Compare Benin (2006) - Swaziland (2008)

Compare Benin (2006) z Swaziland (2008)

	Benin (2006)	Swaziland (2008)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
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: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184) 15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock	sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Airports	5 (2006)	18 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
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: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007)
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km	total: 17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly smaller than New Jersey
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.	Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but political parties remain banned. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.
Birth rate	38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $766.8 million expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $1.216 billion expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 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)	name: Mbabane geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	varies from tropical to near temperate
Coastline	121 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	December 1990	signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006
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: Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini
Death rate	12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$538.6 million (31 December 2007 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 Maurice S. PARKER embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959
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 Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254
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	in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa
Economic aid - recipient	$342.6 million (2000)	$46.03 million (2005)
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.	In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.
Electricity - consumption	538.2 million kWh (2003)	1.3 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	474 million kWh (2003)	872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007)
Electricity - production	69 million kWh (2003)	460 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
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, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Ethnic groups	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500	African 97%, European 3%
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)	lilangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly
Exports	NA bbl/day	0 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa	soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Exports - partners	China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005)	South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006)
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 31.6% industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 11.8% industry: 45.8% services: 42.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.5% (2005 est.)	1.6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	26 30 S, 31 30 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 40.7% (2001)
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	3,530 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, 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)	South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	6 September 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	1% (2007 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
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: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.5% (2005 est.)	6% (2007 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, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	120 sq km (2003)	500 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice	High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
Labor force	3.211 million	300,000 (2006)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km	total: 535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
Land use	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)	arable land: 10.25% permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
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 or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.04 years male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)	total population: 32.23 years male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 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: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air Force	Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$100.9 million (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.3% (2005 est.)	4.7% (2006)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)	Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	drought
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Net migration rate	0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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	the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]
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.)	1,133,066 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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	69% (2006)
Population growth rate	2.73% (2006 est.)	-0.337% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004)
Railways	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	total: 301 km narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Religions	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%	Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%
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: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system domestic: mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity about 25 telephones per 100 persons; telephone system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	76,300 (2005)	44,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	386,700 (2005)	250,000 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
Total fertility rate	5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)	3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	40% (2006 est.)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	-

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