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Compare Benin (2007) - Micronesia, Federated States of (2006)
Compare Benin (2007) z Micronesia, Federated States of (2006)
| Benin (2007) | Micronesia, Federated States of (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae (Kosaie), Pohnpei (Ponape), Yap |
| 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: 36.6% (male 20,116/female 19,391)
15-64 years: 60.4% (male 32,620/female 32,659) 65 years and over: 3% (male 1,413/female 1,805) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), betel nuts, sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens; fish |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 6 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
| 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) |
- |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 702 sq km
land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km (fresh water only) note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae (Kosaie) |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | four times the size of Washington, DC (land area only) |
| 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. | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the US, which was amended and renewed in 2004. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. |
| Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $127.3 million ($69 million less grants)
expenditures: $144.2 million; including capital expenditures of $17.9 million $NA (1998 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: Palikir
geographic coordinates: 6 55 N, 158 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage |
| Coastline | 121 km | 6,112 km |
| Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | 10 May 1979 |
| 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: Federated States of Micronesia
conventional short form: none local long form: Federated States of Micronesia local short form: none former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts abbreviation: FSM |
| Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.75 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $60.8 million (FY05 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Suzanne K. HALE
embassy: 101 Upper Pics Road, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
| 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 Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU
chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu, Tamuning (Guam) |
| 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 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $349.1 million (2005) | $86.3 million under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US pledged $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001; the level of aid has been subsequently reduced |
| 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. | Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remote location, a lack of adequate facilities, and limited air connections hinder development. The Amended Compact of Free Association with the US guarantees the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) millions of dollars in annual aid through 2023, and establishes a Trust Fund into which the US and the FSM make annual contributions in order to provide annual payouts to the FSM in perpetuity after 2023. The country's medium-term economic outlook appears fragile due not only to the reduction in US assistance but also to the slow growth of the private sector. |
| Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 178.6 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 192 million kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Dolohmwar (Totolom) 791 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | overfishing, climate change, pollution |
| 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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) | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups |
| 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) | the US dollar is used |
| 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 Joseph J. URUSEMAL (since 11 May 2003); Vice President Redley KILLION (11 May 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Joseph J. URUSEMAL (since 11 May 2003); Vice President Redley KILLION (11 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet includes the vice president and the heads of the eight executive departments elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators at large for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held May 2007); note - a proposed constitutional amendment to establish popular elections for president and vice president failed election results: Joseph J. URUSEMAL elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA%; Redley KILLION elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA% |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | $14 million (f.o.b.) (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper |
| Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | Japan, US, Guam (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 28.9%
industry: 15.2% services: 55.9% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) | 0.3% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 6 55 N, 158 15 E |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | four major island groups totaling 607 islands |
| 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 | $132.7 million f.o.b. (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages |
| Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | US, Japan, Hong Kong (2004) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | tourism, construction; fish processing, specialized aquaculture; craft items from shell, wood, and pearls |
| 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: 29.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2006 est.) | 2.2% (2005) |
| 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 | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | 3.211 million (1996) | 37,410 |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | note: 0.9% two-thirds are government employees, 34.4%, 64.7% |
| 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: 5.71%
permanent crops: 45.71% other: 48.58% (2005) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
| 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 Congress (14 seats; 4 - one elected from each state to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population to serve two-year terms; members elected by popular vote)
elections: elections for four-year term seats last held 4 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007); elections for two-year term seats last held 8 March 2005 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 68.24 years female: 71.95 years (2006 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: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia |
| Map references | Africa | Oceania |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,423 GRT/1,551 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2006) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
| Military branches | Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) | no ministry of defense and no standing armed forces; the paramilitary Maritime Wing, a small maritime law enforcement unit, is responsible to the Division of Maritime Surveillance within the Office of the Attorney General (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Micronesian(s)
adjective: Micronesian; Chuukese, Kosraen(s), Pohnpeian(s), Yapese |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | typhoons (June to December) |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals, phosphate |
| Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -21.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| 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 |
no formal parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | 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.) |
108,004 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | 26.7% |
| Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | -0.11% (2006 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
- |
| 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) | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other 3% |
| 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.) |
NA |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| 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: adequate system
domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes), satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; cellular service available on Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap international: country code - 691; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2002) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 12,400 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 750,000 (2005) | 14,100 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3; note - cable TV also available (2004) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk |
| Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (2000 est.) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |
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