Compare Benin (2007) - Samoa (2002)

Compare Benin (2007) z Samoa (2002)

	Benin (2007)	Samoa (2002)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	11 districts; A'ana, Aiga-i-le-Tai, Atua, Fa'asaleleaga, Gaga'emauga, Gagaifomauga, Palauli, Satupa'itea, Tuamasaga, Va'a-o-Fonoti, Vaisigano
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: 30.6% (male 27,774; female 26,854) 15-64 years: 63.5% (male 71,358; female 42,150) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 4,859; female 5,636) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock	coconuts, bananas, taro, yams
Airports	5 (2007)	3 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 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: 2,944 sq km land: 2,934 sq km water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	slightly smaller than 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.	New Zealand occupied the German protectorate of Western Samoa at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It continued to administer the islands as a mandate and then as a trust territory until 1962, when the islands became the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The country dropped the "Western" from its name in 1997.
Birth rate	38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	15.53 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $786 million expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $105 million expenditures: $119 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001/2002)
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)	Apia
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October)
Coastline	121 km	403 km
Constitution	adopted by referendum 2 December 1990	1 January 1962
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: Independent State of Samoa conventional short form: Samoa former: Western Samoa
Currency	-	tala (WST)
Death rate	11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$1.6 billion (2000)	$192 million (1999)
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 New Zealand is accredited to Samoa embassy: 5th floor John Williams Building, Beach Road, Apia mailing address: P. O. Box 3430, Apia telephone: [685] 21631 FAX: [685] 22030
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 Tuiloma Neroni SLADE chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6196, 6197 FAX: [1] (212) 599-0797
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)	$42.9 million (1995) (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 economy of Samoa has traditionally been dependent on development aid, family remittances from overseas, and agricultural exports. The country is vulnerable to devastating storms. Agriculture employs two-thirds of the labor force, and furnishes 90% of exports, featuring coconut cream, coconut oil, and copra. The manufacturing sector mainly processes agricultural products. The decline of fish stocks in the area is a continuing problem. Tourism is an expanding sector, accounting for 16% of GDP; about 85,000 tourists visited the islands in 2000. The Samoan Government has called for deregulation of the financial sector, encouragement of investment, and continued fiscal discipline. Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.
Electricity - consumption	587 million kWh (2005)	95.79 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports	595 million kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production	105 million kWh (2005)	103 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 59% hydro: 41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mauga Silisili 1,857 m
Environment - current issues	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification	soil erosion
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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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)	Samoan 92.6%, Euronesians 7% (persons of European and Polynesian blood), Europeans 0.4%
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)	tala per US dollar - 3.5236 (January 2002), 3.4722 (2001), 3.2712 (2000), 3.0120 (1999), 2.9429 (1998), 2.5562 (1997)
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: Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA (cochief of state from 1 January 1962 until becoming sole chief of state 5 April 1963) head of government: Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA (since 24 November 1998); note - TUILA'EPA served as deputy prime minister from 1992 until he assumed the prime ministership in November 1998, when former Prime Minister TOFILAU Eti Alesana resigned in poor health; the post of deputy prime minister is currently vacant cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 members, appointed by the chief of state with the prime minister's advice elections: upon the death of Chief Tanumafili II MALIETOA, a new chief of state will be elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the chief of state with the approval of the Legislative Assembly
Exports	NA bbl/day	$17 million f.o.b. (2000)
Exports - commodities	cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood	fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, garments, beer
Exports - partners	China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)	Australia 62%, Indonesia 13%, US 11%, American Samoa 3%, New Zealand 3% (2000)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side	red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side quadrant bearing five white five-pointed stars representing the Southern Cross constellation
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $618 million (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 32.8% industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 16% industry: 18% services: 66% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4% (2006 est.)	6% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	13 35 S, 172 20 W
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	occupies an almost central position within Polynesia
Highways	-	total: 836 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 569 km (1983)
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	$90 million f.o.b. (2000)
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)	Australia 27%, US 26%, New Zealand 14%, Fiji 12%, Japan 9% (2000)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	1 January 1962 (from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship)
Industrial production growth rate	8.3% (2001 est.)	2.8% (2000)
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	food processing, building materials, auto parts
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.)	30.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3.8% (2006 est.)	2.5% (2001 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	ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW (signatory), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	2 (2000)
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; Court of Appeal
Labor force	3.211 million (1996)	90,000 (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	-	agriculture 65%, services 30%, industry 5% (1995 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: 19.43% permanent crops: 23.67% other: 56.9% (1998 est.)
Languages	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)	Samoan (Polynesian), English
Legal system	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common law and local customs; judicial review of legislative acts with respect to fundamental rights of the citizen; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Legislative Assembly or Fono (49 seats - 47 elected by Samoans, 2 elected by non-Samoans; only chiefs or matai may stand for election to the Fono; members serve five-year terms) elections: byelection last held NA November 2001 (next byelection to be held 29 March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HRPP 30, SNDP 13, independents 6
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)	total population: 69.8 years male: 67.06 years female: 72.69 years (2002 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: 80% male: 81% female: 79% (1999)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand
Map references	Africa	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine	-	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,091 GRT/ 8,127 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	Samoa has no formal defense structure or regular armed forces; informal defense ties exist with NZ, which is required to consider any Samoan request for assistance under the 1962 Treaty of Friendship
Military branches	Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007)	no regular armed services; Samoa 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 Celebration, 1 June (1962); note - 1 January 1962 is the date of independence from the New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship, 1 June 1962 is the date that independence is celebrated
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Samoan(s) adjective: Samoan
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	occasional typhoons; active volcanism
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	hardwood forests, fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-11.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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	Christian Democratic Party [leader NA]; Human Rights Protection Party or HRPP [Sailele Malielegaoi TUILA'EPA, chairman]; Samoa All People's Party or SAPP [Matatumua NAIMOAGA]; Samoan National Development Party or SNDP [LE MAMEA Ropati, chairman] (opposition); Samoa National Party [FETU Tiatia, party secretary]; Samoan Progressive Conservative Party [LEOTA Ituau Ale]; Samoan United Independent Party or SUIP [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.)	178,631 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	33% (2001 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.674% (2007 est.)	-0.25% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Apia, Asau, Mulifanua, Salelologa
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	-	174,849 (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 99.7% (about one-half of population associated with the London Missionary Society; includes Congregational, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Latter-Day Saints, Seventh-Day Adventist)
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.69 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.39 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	21 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 domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	76,300 (2005)	8,183 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	750,000 (2005)	1,545 (February 1998)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2001)	6 (1997)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior
Total fertility rate	5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	NA%; note - substantial underemployment
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	none

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