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Compare Mexico (2001) - Benin (2001)

Compare Mexico (2001) z Benin (2001)

 Mexico (2001)Benin (2001)
 MexicoBenin
Administrative divisions 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department"
Age structure 0-14 years:
33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438)

15-64 years:
62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359)

65 years and over:
4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.)
0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741)

15-64 years:
50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360)

65 years and over:
2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock
Airports 1,848 (2000 est.) 5 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
238

over 3,047 m:
11

2,438 to 3,047 m:
28

1,524 to 2,437 m:
90

914 to 1,523 m:
82

under 914 m:
27 (2000 est.)
total:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
1,610

over 3,047 m:
1

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
65

914 to 1,523 m:
470

under 914 m:
1,073 (2000 est.)
total:
4

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
2 (2000 est.)
Area total:
1,972,550 sq km

land:
1,923,040 sq km

water:
49,510 sq km
total:
112,620 sq km

land:
110,620 sq km

water:
2,000 sq km
Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Texas slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. 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 22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Budget revenues:
$125 billion

expenditures:
$130 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues:
$299 million

expenditures:
$445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.)
Capital Mexico Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate varies from tropical to desert tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline 9,330 km 121 km
Constitution 5 February 1917 December 1990
Country name conventional long form:
United Mexican States

conventional short form:
Mexico

local long form:
Estados Unidos Mexicanos

local short form:
Mexico
conventional long form:
Republic of Benin

conventional short form:
Benin

local long form:
Republique du Benin

local short form:
Benin

former:
Dahomey
Currency Mexican peso (MXN) Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Death rate 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Debt - external $162 billion (2000) $1.6 billion (1998 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Jeffery DAVIDOW

embassy:
Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal

mailing address:
P. O. Box 3087, Laredo, TX 78044-3087

telephone:
[52] (5) 209-9100

FAX:
[52] (5) 208-3373, 511-9980

consulate(s) general:
Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana

consulate(s):
Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER

embassy:
Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou

mailing address:
B. P. 2012, Cotonou

telephone:
[229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92

FAX:
[229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Juan Jose BREMER Martino

chancery:
1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006

telephone:
[1] (202) 728-1600

FAX:
[1] (202) 728-1698

consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

consulate(s):
Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, San Jose, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN

chancery:
2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 232-6656

FAX:
[1] (202) 265-1996
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $1.166 billion (1995) $274.6 million (1997)
Economy - overview Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. The number of state-owned enterprises in Mexico has fallen from more than 1,000 in 1982 to fewer than 200 in 2000. The ZEDILLO administration privatized and expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. A strong export sector helped to cushion the economy's decline in 1995 and led the recovery in 1996-2000. Private consumption became the leading driver of growth in 2000, accompanied by increased employment and higher real wages. Mexico still needs to overcome many structural problems as it strives to modernize its economy and raise living standards. Income distribution is very unequal, with the top 20% of income earners accounting for 55% of income. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. Mexico completed free trade agreements with the EU, Israel, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala in 2000, and is pursuing additional trade agreements with countries in Latin America and Asia to lessen its dependence on the US. The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001.
Electricity - consumption 170.754 billion kWh (1999) 510.2 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports 11 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports 1.047 billion kWh (1999) 300 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production 182.492 billion kWh (1999) 226 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
74.12%

hydro:
17.75%

nuclear:
5.21%

other:
2.92% (1999)
fossil fuel:
24.78%

hydro:
75.22%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Laguna Salada -10 m

highest point:
Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:
Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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 mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.7701 (January 2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997), 7.5994 (1996) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); 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:
President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:
President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)

election results:
Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%
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, 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 $168 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) $396 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners US 88.6%, Canada 2%, Spain 0.9%, Germany 0.9%, Japan 0.6%, UK 0.6%, Netherlands Antilles 0.5%, Switzerland 0.3% Venezuela 0.3%, Chile 0.3% (2000 est.) Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP purchasing power parity - $915 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
5%

industry:
27%

services:
68% (2000)
agriculture:
37.9%

industry:
13.5%

services:
48.6% (1999)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 7.1% (2000 est.) 5% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates 23 00 N, 102 00 W 9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note strategic location on southern border of US no natural harbors
Heliports 2 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
323,977 km

paved:
96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways)

unpaved:
227,756 km (1997)
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%:
1.8%

highest 10%:
36.6% (1996)
lowest 10%:
NA%

highest 10%:
NA%
Illicit drugs illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2000 - 1,900 hectares; potential heroin production - 2.4 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2000 - 3,900 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; two major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; primary supplier of methamphetamine to the US market; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US
Imports $176 billion (f.o.b., 2000), includes in-bond industries (assembly plant operations) $566 million (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities metal-working machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods
Imports - partners US 73.6%, Japan 3.7%, Germany 3.3%, Canada 2.3%, South Korea 2%, China 1.6%, Taiwan 1.2%, Italy 1%, Brazil 1% (2000 est.) France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999)
Independence 16 September 1810 (from Spain) 1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate 7.5% (2000 est.) 6.9% (2000 est.)
Industries food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum
Infant mortality rate 25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 9% (2000 est.) 3% (2000 est.)
International organization participation APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 51 (2000) 1 (2000)
Irrigated land 61,000 sq km (1993 est.) 100 sq km (1993 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force 39.8 million (2000) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) -
Land boundaries total:
4,538 km

border countries:
Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km
total:
1,989 km

border countries:
Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Land use arable land:
12%

permanent crops:
1%

permanent pastures:
39%

forests and woodland:
26%

other:
22% (1993 est.)
arable land:
13%

permanent crops:
4%

permanent pastures:
4%

forests and woodland:
31%

other:
48% (1993 est.)
Languages Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2
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 NA March 2003)

election results:
percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7
Life expectancy at birth total population:
71.76 years

male:
68.73 years

female:
74.93 years (2001 est.)
total population:
49.94 years

male:
49.02 years

female:
50.88 years (2001 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
89.6%

male:
91.8%

female:
87.4% (1995 est.)
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
37.5%

male:
52.2%

female:
23.6% (2000)
Location Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references North America Africa
Maritime claims contiguous zone:
24 NM

continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
territorial sea:
200 NM
Merchant marine total:
43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 590,657 GRT/920,456 DWT

ships by type:
bulk 2, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 28, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.)
none (2000 est.)
Military branches National Defense Secretariat (includes Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry) Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure $4 billion (FY99) $27 million (FY96)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1% (FY99) 1.2% (FY96)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
26,703,300 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
1,455,433

females age 15-49:
1,489,947

note:
both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
19,394,184 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49:
743,980

females age 15-49:
755,149 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age

note:
starting in 2000, females will be allowed to volunteer for military service
18 years of age
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males:
1,077,536 (2001 est.)
males:
70,088

females:
73,618 (2001 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 16 September (1810) National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality noun:
Mexican(s)

adjective:
Mexican
noun:
Beninese (singular and plural)

adjective:
Beninese
Natural hazards tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter
Natural resources petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km -
Political parties and leaders Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; 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]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]

note:
the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]
Political pressure groups and leaders Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church NA
Population 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.) 6,590,782

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 2001 est.)
Population below poverty line 27% (1998 est.) 37.2% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate 1.5% (2001 est.) 2.97% (2001 est.)
Ports and harbors Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Radio broadcast stations AM 865, FM about 500, shortwave 13 (1999) AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios 31 million (1997) 620,000 (1997)
Railways total:
31,048 km

standard gauge:
30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)

narrow gauge:
90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.)
total:
578 km (single track)

narrow gauge:
578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000)
Religions nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% 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:
0.95 male(s)/female

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

total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
0.75 male(s)/female

total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
low telephone density with about 11 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 has brightened prospects for development

domestic:
adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service

international:
satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)
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 9.6 million (1998) 36,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 2.02 million (1998) 4,295 (1997)
Television broadcast stations 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) 2 (one privately-owned) (1997)
Terrain high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate 2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.) 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate urban - 2.2% (2000); plus considerable underemployment NA%
Waterways 2,900 km

note:
navigable rivers and coastal canals
streams navigable along small sections, important only locally
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