Compare Benin (2007) - Equatorial Guinea (2003)

Compare Benin (2007) z Equatorial Guinea (2003)

	Benin (2007)	Equatorial Guinea (2003)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas
Age structure	0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940) 15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 42.2% (male 108,179; female 107,164) 15-64 years: 54% (male 132,342; female 143,509) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,576; female 10,703) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock	coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber
Airports	5 (2007)	3 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
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 (2007)	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km	total: 28,051 sq km land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly smaller than Maryland
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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent.	Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands and one of the smallest countries on the African continent, since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed.
Birth rate	38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	36.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $786 million expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $200 million expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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)	Malabo
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	tropical; always hot, humid
Coastline	121 km	296 km
Constitution	adopted by referendum 2 December 1990	approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995
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 Equatorial Guinea conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea
Currency	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Death rate	11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	12.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$248 million (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-06-70	the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo
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 Teodoro Biyogo NSUE chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252
Disputes - international	two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border	in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but states have not yet agreed to abide by the decision; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over small islets on Mbane/Mbagne bank, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s
Economic aid - recipient	$349.1 million (2005)	$33.8 million (1995)
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. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. 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 discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will remain strong in 2003, led by oil.
Electricity - consumption	587 million kWh (2005)	21.91 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	595 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	105 million kWh (2005)	23.56 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 94.3% hydro: 5.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	tap water is not potable; deforestation
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, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census)	Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish
Exchange rates	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%	chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup) head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood	petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa
Exports - partners	China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)	US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.4%, Canada 10.6%, France 4.9% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 January - 31 December
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side	three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice)
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 32.8% industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 20% industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)	20% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	2 00 N, 10 00 E
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	insular and continental regions rather widely separated
Highways	-	total: 2,880 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% (2003)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	petroleum sector equipment, other equipment
Imports - partners	China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)	US 29.1%, Spain 15.9%, UK 14.8%, France 10.4%, Norway 7.2%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2002)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	12 October 1968 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	30% (2002 est.)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas
Infant mortality rate	total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 89.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 95.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.8% (2006 est.)	6% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2002)
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 Tribunal
Labor force	3.211 million (1996)	NA
Land boundaries	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km	total: 539 km border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km
Land use	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)	arable land: 4.63% permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom
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 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18	unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)	total population: 54.75 years male: 52.63 years female: 56.93 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,571 GRT/9,670 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007)	Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$30 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.7% (2006)	2.5% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 116,496 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 59,110 (2003 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 1 August (1960)	Independence Day, 12 October (1968)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s) adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	violent windstorms, flash floods
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore
Net migration rate	0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD [Nicephore SOGLO]; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; 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; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU] note: approximately 20 additional minor parties	Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	8,078,314 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.)	510,473 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.674% (2007 est.)	2.44% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bata, Luba, Malabo
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002)
Railways	total: 758 km narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)	total: 0 km
Religions	Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)	nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal adult
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of roughly 10 per 100 persons domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)	general assessment: poor system with adequate government services domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	76,300 (2005)	6,000 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	750,000 (2005)	300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	1 (2002)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic
Total fertility rate	5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.75 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	30% (1998 est.)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	none

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