1986 Edition

Agriculture

main crops — peanuts, cotton, cocoa, rubber, yams, cassava, sorghum, palm kernels, millet, corn, rice; livestock; an illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade

Airfields

41 total, 36 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Area

923,768 km2; more than twice the size of California; 35% forest; 24% arable (13% of total land area under cultivation); 41% desert, waste, urban, or other

Branches

British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force, Police Department

Revolutionary National Assembly, National Executive Council

Armed Forces Ruling Council; National Council of Ministers and National Council of States; judiciary headed by Supreme Court

Budget

(1985) revenues, $12.3 billion; current expenditures, $6.0 billion; capital expenditure $6.4 billion

Capital

Porto-Novo (official), Cotonou (de facto)

Lagos

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Coastline

121 km People

853 km People

Communists

PRPB espouses MarxismLeninism

the pro-Communist underground comprises a fraction of the small Nigerian left; leftist leaders are prominent in the country's central labor organization but have little influence on government

Elections

National Assembly elections were held in November 1979; Assembly then formally elected Kerekou President in February 1980

last national elections under civilian rule held August-September 1983 Political parties and leaders: all political parties banned after 31 December 1983

Electric power

3,732,900 kW capacity (1985); 8. 175 billion kWh produced (1985), 80 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

99% African (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba); 5,500 Europeans

of the more than 250 tribal groups, the Hausa and Fulani of the north, the Yoruba of the southwest, and the Ibos of the southeast comprise 65% of the population; about 27,000 nonAfricans

Exports

$11.2 billion (f.o.b., 1984); oil (98%), cocoa, palm products, rubber, timber, tin

Fishing

catch 512,000 metric tons (1982); imports nonprocessed and processed fish

GDP

$63 billion (1984), $630 per capita; -0.6% growth rate (1984 est.); 40% inflation rate (August 1985)

Government leader

Brig. Gen. Mathieu KEREKOU, President and Chief of State (since 1972)

Ibrahim BABANGIDA, President and Commander in Chief of Armed Forces (since August 1985)

Highways

2,575 km total; 340 km paved, 1,190 km gravel, 735 km improved earth, and 310 km unimproved earth

Imports

$9.5 billion (f.o.b., 1984); machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, wheat

Infant mortality rate

45/1,000 (1984)

157/1,000(1981)

Inland waterways

825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable

Labor force

1.5 million (1982); 70% of labor force employed in agriculture; less than 2% of the labor force work in the industrial sector, and the remainder are employed in transport, commerce, and public services

est. 35-40 million (1984); 56% agriculture; 17% industry, commerce, and services; 15% government

Land boundaries

1,963 km Water

4,034 km Water

Language

French (official); Fon and Yoruba most common vernaculars in south; at least six major tribal languages in north

English (official); Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, Fulani, and several other languages also widely used

Legal system

based on French civil law and customary law; legal education generally obtained in France; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on English common law and Islamic and tribal law

Life expectancy

46.9

men 45.9, women 49.2

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

200 nm

30 nm (200 nm exclusive economic zone)

Literacy

20%

25-30%

Major industries

mining — crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, columbite; processing industries— oil palm, peanut, cotton, rubber, petroleum, wood, hides, skins; manufacturing industries — textiles, cement, building materials, food products, footwear, chemical, printing, ceramics

Major trade partners

UK, EC, US

Member of

AfDB, CEAO, EAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

AfDB, APC, Commonwealth, EGA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, Lake Chad Basin Commission, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1986, $3.5 million; 3.3% of central government budget 150km PORTO-NOVO Set regional map VII Bight of Benin Land 112,622 km2; slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; southern third of country is most fertile; 80% arable land (11% actually cultivated); 19% forest and game preserves; 1% nonarable

Military manpower

males 15-49, 41,000; 25,000 fit for military service; 1,800 reach military age (18) annually; the nucleus of the Belize Defense Force (BDF) is the former Special Force of the Belize Police, which was transferred intact to the new organization; the bulk of the early recruits were drawn from the Belize Volunteer Guard, a home guard force that had previously acted as a police reserve; the BDF currently consists of full-time soldiers known as the "Regulars" and an essentially reserve group, which has maintained the "Volunteer Guard" name; recruitment is voluntary and the terms of service vary

Monetary conversion rate

.98 naira=US$l (December 1985)

National holiday

30 November

Independence Day, 1 October

Nationality

noun — Beninese (sing., pi.); adjective — Beninese

noun — Nigerian(s); adjective — Nigerian

Natural resources

petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc

Official name

People's Republic of Benin

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Organized labor

approximately 75% of wage earners, divided among two major and several minor unions Government

3.52 million wage earners belong to one of 42 recognized trade unions, which are under a single national labor federation, the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) Government

Political parties

People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (PRPB) is sole party

Political subdivisions

6 provinces, 84 districts

19 states, headed by appointed military governors

Population

4,141,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 3. 1 %

105,448,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.6%

Ports

2 major (Belize City, Belize City Southwest), 5 minor

Railroads

none

Religion

70% indigenous beliefs, 15% Muslim, 15% Christian

no exact figures on religious breakdown, but about 50% Muslim, 30% Christian, and 20% indigenous beliefs

Suffrage

universal adult

none

Telecommunications

8,650 telephones; (4.5 per 100 popl.); above average system based on radio-relay; 5 AM and 5 FM stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station Defense Forces

Type

Soviet-modeled civilian government

military government since 31 December 1983