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Compare Benin (2007) - Nauru (2005)

Compare Benin (2007) z Nauru (2005)

 Benin (2007)Nauru (2005)
 BeninNauru
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren
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: 37.5% (male 2,511/female 2,379)


15-64 years: 60.6% (male 3,895/female 4,012)


65 years and over: 1.9% (male 132/female 119) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock coconuts
Airports 5 (2007) 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 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 (2007)
-
Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 21 sq km


land: 21 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania about 0.1 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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. Nauru's phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium; the island was occupied by Australian forces in World War I. Nauru achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999. Nauru is the world's smallest independent republic.
Birth rate 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 25.14 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $786 million


expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $23.4 million


expenditures: $64.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY95/96)
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)
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February)
Coastline 121 km 30 km
Constitution adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day)
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 Nauru


conventional short form: Nauru


former: Pleasant Island
Death rate 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $33.3 million (2002)
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 Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru
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
Nauru does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a UN office at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, New York 10017; telephone: (212) 937-0074


consulate(s): Agana (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) $2.25 million from Australia (FY96/97 est.)
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. Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, but reserves are now depleted. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income have been invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has called for a freeze on wages, a reduction of over-staffed public service departments, privatization of numerous government agencies, and closure of some overseas consulates. In recent years Nauru has encouraged the registration of offshore banks and corporations. In 2004 the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat has substantially mounted. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely.
Electricity - consumption 587 million kWh (2005) 27.9 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) 30 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: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification limited natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources
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, Marine Dumping, 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) Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8%
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) Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)
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 Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 26 October 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament


elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president
Exports NA bbl/day NA
Exports - commodities cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood phosphates
Exports - partners China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) South Africa 43.4%, Germany 20.7%, India 11.8%, Japan 7.2%, Poland 4% (2004)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 July - 30 June
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 32.8%


industry: 13.7%


services: 53.5% (2006 est.)
agriculture: NA


industry: NA


services: NA
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2006 est.) NA
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 0 32 S, 166 55 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator
Highways - total: 30 km


paved: 24 km


unpaved: 6 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 offshore banking recently stopped, remains on Financial Action Task Force Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories List for continued failure to address deficiencies in money-laundering control regime
Imports NA bbl/day NA
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery
Imports - partners China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) Australia 65.6%, Indonesia 5.4%, Germany 5.3%, UK 4.4% (2004)
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) NA
Industries textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products
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: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 12.51 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.8% (2006 est.) -3.6% (1993)
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, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
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) -
Labor force - by occupation - employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation
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: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (2001)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law
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 Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)


elections: last held 3 May 2003 (next to be held not later than May 2006)


election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15
Life expectancy at birth total population: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
total population: 62.73 years


male: 59.16 years


female: 66.48 years (2005 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 34.7%


male: 47.9%


female: 23.3% (2002 census)
definition: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands
Map references Africa Oceania
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Military - note - Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia
Military branches Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.7% (2006) NA
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Independence Day, 31 January (1968)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: Nauruan(s)


adjective: Nauruan
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March periodic droughts
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber phosphates, fish
Net migration rate 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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
loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal) [leader NA]; Naoero Amo (Nauru First) Party [leader NA]
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.)
13,048 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 33% (2001 est.) NA
Population growth rate 2.674% (2007 est.) 1.83% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors - Nauru
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)
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) Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 20 years of age; universal and compulsory
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 local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities


domestic: NA


international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 76,300 (2005) 1,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 750,000 (2005) 1,500 (2002)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2001) 1 (1997)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center
Total fertility rate 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) 3.19 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 90% (2004 est.)
Waterways 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) -
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