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Compare Martinique (2006) - Benin (2005)
Compare Martinique (2006) z Benin (2005)
| Martinique (2006) | Benin (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.1% (male 48,988/female 47,525)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 147,082/female 146,470) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 20,791/female 25,275) (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 | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) |
| Airports | 2 (2006) | 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 1,100 sq km
land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
| Background | The French began to settle this island in 1635, overcoming resistance from the local Carib inhabitants. In 1660, the suviving natives were rounded up and permanently expelled. The island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | 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 | 13.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $317.5 million
expenditures: $317.5 million; including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $869.4 million
expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
| Capital | name: Fort-de-France
geographic coordinates: 14 36 N, 61 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government |
| Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
| Coastline | 350 km | 121 km |
| Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | December 1990 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Department of Martinique
conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
| Death rate | 6.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
| Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 (overseas department of France) | 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; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) | $342.6 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism, which employs more than 11,000 people, has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. | 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 | 1.12 billion kWh (2003) | 565.2 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 300 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 1.205 billion kWh (2003) | 285.2 million kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 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, 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 | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian and Chinese less than 5% | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Yves DASSONVILLE (since 14 January 2004); note - took office 8 February 2004
head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils for six-year terms |
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 bbl/day | NA |
| Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2004) | China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | unofficial flag, derives from the civil ensign flown by French merchant ships and dates to 1766; a blue field quartered by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white, coiled snake representing the venomous Fer-de-lance; the flag of France is used for official occasions | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 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 | NA% | 5% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
| Geography - note | the island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May 1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants | 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 cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | 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 bbl/day | NA |
| Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (2004) | China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) |
| Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 6.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.27 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) | NA | 2.8% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | UPU, WCL, WFTU | 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 | 70 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
| Labor force | 165,900 (1998) | NA (1996) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10%
industry: 17% services: 73% (1997) |
- |
| 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: 9.09%
permanent crops: 10% other: 80.91% (2005) |
arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
| Languages | French, Creole patois | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
| Legal system | French legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held March 2000 (next to be held in 2006); Regional Council - last held on 28 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - left-wing candidates 13, PPM 11, RPR 6, right-wing candidates 5, PCM 3, UDF 3, PMS 2, independents 2; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - MIM 53.8%, PPM 30.6%; seats by party - MIM 28, PPM 9, other 4 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held September 2004 (next to be held September 2008); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPM 1, left-wing candidate 1; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held not later than June 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, PMS 1, MIM 1, left-wing candidate 1 (candidacy of the left-wing candidate was found invalid by the Constitutional Council; new elections will be called) |
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: 79.18 years
male: 79.5 years female: 78.85 years (2006 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: 97.7% male: 97.4% female: 98.1% (2003 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 North 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 - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
| Military branches | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $96.5 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.4% (2004) |
| National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
| Nationality | noun: Martiniquais (singular and plural)
adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
| Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
| Net migration rate | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Martinique Communist Party or PCM [Georges ERICHOT]; Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Pierre SUEDILE]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Movement of Democrats and Ecologists for a Sovereign Martinique or Modemas [Garcin MALSA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Jean MAREN] | 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 | Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP | NA |
| Population | 436,131 (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 | 0.72% (2006 est.) | 2.82% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Cotonou |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
| Railways | - | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: domestic facilities are adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 596; microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 172,000 (2001) | 66,500 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 319,900 (2002) | 236,200 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
| Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | NA |
| Waterways | - | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) |
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