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Compare Marshall Islands (2001) - Benin (2005)
Compare Marshall Islands (2001) z Benin (2005)
| Marshall Islands (2001) | Benin (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
49.29% (male 17,808; female 17,101) 15-64 years: 48.61% (male 17,573; female 16,853) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 707; female 780) (2001 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 | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, cacao, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
| Airports | 16 (2000 est.) | 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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:
181.3 sq km land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, and Kwajalein |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
| Background | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the islands between 1947 and 1962. | 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 | 45.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$80.1 million expenditures: $77.4 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (FY95/96 est.) |
revenues: $869.4 million
expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Majuro | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
| Climate | wet season from May to November; hot and humid; islands border typhoon belt | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
| Coastline | 370.4 km | 121 km |
| Constitution | 1 May 1979 | December 1990 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Marshall Islands conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
| Death rate | 6.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $125 million (FY96/97 est.) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joan M. PLAISTED embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
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 Banny DE BRUM chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
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 | claims US territory of Wake Island | 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 | approximately $65 million annually from the US | $342.6 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms, and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US provides roughly $65 million in annual aid. Negotiations were underway in 1999 for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, and the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties caused GDP to fall in 1996-98. | 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) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Micronesian | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | 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:
President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 3 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
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 | $28 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | fish, coconut oil, trochus shells | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
| Flag description | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $105 million (1998 est.), supplemented by approximately $65 million annual US aid | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
15% industry: 13% services: 72% (1995) |
agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,670 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | -5% (1998 est.) | 5% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 168 00 E | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
| Geography - note | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
| Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks |
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 | $58 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Guam, Singapore | China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) |
| Independence | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls, offshore banking (embryonic) | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) |
| Infant mortality rate | 39.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 5% (1997) | 2.8% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | 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 |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
| Labor force | NA | NA (1996) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | - |
| 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:
0% permanent crops: 60% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 40% |
arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
| Languages | English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
| Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
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:
65.84 years male: 64.04 years female: 67.73 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 52.66 years
male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 100% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
| Location | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
| Map references | Oceania | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total:
212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,768,406 GRT/16,242,699 DWT ships by type: bulk 63, cargo 9, chemical tanker 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 29, liquefied gas 10, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 87, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Germany 1, Japan 1, US 6 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
| Military branches | no regular military forces (a coast guard may be established); Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $96.5 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.4% (2004) |
| National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
| Nationality | noun:
Marshallese (singular and plural) adjective: Marshallese |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
| Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
| Natural resources | phosphate deposits, marine products, deep seabed minerals | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] | 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 | NA | NA |
| Population | 70,822 (July 2001 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 | 3.88% (2001 est.) | 2.82% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Majuro | Cotonou |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
| Radios | NA | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
| Religions | Christian (mostly Protestant) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
telex services domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein |
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 | 3,000 (1996) | 66,500 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 365 (1996) | 236,200 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are US military stations) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
| Terrain | low coral limestone and sand islands | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 6.55 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 16% (1991 est.) | NA |
| Waterways | none | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) |
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