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Compare Benin (2008) - Saint Helena (2007)
Compare Benin (2008) z Saint Helena (2007)
| Benin (2008) | Saint Helena (2007) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
| 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: 18.7% (male 716/female 691)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 2,755/female 2,608) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 358/female 415) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha); livestock |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 1 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 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: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly more than twice 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. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth. | Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903. Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases a site for a meteorological station on Gough Island. |
| Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $936.9 million
expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $12.07 million
expenditures: $29.64 million note: revenue data reflect locally raised revenues only; the budget deficit is resolved by grant aid from the United Kingdom (FY06/07 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) |
name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
| Coastline | 121 km | Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km |
| Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | 1 January 1989 |
| 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: Saint Helena |
| Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.63 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2007) | $NA |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
| 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] 21-30-03-84 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 | $374.7 million (2006) | $27.25 million obtained in a grant from the United Kingdom (FY06/07) |
| 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 seven 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 though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. 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. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production. | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which will amount to about $27 million in FY06/07 or almost 70% of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
| Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 7.44 million 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) | 8 million kWh (2005) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 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 |
- |
| 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) | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.5434 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
| 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Andrew GURR (since 11 November 2007) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2007) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
| Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2006) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33.2%
industry: 14.5% services: 52.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | Saint Helena: 15 57 S, 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S, 14 22 W Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S, 12 30 W |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29% (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 | 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
| Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2006) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales |
| 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: 17.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2007 est.) | 3.2% (1997 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, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | UPU |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 5.38 million (2007 est.) | 2,486
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 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: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes |
| 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 Council (16 seats, including the speaker, three ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 12 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.09 years
male: 75.19 years female: 81.15 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 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena |
| Map references | Africa | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | fish, lobster |
| Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
none |
| 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.) |
7,543
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 37.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 0.53% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007) | Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005) |
| 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) | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female total population: 1.031 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
| 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 subscribership is increasing
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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network international: country code (Saint Helena) - 290, (Ascension Island) - 247; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 77,300 (2006) | 2,200 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.056 million (2006) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 6 (2007) | 0 (3 television channels are received via satellite and distributed by UHF) (2005) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs |
| Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.55 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Transportation - note | - | there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 14% (1998 est.) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | - |
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