "nonconstituency" member elections: last held 3 November 2001 (next to be held not later than 25 June 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PAP 75.3% (in contested constituencies), other 24.7%; seats by party - PAP 82, WP 1, SPP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.04 years male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)	total population: 81.62 years male: 79.05 years female: 84.39 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: 92.5% male: 96.6% female: 88.6% (2002)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia
Map references	Africa	Southeast Asia
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 3 nm exclusive fishing zone: within and beyond territorial sea, as defined in treaties and practice
Merchant marine	-	total: 923 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 23,065,290 GRT/36,393,317 DWT by type: bulk carrier 138, cargo 86, chemical tanker 115, combination ore/oil 5, container 180, liquefied gas 42, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 316, refrigerated cargo 3, vehicle carrier 36 foreign-owned: 487 (Australia 5, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 10, China 15, Denmark 34, Germany 7, Greece 5, Hong Kong 43, India 3, Indonesia 54, Japan 83, Malaysia 31, Norway 83, Philippines 3, Russia 1, Slovenia 1, South Korea 12, Sweden 12, Taiwan 44, Thailand 17, UAE 6, United Kingdom 12, United States 5) registered in other countries: 276 (2005)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Singapore Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$100.9 million (2005 est.)	$4.47 billion (FY01 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2005 est.)	4.9% (FY01)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)	National Day, 9 August (1965)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Singaporean(s) adjective: Singapore
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, deepwater ports
Net migration rate	0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	10.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 139 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	governing party: People's Action Party or PAP [LEE Hsien Loong]; opposition parties: Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [LING How Dong]; National Solidarity Party or NSP [vacant] (SDA group); Singapore Democratic Alliance or SDA [CHIAM See Tong] (includes SPP, PKMS, NSP, SJP); Singapore Democratic Party or SDP [CHEE Soon Juan]; Singapore Justice Party or SJP [Desmond LIM] (SDA group); Singapore National Malay Organization or PKMS [Malik ISMAIL] (SDA group); Singapore People's Party or SPP [CHIAM See Tong] (SDA group); Workers' Party or WP [Sylvia Lim Swee LIAN]
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.)	4,425,720 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	2.73% (2006 est.)	1.56% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Singapore
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 0, FM 17, shortwave 2 (2003)
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	-
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%	Buddhist 42.5%, Muslim 14.9%, Taoist 8.5%, Hindu 4%, Catholic 4.8%, other Christian 9.8%, other 0.7%, none 14.8% (2000 census)
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: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 years of age; universal and compulsory
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: excellent service domestic: excellent domestic facilities international: country code - 65; submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region)
Telephones - main lines in use	76,300 (2005)	1,896,100 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular	386,700 (2005)	3,521,800 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	7 (2003)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	lowland; gently undulating central plateau contains water catchment area and nature preserve
Total fertility rate	5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.05 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	3.4% (2004 est.)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	-

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