Grenada (2005) | Benin (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.9% (male 15,329/female 14,997)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 29,711/female 26,436) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,431/female 1,598) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 1,751,709/female 1,719,138)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 2,067,248/female 2,138,957) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 75,694/female 110,198) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock |
Airports | 3 (2004 est.) | 5 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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 (2006) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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. |
Birth rate | 22.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | 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) |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
Coastline | 121 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
Death rate | 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | Benin and Burkina Faso military clash in 2006 over sections of riverine boundary involving disputed villages and squatters; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin as a consequence of a 2004 joint task force to resolve maritime and land boundary disputes, but clashes among rival gangs along the border persist; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $342.6 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. | 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. Many of these proposals are included in Benin's application to receive Millennium Challenge Account funding - for which it was a finalist in 2004-05. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 138.6 million kWh (2002) | 538.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 474 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 149 million kWh (2002) | 69 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held March 2011) election results: YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Saint Lucia 12.7%, US 12.2%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.7%, Netherlands 7.9%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7.8%, Dominica 7.8%, Germany 7.1%, France 4.6% (2004) | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Trinidad and Tobago 29.6%, US 27.8%, UK 4.8% (2004) | France 21.8%, Ghana 7.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, China 6.7%, UK 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Togo 4.5%, Thailand 4.2%, Nigeria 4% (2005) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 79.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 74.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 3.211 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001) |
arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.53 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $100.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
Net migration rate | -13.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]; People Labor Movement or PLM [Dr. Francis ALEXIS] | Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; 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; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; 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 | NA |
Population | 89,502 (July 2005 est.) | 7,862,944
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (2000) | 33% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2005 est.) | 2.73% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint George's | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
Railways | - | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2002) | 76,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,600 (2002) | 386,700 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.37 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.5% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) |