1988 Edition

Climate

tropical; hot, humid in south; arid in north

Coastline

121 km

Communists

negligible

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Environment

hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter; deforestation; desertification

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

45/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

1.5 million (1982); 60% 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

Land boundaries

1,963 km total

Land use

12% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 35% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Language

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

Life expectancy

46.9

Literacy

11%

Member of

CARICOM, CDB, Commonwealth, FAO, GATT, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, G-77, ISO, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Nationality

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

Organized labor

about 75% of wage earners (two major and several minor unions)

Other political or pressure groups

United Workers Union, which is connected with PUP

Population

4,339,096 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.52%

Religion

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

Special notes

recent droughts have severely affected marginal agriculture in north; no natural harbors

Terrain

mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Territorial sea

200 nm

Total area

112,620 km2; land area: 110,620 km2

Voting strength

(December 1984) National Assembly— UDP 21 seats (25,785— 54.1%), PUP 7 seats (20,971—44.0%); before redistricting, PUP held 13 seats, UDP 4 seats, and independents 1 seat

Administrative divisions

6 provinces, 84 districts

Branches

Revolutionary National Assembly, National Executive Council

Capital

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

Communists

PRPB espouses MarxismLeninism

Elections

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

Government leader

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

Legal system

based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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

National holiday

30 November

Official name

People's Republic of Benin

Political parties

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

Suffrage

universal adult

Type

Soviet-modeled civilian government

Agriculture

main products — sugarcane, citrus fruits, corn, molasses, rice, beans, bananas, livestock products, honey; net importer of food; an illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade

major cash crop is palm oil; peanuts, cotton, coffee, shea nuts, and tobacco also produced commercially; main food crops — corn, cassava, yams, rice, sorghum, millet; livestock, fish

Aid

US economic commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-85), $56 million; ODA and OOF commitments from Western (nonUS) countries (1970-84), $174 million

Budget

revenues, $49 million; expenditures, $90 million (FY84/85)

revenues $119 million; expenditures, $119 million (1985 est.)

Electric power

34,340 kW capacity; 71 million kWh produced, 420 kWh per capita (1986)

28,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced, 5 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$90.1 million (1985 est); sugar, garments, seafood, molasses, citrus fruits, wood and wood products

$172.5 million (f.o.b., 1984 est.); palm products, cotton, other agricultural products

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

calendar year

Fishing

catch 1,349 metric tons (1980)

catch 21,000 metric tons (1983)

GDP

$193 million (1985), $1,190 per capita; real growth rate 1.5% (1984)

GNP

$974.2 million (1984 est), $250 per capita (1983); 1.6% growth (1984)

Imports

$128 million (1985 est.); machinery and transportation equipment, food, manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals, Pharmaceuticals

$225.4 million (f.o.b. 1984 est.); thread, cloth, clothing and other consumer goods, construction materials, iron, steel, fuels, foodstuffs, machinery, and transport equipment

Major industries

sugar refining, garments, timber and forest products, furniture, rum, soap, beverages, cigarettes

palm oil and palm kernel oil processing, textiles, beverages

Major trade partners

exports — US 36%, UK 22%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Canada 10%; imports— US 55%, UK 17%, Netherlands Antilles 8%, Mexico 7% (1983)

France, EC, franc zone; preferential tariffs to EC and franc zone countries

Monetary conversion rate

2 Belize dollars=US$l (November 1986)

331.24 Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) francs=US$l (November 1986)

Natural resources

arable land, timber, fish

small offshore oil deposits; no other known minerals in commercial quantity

Airfields

40 total, 35 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

9 total, 8 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

British Forces Belize, Belize Defense Force, Police Department

Army, Navy, Air Force

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

4 major transport aircraft

Highways

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

8,550 km total; 828 km paved, 5,722 km improved earth

Inland waterways

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

small sections, only important locally

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1986, $3.5 million; 3.3% of central government budget lanville Cotgnou^j PORTO-NOVO Bight of Benin See rfgional map VII

Military manpower

males 15-49, 37,000; 22,000 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

eligible 15-49, 1,738,000; of the 805,000 males 15-49, 412,000 are fit for military service; of the 933,000 females 15-49, 471,000 are fit for military service; about 54,000 males and 52,000 females reach military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

Ports

2 major (Belize City, Belize City Southwest), 6 minor

1 major (Cotonou)

Railroads

none

580 km, all 1.000-meter gauge, single track

Telecommunications

8,650 telephones (4.5 per 100 popl.), above average system based on radio-relay; 6 AM, 5 FM stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station Defense Forces

fair system of open wire and radio relay; 16,200 telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, 2 FM, and 1 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station Defense Forces