Compare Tuvalu (2005) - Benin (2005)

Compare Tuvalu (2005) z Benin (2005)

	Tuvalu (2005)	Benin (2005)

Administrative divisions	none	12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou
Age structure	0-14 years: 30.8% (male 1,823/female 1,756) 15-64 years: 64.2% (male 3,620/female 3,847) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 229/female 361) (2005 est.)	0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	coconuts; fish	cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001)
Airports	1 (2004 est.)	5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	-	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km
Area - comparative	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Background	In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years.	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	21.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $22.5 million expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.)	revenues: $869.4 million expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet	Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government
Climate	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)	tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
Coastline	24 km	121 km
Constitution	1 October 1978	December 1990
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands	conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Death rate	7.22 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	NA	$1.6 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu	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	Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534	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; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones
Economic aid - recipient	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)	$342.6 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.	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. 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 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. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise.
Electricity - consumption	-	565.2 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	-	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	-	300 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	-	285.2 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m
Environment - current issues	since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary	inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%	African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500
Exchange rates	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 October 2004	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 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 SOGLO (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 SOGLO 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	$1 million f.o.b. (2002)	NA
Exports - commodities	copra, fish	cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa
Exports - partners	Germany 56.5%, Fiji 14.3%, Italy 10.9%, UK 7.7%, Poland 4.9% (2004)	China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands	two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 36.3% industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2000 est.)	5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 S, 178 00 E	9 30 N, 2 15 E
Geography - note	one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon	sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands
Highways	total: 8 km paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.)	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	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	$79 million c.i.f. (2002)	NA
Imports - commodities	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods	foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products
Imports - partners	Fiji 50.2%, Japan 18.1%, Australia 9.6%, China 8%, New Zealand 5.5% (2004)	China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004)
Independence	1 October 1978 (from UK)	1 August 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	8.3% (2001 est.)
Industries	fishing, tourism, copra	textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001)
Infant mortality rate	total: 20.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 22.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5% (2000 est.)	2.8% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO	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, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	120 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)	Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Labor force	7,000 (2001 est.)	NA (1996)
Labor force - by occupation	people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)	-
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% (2001)	arable land: 18.08% permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001)
Languages	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Legal system	NA	based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15	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 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 68.01 years male: 65.79 years female: 70.33 years (2005 est.)	total population: 52.66 years male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)
Location	Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia	Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Map references	Oceania	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT by type: cargo 20, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 16 (China 9, Germany 2, Hong Kong 4, Thailand 1) (2005)	-
Military branches	no regular military forces; national police force	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	NA	$96.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	2.4% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)	National Day, 1 August (1960)
Nationality	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan	noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Natural hazards	severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level	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 (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings	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 four 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	none	NA
Population	11,636 (July 2005 est.)	7,460,025 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	33% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	1.47% (2005 est.)	2.82% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Funafuti	Cotonou
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)	AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000)
Railways	-	total: 578 km narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%	indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite	general assessment: NA domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use	700 (2002)	66,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	0 (2004)	236,200 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	0 (2004)	1 (2001)
Terrain	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls	mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains
Total fertility rate	3 children born/woman (2005 est.)	5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	NA
Waterways	-	150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)

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