##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Netherlands Antilles (2001) - Benin (2006)
Compare Netherlands Antilles (2001) z Benin (2006)
| Netherlands Antilles (2001) | Benin (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.21% (male 27,332; female 26,169) 15-64 years: 66.99% (male 67,562; female 74,599) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 6,874; female 9,690) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.1% (male 1,751,709/female 1,719,138)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 2,067,248/female 2,138,957) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 75,694/female 110,198) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock |
| Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 5 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006) |
| Area | total:
960 sq km land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
| Background | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France; its northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe. | 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 | 16.55 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$710.8 million expenditures: $741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $766.8 million
expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Willemstad | 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; ameliorated by northeast trade winds | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north |
| Coastline | 364 km | 121 km |
| Constitution | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended | December 1990 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
| Currency | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) | - |
| Death rate | 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.35 billion (1996) | $1.6 billion (2000) |
| Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad AN, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
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 (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 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 | Benin and Burkina Faso military clash in 2006 over sections of riverine boundary involving disputed villages and squatters; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin as a consequence of a 2004 joint task force to resolve maritime and land boundary disputes, but clashes among rival gangs along the border persist; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones |
| Economic aid - recipient | IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million | $342.6 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined slightly in each of the past five years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. | 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. Many of these proposals are included in Benin's application to receive Millennium Challenge Account funding - for which it was a finalist in 2004-05. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. 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. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. |
| Electricity - consumption | 1.032 billion kWh (1999) | 538.2 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 474 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 1.11 billion kWh (1999) | 69 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Scenery 862 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 | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 |
| Exchange rates | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 8 November 1999); Deputy Prime Minister Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER (since NA) note: Miguel POURIER assumed prime ministership following the resignation of Susanne CAMELIA-ROMER cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) note: government coalition - PDB, DP-St. M, FOL, PLKP, PNP |
chief of state: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held March 2011) election results: YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
| Exports | $276 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum products | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa |
| Exports - partners | US 17.5%, Guatemala 8%, Costa Rica 6.5%, The Bahamas 4.6%, Jamaica 4.1%, Chile 3.4% (1998) | China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 15% services: 84% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | -3.5% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 12 15 N, 68 45 W | 9 30 N, 2 15 E |
| Geography - note | - | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands |
| Highways | total:
600 km paved: 300 km unpaved: 300 km (1992) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs 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 | $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactures | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products |
| Imports - partners | Venezuela 35.3%, US 21%, Mexico 9.8%, Italy 5.4%, Netherlands 4.8%, Brazil 3.1% (1998) | France 21.8%, Ghana 7.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, China 6.7%, UK 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Togo 4.5%, Thailand 4.2%, Nigeria 4% (2005) |
| Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 1 August 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 8.3% (2001 est.) |
| Industries | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement |
| Infant mortality rate | 11.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 79.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 74.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO, WToO (associate) | 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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 120 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice |
| Labor force | 89,000 | 3.211 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (1994 est.) | - |
| Land boundaries | total:
10.2 km border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km |
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
| Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 90% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
| Languages | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
| Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St. M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government note: the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties; current seats by party - PAR 4, PNP 3, FOL 2, MAN 2, UPB 2, DP-St. M 2, PDB 1, SEA 1, WIPM 1, other 4 |
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 (UBF, MADEP, FC, Alliance MDC-PC-CPP, IPD, AFP, MDS, RDP) 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.94 years male: 72.76 years female: 77.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 53.04 years
male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99% (1981 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela; the other is east of the Virgin Islands | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total:
123 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,113,774 GRT/1,397,841 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 35, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 19, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 8, Germany 1, Italy 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | - |
| Military branches | Royal Netherlands Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $100.9 million (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.3% (2005 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
54,284 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
30,405 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,610 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April | National Day, 1 August (1960) |
| Nationality | noun:
Dutch Antillean(s) adjective: Dutch Antillean |
noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
| Natural hazards | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
| Natural resources | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber |
| Net migration rate | -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Antillean Restructuring Party or PAR [Miguel POURIER]; C 93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Foundation Energetic Management Anti-Narcotics or FAME [Eric LODEWIJKS]; Labor Party People's Crusade or PLKP [Errol COVA]; National People's Party or PNP [Susanne F. C. CAMELIA-ROMER]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Kenneth GIJSBERTHA]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramon BOOI]; Patriotic Movement of Sint Maarten or SPA [Vance JAMES, Jr.]; People's Party or PAPU [Richard Hodi]; Pro Curacao Party or PPK [Winston LOURENS]; Saba Democratic Labor Movement [Steve HASSELL]; Saba Unity Party [Carmen SIMMONDS]; St. Eustatius Alliance or SEA [Kenneth VAN PUTTEN]; Serious Alternative People's Party or Sapp [Julian ROLLOCKS]; Social Action Cause or KAS [Benny DEMEI]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Will JOHNSTON]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT, Rignald LAK, Editha WRIGHT]
note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [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 | 212,226 (July 2001 est.) | 7,862,944
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 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 33% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.97% (2001 est.) | 2.73% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Kralendijk, Philipsburg, Willemstad | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) |
| Radios | 217,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | 0 km | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist | 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: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
generally adequate facilities domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: submarine cables - 2; 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 - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,000 (1995) | 76,300 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 13,977 (1996) | 386,700 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 3 (there is also a cable service which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and two Venezuelan channels) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
| Terrain | generally hilly, volcanic interiors | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 14.9% (1998 est.) | NA% |
| Waterways | none | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) |
Sitemap:
Compare countries listing (map site) |
Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.