Benin (2007) | San Marino (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 9 municipalities (castelli, singular - castello); Acquaviva, Borgo Maggiore, Chiesanuova, Domagnano, Faetano, Fiorentino, Monte Giardino, San Marino, Serravalle |
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:
15.88% (male 2,241; female 2,100) 15-64 years: 67.94% (male 9,048; female 9,525) 65 years and over: 16.18% (male 1,902; female 2,520) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | wheat, grapes, corn, olives; cattle, pigs, horses, beef, cheese, hides |
Airports | 5 (2007) | none |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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) |
- |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total:
61.2 sq km land: 61.2 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | about 0.3 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. | The third smallest state in Europe (after The Holy See and Monaco) also claims to be the world's oldest republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named Marinus in 301 A.D. San Marino's foreign policy is aligned with that of Italy. Social and political trends in the republic also track closely with those of its larger neighbor. |
Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $400 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 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) |
San Marino |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | Mediterranean; mild to cool winters; warm, sunny summers |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | 8 October 1600; electoral law of 1926 serves some of the functions of a constitution |
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 San Marino conventional short form: San Marino local long form: Repubblica di San Marino local short form: San Marino |
Currency | - | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.68 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $NA |
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 San Marino; the US Consul General in Florence (Italy) is accredited to San Marino |
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 |
San Marino does not have an embassy in the US
honorary consulate(s) general: Washington, DC, and New York honorary consulate(s): Detroit |
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) | $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. | The tourist sector contributes over 50% of GDP. In 1999 more than 3 million tourists visited San Marino. The key industries are banking, wearing apparel, electronics, and ceramics. Main agricultural products are wine and cheeses. The per capita level of output and standard of living are comparable to those of the most prosperous regions of Italy, which supplies much of its food. |
Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh
note: electric power supplied by Italy (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | NA kWh
note: electricity supplied by Italy |
Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point:
Torrente Ausa 55 m highest point: Monte Titano 755 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | NA |
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, Desertification, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution |
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) | Sammarinese, Italian |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996) |
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:
cochiefs of state Captain Regent Luigi LONFERNINI and Captain Regent Fabio BERARDI (for the period 1 April 2001-30 September 2001) head of government: Secretary of State for Foreign and Political Affairs Gabriele GATTI (since NA July 1986) cabinet: Congress of State elected by the Great and General Council for a five-year term elections: cochiefs of state (captain regents) elected by the Great and General Council for a six-month term; election last held NA March 2001 (next to be held NA September 2001); secretary of state for foreign and political affairs elected by the Great and General Council for a five-year term; election last held NA June 1998 (next to be held NA June 2003) election results: Luigi LONFERNINI and Fabio BERARDI elected captain regents; percent of legislative vote - NA; Gabriele GATTI reelected secretary of state for foreign and political affairs; percent of legislative vote - NA note: the popularly elected parliament (Grand and General Council) selects two of its members to serve as the Captains Regent (cochiefs of state) for a six-month period; they preside over meetings of the Grand and General Council and its cabinet (Congress of State) which has ten other members, all selected by the Grand and General Council; assisting the captains regent are three secretaries of state - Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Finance - and several additional secretaries; the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs has assumed many of the prerogatives of a prime minister |
Exports | NA bbl/day | trade data are included with the statistics for Italy |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | building stone, lime, wood, chestnuts, wheat, wine, baked goods, hides, ceramics |
Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | - |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat of arms has a shield (featuring three towers on three peaks) flanked by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll bearing the word LIBERTAS (Liberty) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $860 million (2000 est.) |
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 - $32,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 43 46 N, 12 25 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | landlocked; smallest independent state in Europe after the Holy See and Monaco; dominated by the Apennines |
Highways | - | total:
220 km paved: 220 km unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
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 | trade data are included with the statistics for Italy |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | wide variety of consumer manufactures, food |
Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | - |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 3 September 301 |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | tourism, banking, textiles, electronics, ceramics, cement, wine |
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.) |
6.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2006 est.) | 2.2% (2000) |
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 | CE, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO |
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 | Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII |
Labor force | 3.211 million (1996) | 18,500 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services 60%, industry 38%, agriculture 2% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total:
39 km border countries: Italy 39 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 83% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Italian |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system with Italian law influences; 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 Grand and General Council or Consiglio Grande e Generale (60 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next likely to be held by NA June 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PDCS 40.8%, PSS 23.3%, PPDS 18.6%, APDS 9.8%, RC 3.3%, SR 4.2%; seats by party - PDCS 25, PSS 14, PPDS 11, APDS 6, RC 2, SR 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
81.23 years male: 77.68 years female: 85.1 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 10 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 97% female: 95% (1976 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Southern Europe, an enclave in central Italy |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) | Voluntary Military Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $700,000 (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | NA% |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Founding of the Republic, 3 September (301) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun:
Sammarinese (singular and plural) adjective: Sammarinese |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | NA |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | building stone |
Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.45 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 |
Communist Refoundation or RC [Ivan FOSHI]; Ideas in Movement or IM [Alessandro ROSSI]; San Marino Christian Democratic Party or PDCS [Pier Marino MENICUCCI]; San Marino Popular Alliance of Democrats or APDS [Mario VENTURINI]; San Marino Progressive Democratic Party or PPDS [Claudio FELICI]; San Marino Socialist Party or PSS [Augusto CASALI]; Socialists for Reform or SR [Renzo GIARDI] |
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.) |
27,336 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 1.45% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 16,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
0 km; note - there is a 1.5 km cable railway connecting the city of San Marino to Borgo Maggiore |
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 |
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:
1.09 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 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:
adequate connections domestic: automatic telephone system completely integrated into Italian system international: connected to Italian international network |
Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 18,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 750,000 (2005) | 3,010 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (San Marino residents also receive broadcasts from Italy) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | rugged mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 3% (1999) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | none |