Compare Isle of Man (2006) - Benin (2005)

Compare Isle of Man (2006) z Benin (2005)

	Isle of Man (2006)	Benin (2005)

Administrative divisions	none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.3% (male 6,669/female 6,350) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 24,884/female 24,678) 65 years and over: 17% (male 5,197/female 7,663) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Airports	1 (2006)	5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 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 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 572 sq km land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background	Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. Isle of Man is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK.	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	11.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $485 million expenditures: $463 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)	revenues: $869.4 million expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Douglas geographic coordinates: 54 09 N, 4 28 W time difference: UTC 0 (five hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate	temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	160 km	121 km
Constitution	unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act of 1961 does not embody the unwritten Manx Constitution	December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Isle of Man	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Death rate	11.19 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$1.6 billion (2000)
Dependency status	British crown dependency	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (British crown dependency)	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	none (British crown dependency)	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	two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	$342.6 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government offers incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island; this has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets.	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. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, 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. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise.
Electricity - consumption	-	565.2 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	300 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	285.2 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m highest point: Snaefell 621 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues	waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution	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, 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	Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates	Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Paul K. HADDACKS (since 17 October 2005) head of government: Chief Minister Donald GELLING (since 14 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the chief minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 14 December 2004 (next to be held December 2006) election results: Donald GELLING elected chief minister by the Tynwald; note - Richard CORKILL resigned 2 December 2004	chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match"
Exports	$NA	NA
Exports - commodities	tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners	UK (2004)	China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 36.3% industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.3% NA%	5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	54 15 N, 4 30 W	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways	-	total: 6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	-	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
Imports - commodities	timber, fertilizers, fish	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	UK (2004)	China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)
Independence	none (British crown dependency)	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	3.2% (FY96/97)	8.3% (2001 est.)
Industries	financial services, light manufacturing, tourism	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)
Infant mortality rate	total: 5.82 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.7% (2003 est.)	2.8% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	UPU	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, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	0 sq km	120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor)	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	39,690 (2001)	NA (1996)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10%	-
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: 9% permanent crops: 0% other: 91% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (2002)	arable land: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)
Languages	English, Manx Gaelic	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	English common law and Manx statute	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and eight others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19	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 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.49 years male: 75.14 years female: 82.02 years (2006 est.)	total population: 52.66 years male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)
Location	Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references	Europe	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 305 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,266,229 GRT/13,792,927 DWT by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 65, chemical tanker 53, container 16, liquefied gas 38, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 74, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 213 (Cyprus 1, Denmark 53, Estonia 2, France 2, Germany 56, Greece 45, Italy 5, Japan 4, Monaco 3, Netherlands 1, Norway 27, Singapore 7, Sweden 1, Turkey 3, US 3) registered in other countries: 9 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Liberia 5, Marshall Islands 1, NZ 1) (2006)	-
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$96.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.4% (2004)
National holiday	Tynwald Day, 5 July	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women) adjective: Manx	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	NA	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Natural resources	none	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate	5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance for Progressive Government; Man Labor Party; Man Nationalist Party (branch of the British National Party) note: most members sit as independents	African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and four small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [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	none	NA
Population	75,441 (July 2006 est.)	7,460,025 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	33% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.52% (2006 est.)	2.82% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Cotonou
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Railways	total: 65 km standard guage: 7 km 1.067-m guage (7 km electrified) narrow guage: 58 km 0.914-m guage (29 km electrified) note: primarily summer tourist attractions (2006)	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	16 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable	general assessment: NA domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use	51,000 (1999)	66,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	236,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999)	1 (2001)
Terrain	hills in north and south bisected by central valley	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	1.65 children born/woman (2006 est.)	5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	0.6% (2004 est.)	NA
Waterways	-	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)

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