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Compare Benin (2007) - West Bank (2002)

Compare Benin (2007) z West Bank (2002)

 Benin (2007)West Bank (2002)
 BeninWest Bank
Administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou -
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: 44.4% (male 492,446; female 468,321)


15-64 years: 52% (male 575,282; female 550,793)


65 years and over: 3.6% (male 33,163; female 43,662) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products
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


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 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)
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Area total: 112,620 sq km


land: 110,620 sq km


water: 2,000 sq km
total: 5,860 sq km


land: 5,640 sq km


water: 220 sq km


note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly smaller than Delaware
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 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement.
Birth rate 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 34.94 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $786 million


expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.)
revenues: $930 million


expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 million


note: includes Gaza Strip (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)
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Climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Coastline 121 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 -
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: none


conventional short form: West Bank
Currency - new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Death rate 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $1.6 billion (2000) $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)
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
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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
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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 West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation
Economic aid - recipient $349.1 million (2005) $800 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 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. Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next five years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, internal turmoil and Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas have resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Another major loss has been the decline in earnings of Palestinian workers in Israel.
Electricity - consumption 587 million kWh (2005) NA kWh
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2005) -
Electricity - imports 595 million kWh (2005) NA kWh
Electricity - production 105 million kWh (2005) NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants
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: Dead Sea -408 m


highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m
Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
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) Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%
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) new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.2757 (December 2001), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 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%
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Exports NA bbl/day $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone
Exports - partners China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year (since 1 January 1992)
Flag description two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side -
GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.1 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 32.8%


industry: 13.7%


services: 53.5% (2006 est.)
agriculture: 9%


industry: 28%


services: 63%


note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2006 est.) -35% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E 32 00 N, 35 15 E
Geography - note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)
Highways - total: 4,500 km


paved: 2,700 km


unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.)


note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements
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 $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products food, consumer goods, construction materials
Imports - partners China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip
Independence 1 August 1960 (from France) -
Industrial production growth rate 8.3% (2001 est.) NA%
Industries textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers
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.)
21.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.8% (2006 est.) 1% (includes Gaza Strip) (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 -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 8 (1999)
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 -
Labor force 3.211 million (1996) NA
Labor force - by occupation - services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996)
Land boundaries total: 1,989 km


border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
total: 404 km


border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Land use arable land: 23.53%


permanent crops: 2.37%


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


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Legal system based on French civil law and customary law; 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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
total population: 72.47 years


male: 70.76 years


female: 74.29 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: NA


total population: NA%


male: NA%


female: NA%
Location Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo Middle East, west of Jordan
Map references Africa Middle East
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) -
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.7% (2006) NA%
National holiday National Day, 1 August (1960) -
Nationality noun: Beninese (singular and plural)


adjective: Beninese
noun: NA


adjective: NA
Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March droughts
Natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber arable land
Net migration rate 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) 3.18 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
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Political pressure groups and leaders 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.)
2,163,667 (July 2002 est.)


note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 33% (2001 est.) 50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 2.674% (2007 est.) 3.39% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors - none
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0


note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)
Radios - NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)
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) Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%
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: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 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: NA


note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank
Telephones - main lines in use 76,300 (2005) 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 750,000 (2005) NA
Television broadcast stations 1 (2001) NA
Terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Total fertility rate 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) 4.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 26% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)
Waterways 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) none
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