1995 Edition

Area

total area: 112,620 sq km land area: 110,620 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Climate

tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Coastline

121 km

Environment

current issues: recent droughts have severely affected marginal agriculture in north; inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

60 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 1,989 km, Burkina 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km

Land use

arable land: 12% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 4% forest and woodland: 35% other: 45%

Location

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm

Natural resources

small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

Note

no natural harbors

Terrain

mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Age structure

0-14 years: 48% (female 1,324,553; male 1,333,673) 15-64 years: 49% (female 1,431,630; male 1,299,180) 65 years and over: 3% (female 74,119; male 59,522) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

47.25 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

13.93 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

107.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

1.9 million (1987) by occupation: agriculture 60%, transport, commerce, and public services 38%, industry less than 2%

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 52.24 years male: 50.34 years female: 54.2 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 23% male: 32% female: 16%

Nationality

noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

5,522,677 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

3.33% (1995 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

6.72 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Administrative divisions

6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou

Capital

Porto-Novo

Constitution

2 December 1990

Digraph

BN

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656, 6657, 6658

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Nicephore SOGLO (since 4 April 1991); election last held 10 and 24 March 1991 (next election 1996); results - Nicephore SOGLO 68%, Mathieu KEREKOU 32% cabinet: Executive Council; appointed by the president

FAX

[1] (202) 265-1996

[229] 41-15-22

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side

Independence

1 August 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey

National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

elections last held 28 March 1995; results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (83 total) Renaissance Party and allies 20, PRD 19, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 7, NCC 3, RDL-VIVOTEN 3, Communist Party 2, Alliance Chameleon 1, RDP 1, ADP 1, other 16

National holiday

National Day, 1 August (1990)

Political parties and leaders

as of August 1994, 72 political parties were officially recognized; the following are among the most important: Alliance of the Democratic Union for the Forces of Progress (UDFP), Timothee ADANLIN; Movement for Democracy and Social Progress (MDPS), Jean-Roger AHOYO; Union for Liberty and Development (ULD), Marcellin DEGBE; Alliance of the National Party for Democracy and Development (PNDD) and the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Pascal Chabi KAO; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress (UNSP), Bruno AMOUSSOU; Our Common Cause (NCC), Albert TEVOEDJRE; National Rally for Democracy (RND), Joseph KEKE; Alliance of the National Movement for Democracy and Development (MNDD), leader NA; Movement for Solidarity, Union, and Progress (MSUP), Adebo ADENIYI; Union for Democracy and National Reconstruction (UDRN), Azaria FAKOREDE; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), Mama Amadou N'DIAYE; Assembly of Liberal Democrats for National Reconstruction (RDL), Severin ADJOVI; Alliance for Social Democracy (ASD), Robert DOSSOU; Bloc for Social Democracy (BSD), Michel MAGNIDE; Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ADP), Akindes ADEKPEDJOU, and the Democratic Union for Social Renewal (UDRS), Bio Gado Seko N'GOYE; National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), Robert TAGNON; Party for Progress and Democracy, Thiophile NATA; FARD-ALAFIA, Mathieu KEREKOU; The Renaissance Party, Nicephore SOGLO; The Patriotic Union for the Republic (UPR), Jean-Marie ZAHOUN; Union for the Conservation of Democracy, Bernard HOUEGNON

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic under multiparty democratic rule dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; democratic reforms adopted February 1990; transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Ruth A. DAVIS embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92

Agriculture

accounts for 35% of GDP; small farms produce 90% of agricultural output; production is dominated by food crops - corn, sorghum, cassava, yams, beans, rice; cash crops include cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry and livestock output has not kept up with consumption

Budget

revenues: $272 million (1993 est.) expenditures: $375 million, including capital expenditures of $84 million (1993 est.)

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $46 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $19 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $101 million

Electricity

capacity: 30,000 kW production: 10 million kWh consumption per capita: 25 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Exports

$332 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa partners: FRG 36%, France 16%, Spain 14%, Italy 8%, UK 4%

External debt

$1 billion (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US

Imports

$571 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco, petroleum products, intermediate goods, capital goods, light consumer goods partners: France 20%, Thailand 8%, Netherlands 7%, US 5%

Industrial production

growth rate -0.7% (1988); accounts for 10% of GDP

Industries

textiles, cigarettes, construction materials, beverages, food, petroleum

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

35% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.7 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$1,260 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

4% (1994 est.)

Overview

The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a sound 4% in 1991-94 but this rate barely exceeds the rapid population growth of 3.3%. Inflation jumped to 35% in 1994 (compared to 3% in 1993) following the 50% currency devaluation in January. Commercial and transport activities, which make up almost 36% of GDP, are extremely vulnerable to developments in Nigeria as evidenced by decreased reexport trade in 1994 due to a severe contraction in Nigerian demand. The industrial sector accounts for less than 10% of GDP and mainly produces foods, beverages, cement, and textiles. Support by the Paris Club and official bilateral creditors has eased the external debt situation in recent years. The government, still burdened with money-losing state enterprises and a bloated civil service, is gradually implementing a World Bank supported structural adjustment program.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

NA telephones; fair system of open wire and microwave radio relay local: NA intercity: microwave radio relay and open wire international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station, submarine cable

Television

broadcast stations: 2 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 7 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4

Highways

total: 8,435 km paved: 1,038 km unpaved: crushed stone 2,600 km; improved earth 1,530 km; unimproved earth 3,267 km

Inland waterways

navigable along small sections, important only locally

Merchant marine

none

Ports

Cotonou, Porto-Novo

Railroads

total: 578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge

Branches

Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $33 million, 3.2% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ BERMUDA (dependent territory of the UK)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,165,463; females age 15-49 1,249,234; males fit for military service 596,956; females fit for military service 631,780; males reach military age (18) annually 60,282 (1995 est.); females reach military age (18) annually 58,770 (1995 est.) note: both sexes are liable for miltary service