Compare Norfolk Island (2006) - Benin (2008)

Compare Norfolk Island (2006) z Benin (2008)

	Norfolk Island (2006)	Benin (2008)

Administrative divisions	none (territory of Australia)	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	0-14 years: 20.2% 15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (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	Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock
Airports	1 (2006)	5 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
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 (2007)
Area	total: 34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background	Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.	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	NA	38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million; including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00)	revenues: $936.9 million expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 29 03 S, 167 58 E time difference: UTC+11.5 (16.5 hours 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	subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	32 km	121 km
Constitution	Norfolk Island Act of 1979	adopted by referendum 2 December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Death rate	NA deaths/1,000 population	11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$1.2 billion (2007)
Dependency status	territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (territory of Australia)	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 (territory of Australia)	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	$374.7 million (2006)
Economy - overview	Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs.	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	NA kWh	587 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	-	595 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh	105 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 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	descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesian	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	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2%	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	$1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92)	0 bbl/day (2007)
Exports - commodities	postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados	cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood
Exports - partners	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004)	China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 33.2% industry: 14.5% services: 52.3% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	4.5% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 02 S, 167 57 E	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	most of the 32 km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: 3.1% highest 10%: 29% (2003)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations
Imports	$17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92)	16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities	NA	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe (2004)	China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006)
Independence	none (territory of Australia)	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	4.5% (2007 est.)
Industries	tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: NA male: NA female: NA	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)	-	2.5% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	UPU	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	NA	120 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	1,345	5.38 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 10% industry and services: 90%	-
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km
Land use	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)
Languages	English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms) elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties)	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: NA male: NA female: NA	total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	NA	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census)
Location	Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references	Oceania	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of Australia	-
Military branches	-	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	Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856)	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s)	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	typhoons (especially May to July)	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Natural resources	fish	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate	NA	0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	none	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	none	NA
Population	1,828 (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	-	37.4% (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.01% (2006 est.)	2.674% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005)	AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007)
Railways	-	total: 758 km narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census)	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	NA	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: adequate domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station	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	2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004)	77,300 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002)	1.056 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005)	6 (2007)
Terrain	volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	NA	5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	0%	NA%
Waterways	-	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)

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