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Compare Martinique (2006) - Benin (2008)

Compare Martinique (2006) z Benin (2008)

 Martinique (2006)Benin (2008)
 MartiniqueBenin
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: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)


15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291)


65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Airports 2 (2006) 5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
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 (2007)
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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth.
Birth rate 13.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $317.5 million


expenditures: $317.5 million; including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996)
revenues: $936.9 million


expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 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)
name: Porto-Novo (official capital)


geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


note: Cotonou (seat of government)
Climate tropical; 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) adopted by referendum 2 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.) 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $180 million (1994) $1.2 billion (2007)
Dependency status overseas department of France -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas department of France) chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN


embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou


mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou


telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50


FAX: [229] 21-30-03-84
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; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border
Economic aid - recipient $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France (1998) $374.7 million (2006)
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 seven 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. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production.
Electricity - consumption 1.12 billion kWh (2003) 587 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2003) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2003) 595 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 1.205 billion kWh (2003) 105 million kWh (2005)
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, Whaling


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% Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census)
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 - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
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 Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011)


election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%
Exports NA bbl/day 0 bbl/day (2007)
Exports - commodities refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Exports - partners France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (2004) China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)
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: 33.2%


industry: 14.5%


services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 4.5% (2007 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
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 3.1%


highest 10%: 29% (2003)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations
Imports NA bbl/day 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)
Independence none (overseas department of France) 1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 4.5% (2007 est.)
Industries construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
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: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA 2.5% (2007 est.)
International organization participation UPU, WCL, WFTU ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land 70 sq km (2003) 120 sq km (2003)
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) 5.38 million (2007 est.)
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: 23.53%


permanent crops: 2.37%


other: 74.1% (2005)
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 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18
Life expectancy at birth total population: 79.18 years


male: 79.5 years


female: 78.85 years (2006 est.)
total population: 53.44 years


male: 52.28 years


female: 54.63 years (2007 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: 34.7%


male: 47.9%


female: 23.3% (2002 census)
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 Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.7% (2006)
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.) 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]


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.) 8,078,314


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 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 37.4% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate 0.72% (2006 est.) 2.674% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007)
Railways - total: 758 km


narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Religions Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 10.5%, Muslim 0.5%, Hindu 0.5%, other 3.5% (1997) Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)
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: 1.019 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female


total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 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: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing


domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers


international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Telephones - main lines in use 172,000 (2001) 77,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 319,900 (2002) 1.056 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) 6 (2007)
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.) 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 27.2% (1998) NA%
Waterways - 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)
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