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Compare Benin (2007) - Puerto Rico (2008)
Compare Benin (2007) z Puerto Rico (2008)
| Benin (2007) | Puerto Rico (2008) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | none (territory of the US with commonwealth status); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco |
| 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: 21% (male 422,635/female 403,887)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,247,314/female 1,352,139) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 223,508/female 294,776) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 29 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 5 (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 (2007) |
total: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 13,790 sq km
land: 8,870 sq km water: 4,921 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island |
| 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. | Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. In 1898, after 400 years of colonial rule that saw the indigenous population nearly exterminated and African slave labor introduced, Puerto Rico was ceded to the US as a result of the Spanish-American War. Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917. Popularly-elected governors have served since 1948. In 1952, a constitution was enacted providing for internal self government. In plebiscites held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, voters chose not to alter the existing political status. |
| Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.79 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $6.7 billion
expenditures: $9.6 billion (FY99/00) |
| 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: San Juan
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 66 07 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Coastline | 121 km | 501 km |
| Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952 |
| 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: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
conventional short form: Puerto Rico |
| Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | unincorporated, organized territory of the US with commonwealth status; policy relations between Puerto Rico and the US conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President |
| 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 |
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
| 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 |
none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
| 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 | increasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year looking for work |
| Economic aid - recipient | $349.1 million (2005) | $NA |
| 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. | Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region. A diverse industrial sector has far surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income, with estimated arrivals of nearly 5 million tourists in 2004. Growth fell off in 2001-03, largely due to the slowdown in the US economy, recovered in 2004-05, but declined again in 2006-07. |
| Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 23.21 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 24.96 billion kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro de Punta 1,339 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | erosion; occasional drought causing water shortages |
| 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 |
- |
| 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) | white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed and other 10.9% |
| 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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA (since 2 January 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor with the consent of the legislature elections: under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as Puerto Rico, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; governor elected by popular vote for a four-year term (no term limits); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA elected governor; percent of vote - 48.4% |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | 10,580 bbl/day (2004) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment |
| Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | US 90.3%, UK 1.6%, Netherlands 1.4%, Dominican Republic 1.4% (2006) |
| 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 | five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; design initially influenced by the US flag, but similar to the Cuban flag, with the colors of the bands and triangle reversed |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 1%
industry: 45% services: 54% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) | -1.2% (2007 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 18 15 N, 66 30 W |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north |
| 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 | 230,100 bbl/day (2004) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | US 55.0%, Ireland 23.7%, Japan 5.4% (2006) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism |
| 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: 7.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2006 est.) | 6.5% (2003 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 | Caricom (observer), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ITUC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WFTU |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 400 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court; Appellate Court; Court of First Instance composed of two sections: a Superior Court and a Municipal Court (justices for all these courts appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate) |
| Labor force | 3.211 million (1996) | 1.3 million (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 3%
industry: 20% services: 77% (2000 est.) |
| 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: 3.69%
permanent crops: 5.59% other: 90.72% (2005) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Spanish, English |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish civil code and within the US Federal system of justice |
| 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 Legislative Assembly consists of the Senate (at least 27 seats - currently 29; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (51 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PNP 43.4%, PPD 40.3%, PIP 9.4%; seats by party - PNP 17, PPD 9, PIP 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PNP 46.3%, PPD 43.1%, PIP 9.7%; seats by party - PNP 32, PPD 18, PIP 1 note: Puerto Rico elects, by popular vote, a resident commissioner to serve a four-year term as a nonvoting representative in the US House of Representatives; aside from not voting on the House floor, he enjoys all the rights of a member of Congress; elections last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008); results - percent of vote by party - PNP 48.6%, other 51.4%; seats by party - PNP 1 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.54 years
male: 74.6 years female: 82.67 years (2007 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: 94.1% male: 93.9% female: 94.4% (2002 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic |
| Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 77,177 GRT/50,138 DWT
by type: roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 3 (US 3) registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
| 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 regular indigenous military forces; paramilitary National Guard, Police Force |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | US Independence Day, 4 July (1776); Puerto Rico Constitution Day, 25 July (1952) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Puerto Rican(s) (US citizens)
adjective: Puerto Rican |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil |
| Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 |
National Democratic Party [Roberto PRATS]; National Republican Party of Puerto Rico [Dr. Tiody FERRE]; New Progressive Party or PNP [Pedro ROSSELLO] (pro-US statehood); Popular Democratic Party or PPD [Anibal ACEVEDO-VILA] (pro-commonwealth); Puerto Rican Independence Party or PIP [Ruben BERRIOS Martinez] (pro-independence) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Boricua Popular Army or EPB (a revolutionary group also known as Los Macheteros); note - the following radical groups are considered dormant by Federal law enforcement: Armed Forces for National Liberation or FALN, Armed Forces of Popular Resistance, Volunteers of the Puerto Rican Revolution |
| 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.) |
3,944,259 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 0.393% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 74, FM 53, shortwave 0 (2005) |
| Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 96 km
narrow gauge: 96 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 85%, Protestant and other 15% |
| 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: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.758 male(s)/female total population: 0.923 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
| 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: modern system integrated with that of the US by high-capacity submarine cable and Intelsat with high-speed data capability
domestic: digital telephone system; cellular telephone service international: country code - 1-787, 939; submarine cables provide connectivity to the US, Caribbean, Central and South America; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 1.038 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 750,000 (2005) | 3.354 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 32 (2006) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly mountains with coastal plain belt in north; mountains precipitous to sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas |
| Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 12% (2002) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |
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