##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Japan (2008) - Benin (2002)
Compare Japan (2008) z Benin (2002)
| Japan (2008) | Benin (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi | 12 provinces; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) 65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.2% (male 1,616,138; female 1,585,463)
15-64 years: 50.5% (male 1,665,439; female 1,764,966) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 65,877; female 89,742) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
| Airports | 176 (2007) | 5 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 145
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
| Area | total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
| Background | In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. |
| Birth rate | 8.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 43.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.463 trillion
expenditures: $1.575 trillion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $377.4 million
expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
| Capital | name: Tokyo
geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
| Climate | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
| Coastline | 29,751 km | 121 km |
| Constitution | 3 May 1947 | December 1990 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
| Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Death rate | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.52 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.492 trillion (30 June 2007) | $1.18 billion (2000) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
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 Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle |
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 | the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting | Benin and Niger have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller disputed islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited; with Nigeria, several villages are in dispute along the Okpara River and only 35 km of the 436 km boundary are demarcated; the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated; Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory; two villages are in dispute with Burkina Faso |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $7.5 billion (2007) | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $342.6 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have worked together in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 55% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. From 2000 to 2001, government efforts to revive economic growth proved short lived and were hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2002-07, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened, leading the central bank to raise interest rates to 0.25% in July 2006, up from the near 0% rate of the six years prior, and to 0.50% in February 2007. In addition, the ten-year privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities as Japan's largest financial institution, was completed in October 2007, marking a major milestone in the process of structural reform. Nevertheless, Japan's huge government debt, which totals 182% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to increasing income disparities. | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a stable 5% in the past five years, but rapid population rise 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 974.2 billion kWh (2005) | 523.2 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 300 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 1.025 trillion kWh (2005) | 240 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 17%
hydro: 83% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.7%
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004) |
African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
| Exchange rates | yen per US dollar - 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA (since 26 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary election results: FUKUDA elected prime minister with 338 of 477 votes cast in the House of Representatives; he received 106 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors; vote of House of Representatives prevailed |
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 NA 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 SOGOLO (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 SOGOLO 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 | 94,830 bbl/day (2004) | $35.3 million f.o.b. (2000) |
| Exports - commodities | transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2006) | Brazil, France, Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire (2001) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
| Flag description | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $6.8 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 25.2% services: 73.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 36%
industry: 14% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,040 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2007 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 36 00 N, 138 00 E | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location in northeast Asia | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
| Heliports | 14 (2007) | - |
| Highways | - | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
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 | 5.425 million bbl/day (2004) | $437.6 million c.i.f. (2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | China 20.5%, US 12%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.2% (2006) | France, US, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Netherlands, Japan (2001) |
| Independence | 660 B.C. (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.3% (2007 est.) | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods | textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
88.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0% (2007 est.) | 3% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 4 (2002) |
| Irrigated land | 25,920 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
| Labor force | 66.07 million (2007 est.) | NA |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004) |
- |
| 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: 11.64%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005) |
arable land: 15.28%
permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Japanese | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
| Legal system | modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007) |
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 1999 (next to be held 30 March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, Alliance E'toile 4, IPD 4, other 12 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 82.02 years
male: 78.67 years female: 85.56 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 49.69 years
male: 48.81 years female: 50.61 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
| Location | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo |
| Map references | Asia | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23, container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 55 registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2, Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69, Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu 28, unknown 2) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Koku Jieitai, ASDF) (2008) | Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $27 million (FY96) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006) | 1.2% (FY96) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,509,760
females age 15-49: 1,536,036 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 771,373
females age 15-49: 778,730 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 71,278
females: 70,088 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
| Nationality | noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
| Natural hazards | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
| Natural resources | negligible mineral resources, fish | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 3,939 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 104 km (2007) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihiro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Yasuo FUKUDA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA] | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Saka SALEY]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties; the Coalition of Democratic Forces, [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI], an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
| Population | 127,433,494 (July 2007 est.) | 6,787,625
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 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | -0.088% (2007 est.) | 2.91% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou, Porto-Novo |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
| Radios | - | 660,000 (2000) |
| Railways | total: 23,474 km
standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,182 km 1.067-m gauge (13,334 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.) |
| Religions | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.732 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 55.155 million (2006) | 51,000 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 101.7 million (2006) | 55,500 (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) | 1 (2001) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.14 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007) | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally |
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Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.