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Compare Benin (2007) - Western Sahara (2005)
Compare Benin (2007) z Western Sahara (2005)
| Benin (2007) | Western Sahara (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
| 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 11 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | about the size of Colorado |
| 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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
| Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
| Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
| 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) |
none |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
| Coastline | 121 km | 1,110 km |
| 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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
| Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
| 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 |
none |
| 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 |
| 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals |
| 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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
| Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 83.7 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 90 million kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | sparse water and lack of arable land |
| 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: none of the selected agreements
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) | Arab, Berber |
| 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) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) |
| 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% |
none |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | phosphates 62% |
| Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
| 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 | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - NA |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) | NA |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
| Highways | - | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
| 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 | NA |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
| Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
| 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
| 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 | none |
| 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) | 12,000 |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
| Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
| 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
| Military branches | Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | phosphates, iron ore |
| Net migration rate | 0.58 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 |
- |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
| 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.) |
273,008 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | NA |
| Ports and harbors | - | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 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) | Muslim |
| 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.) |
NA |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
| 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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 750,000 (2005) | 0 (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | NA |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
| Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | NA |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |
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