Compare Benin (2008) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (2005)

Compare Benin (2008) z Saint Kitts and Nevis (2005)

	Benin (2008)	Saint Kitts and Nevis (2005)

Administrative divisions	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou	14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point
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: 28% (male 5,586/female 5,330) 15-64 years: 63.7% (male 12,424/female 12,403) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 1,328/female 1,887) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock	sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish
Airports	5 (2007)	2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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)	-
Area	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km	total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania	1.5 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. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.	First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts.
Birth rate	38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	18.12 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $936.9 million expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $89.7 million expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 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)	Basseterre
Climate	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north	tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Coastline	121 km	135 km
Constitution	adopted by referendum 2 December 1990	19 September 1983
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: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
Death rate	11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$1.2 billion (2007)	$171 million (2001)
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	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis
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 Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York
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	joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea
Economic aid - recipient	$374.7 million (2006)	$8 million (2001)
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.	Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange. The opening of a 470-room resort in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue.
Electricity - consumption	587 million kWh (2005)	98.44 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)	105.8 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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)	predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese
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)	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (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%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Exports	0 bbl/day (2007)	NA
Exports - commodities	cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood	machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners	China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)	US 57.5%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.7% (2004)
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	divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 33.2% industry: 14.5% services: 52.3% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 3.5% industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	4.5% (2007 est.)	-1.9% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	9 30 N, 2 15 E	17 20 N, 62 45 W
Geography - note	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands	with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island
Highways	-	total: 320 km paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (1999 est)
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	transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity
Imports	16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.)	NA
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products	machinery, manufactures, food, fuels
Imports - partners	China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)	Ukraine 44.7%, US 22.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.8%, UK 6.2% (2004)
Independence	1 August 1960 (from France)	19 September 1983 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	4.5% (2007 est.)	NA%
Industries	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement	sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages
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: 14.49 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.5% (2007 est.)	1.7% (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, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
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	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Labor force	5.38 million (2007 est.)	18,170 (June 1995)
Labor force - by occupation	-	NA
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: 19.44% permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2001)
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	based on English common law
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 National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)	total population: 72.15 years male: 69.31 years female: 75.16 years (2005 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 has ever attended school total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo	Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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)	Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis 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, 19 September (1983)
Nationality	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese	noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian
Natural hazards	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March	hurricanes (July to October)
Natural resources	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber	arable land
Net migration rate	0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]
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.)	38,958 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	37.4% (2007 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.674% (2007 est.)	0.38% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Basseterre, Charlestown
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007)	AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	total: 758 km narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)	total: 50 km narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2003)
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, other Protestant, 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: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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 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: good interisland and international connections domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use	77,300 (2006)	23,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.056 million (2006)	5,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	6 (2007)	1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)
Terrain	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains	volcanic with mountainous interiors
Total fertility rate	5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.33 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	4.5% (1997)
Waterways	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)	-

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