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Compare Benin (2007) - Palau (2001)

Compare Benin (2007) z Palau (2001)

 Benin (2007)Palau (2001)
 BeninPalau
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou 18 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Palau Island, Peleliu, Sonsoral, Tobi
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:
26.88% (male 2,641; female 2,491)

15-64 years:
68.46% (male 7,128; female 5,943)

65 years and over:
4.66% (male 420; female 469) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes
Airports 5 (2007) 3 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


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

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 (2000 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)
total:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
2 (2000 est.)
Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


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

land:
458 sq km

water:
0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly more than 2.5 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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained their independence.
Birth rate 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 19.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues: $786 million


expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)
revenues:
$57.7 million

expenditures:
$80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 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)
Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror
Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north wet season May to November; hot and humid
Coastline 121 km 1,519 km
Constitution adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 1 January 1981
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 Palau

conventional short form:
Palau

local long form:
Beluu er a Belau

local short form:
Belau

former:
Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Currency - US dollar (USD)
Death rate 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $0 (FY99/00)
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:
the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT

embassy:
address NA, Koror

mailing address:
P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940

telephone:
[680] 488-2920, 2990

FAX:
[680] 488-2911
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 Hersey KYOTA

chancery:
1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:
[1] (202) 452-6814

FAX:
[1] (202) 452-6281
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) $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities
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 economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries.
Electricity - consumption 587 million kWh (2005) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) -
Electricity - imports 595 million kWh (2005) -
Electricity - production 105 million kWh (2005) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing
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, Law of the Sea

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) Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.)
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Cabinet

elections:
president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004)

election results:
Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45%
Exports NA bbl/day $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996)
Exports - commodities cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts
Exports - partners China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) US, Japan
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 a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side
GDP - purchasing power parity - $129 million (1998 est.)

note:
GDP numbers reflect US spending
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 - $7,100 (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2006 est.) -1.4% (1998 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 7 30 N, 134 30 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain
Highways - total:
61 km

paved:
36 km

unpaved:
25 km
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 $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs
Imports - partners China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) US
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) NA%
Industries textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making
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.)
16.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.8% (2006 est.) NA%
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, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - NA
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; National Court; Court of Common Pleas
Labor force 3.211 million (1996) 8,300 (1999)
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
0 km
Land use arable land: 23.53%


permanent crops: 2.37%


other: 74.1% (2005)
arable land:
NA%

permanent crops:
NA%

permanent pastures:
NA%

forests and woodland:
NA%

other:
NA%
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official)
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction based on 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
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (16 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Delegates - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


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

male:
65.77 years

female:
72.19 years (2001 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:
92%

male:
93%

female:
90% (1980 est.)
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines
Map references Africa Oceania
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM

extended fishing zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
3 NM
Merchant marine - none (2000 est.)
Military - note - defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years
Military branches Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) NA
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.7% (2006) NA%
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) Constitution Day, 9 July (1979)
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun:
Palauan(s)

adjective:
Palauan
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, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals
Net migration rate 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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
Palau Nationalist Party [Johnson TORIBIONG]; Ta Belau Party [Kuniwo NAKAMURA]
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.)
19,092 (July 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 33% (2001 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 2.674% (2007 est.) 1.69% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors - Koror
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios - 12,000 (1997)
Railways total: 758 km


narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
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) Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau)
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:
1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female

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

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

total population:
1.14 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
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:
NA

domestic:
NA

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 76,300 (2005) 1,500 (1988)
Telephones - mobile cellular 750,000 (2005) 0 (1988)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2001) 1 (1997)
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs
Total fertility rate 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 2.3% (2000 est.)
Waterways 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) none
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