Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) - Benin (2003)

Compare South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008) z Benin (2003)

	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2008)	Benin (2003)

Administrative divisions	-	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	-	0-14 years: 47% (male 1,668,817; female 1,638,291) 15-64 years: 50.7% (male 1,739,517; female 1,834,231) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 67,504; female 93,130) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	-	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Airports	-	5 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
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 (2002)
Area	total: 3,903 sq km land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of 11 islands	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Rhode Island	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background	The islands, which have large bird and seal populations, lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 - except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. Famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. Recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 nm to 200 nm around each island.	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	-	43.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	-	revenues: $377.4 million expenditures: $561.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Capital	-	Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate	variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	NA km	121 km
Constitution	-	December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands conventional short form: none abbreviation: SGSSI	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Currency	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States
Death rate	-	13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	-	$1.6 billion (2000)
Dependency status	overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)	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 (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina)	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	Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force	two villages are in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, but states accept 2001 arbitration over disputed Niger River islands; several villages along the Okpara River are in dispute with Nigeria; in 2001, Benin claimed Togo moved the boundary stones - joint commission presently resurveying the boundary
Economic aid - recipient	-	$342.6 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting finfish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly.	The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise 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. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms.
Electricity - consumption	-	631.1 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	-	376 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	-	274.3 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 14.2% hydro: 85.8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 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, 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	-	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates	-	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
Executive branch	-	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 2001, 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	-	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	-	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners	-	India 25%, Italy 11.1%, Indonesia 7.4%, China 7.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Brazil 6.1%, UK 4.4%, Niger 4% (2002)
Fiscal year	-	calendar year
Flag description	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion Protect its Own Land)	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $7.38 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	-	agriculture: 38% industry: 15% services: 47% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-	6% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	54 30 S, 37 00 W	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways	-	total: 6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	-	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Illicit drugs	-	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)
Imports - commodities	-	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	-	China 30.7%, France 15.7%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.2% (2002)
Independence	-	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-	8.3% (2001 est.)
Industries	-	textiles, food processing, chemical production, construction materials (2001)
Infant mortality rate	-	total: 86.76 deaths/1,000 live births male: 91.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 81.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-	3.3% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	-	ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	4 (2002)
Irrigated land	0 sq km	120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	-	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	-	NA
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% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (2005)	arable land: 15.28% permanent crops: 1.36% other: 83.36% (1998 est.)
Languages	-	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	-	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 NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
Life expectancy at birth	-	total population: 51.08 years male: 50.35 years female: 51.84 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	-	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 40.9% male: 56.2% female: 26.5% (2000)
Location	Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references	Antarctic Region	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 NM
Merchant marine	-	none (2002 est.)
Military - note	defense is the responsibility of the UK	-
Military branches	-	Armed Forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$80.8 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	-	2.7% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	note: both sexes are liable for military service males age 15-49: 1,597,562 females age 15-49: 1,536,036 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 805,603 females age 15-49: 809,961 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 75,021 females: 78,998 (2003 est.)
National holiday	-	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	-	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism	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	-	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Political parties and leaders	-	African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; 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]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and 4 other small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [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
Population	no indigenous inhabitants note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001 replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited	7,041,490 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 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	-	37% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	-	2.95% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Cotonou, Porto-Novo
Radio broadcast stations	0 (2003)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Railways	-	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)
Religions	-	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Sex ratio	-	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken	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	-	51,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular	-	55,500 (2000)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2003)	1;; (2001)
Terrain	most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	-	6.04 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	-	NA%
Waterways	-	streams navigable along small sections, important only locally

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