Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2003) - Benin (2006)

Compare Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2003) z Benin (2006)

	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2003)	Benin (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	0-14 years: 28.2% (male 16,755; female 16,163) 15-64 years: 65.5% (male 39,308; female 37,149) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,215; female 4,222) (2003 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	bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock
Airports	6 (2002)	5 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)	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: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background	Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.	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	17.16 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	38.85 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $94.6 million expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $766.8 million expenditures: $1.017 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Kingstown	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; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	84 km	121 km
Constitution	27 October 1979	December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)	-
Death rate	6.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	12.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$167.2 million (2000)	$1.6 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	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	chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York	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	protests Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea	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	$47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998)	$342.6 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Bananas and other agricultural products remain the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector, but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of noncooperative jurisdictions. Saint Vincent is also the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and is increasingly being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.	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	86 million kWh (2001)	538.2 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	474 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	92.48 million kWh (2001)	69 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 69.3% hydro: 30.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues	pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol	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	black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998)	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 ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister	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	NA (2001)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners	France 25.2%, Greece 19.1%, Spain 16.4%, UK 9.5%, US 7.1% (2002)	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	three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP	purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 31.6% industry: 13.8% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	-0.5% (2002 est.)	3.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	13 15 N, 61 12 W	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways	total: 1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 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 South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation	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 (2001)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	France 32.7%, US 11.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.4%, Singapore 10.1%, Spain 7.9%, Greece 4.3% (2002)	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	27 October 1979 (from UK)	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.9% (1997 est.)	8.3% (2001 est.)
Industries	food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births male: 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 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)	-0.4% (2001 est.)	3.5% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO	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)	15 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	10 sq km (1998 est.)	120 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	67,000 (1984 est.)	3.211 million
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.)	-
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: 10.26% permanent crops: 17.95% other: 71.79% (1998 est.)	arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005)
Languages	English, French patois	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	based on English common law	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3	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: 73.08 years male: 71.3 years female: 74.92 years (2003 est.)	total population: 53.04 years male: 51.9 years female: 54.22 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)
Location	Caribbean, islands 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	contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 769 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,365,887 GRT/9,665,937 DWT ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 376, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 7, container 58, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia 2, The Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6, Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana 7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19, Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, UAE 45, UK 16, US 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.)	-
Military branches	Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$NA	$100.9 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA%	2.3% (2005 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 27 October (1979)	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat	hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March
Natural resources	hydropower, cropland	small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
Net migration rate	-7.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	0.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)	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	116,812 (July 2003 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	0.34% (2003 est.)	2.73% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Kingstown	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Railways	0 km	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Religions	Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 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: adequate system domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia	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	20,500 (1998)	76,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	NA	386,700 (2005)
Television broadcast stations	1 (plus three repeaters) (1997)	1 (2001)
Terrain	volcanic, mountainous	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	1.95 children born/woman (2003 est.)	5.2 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	22% (1997 est.)	NA%
Waterways	none	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005)

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