Benin

Map of Benin Republic of Benin President: Yayi Boni (2006) Land area: 42,710 sq mi (110,619 sq km); total area: 43,483 sq mi (112,620 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 8,294,941 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 37.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 76.1/1000; life expectancy: 53.8; density per sq km: 75 Capital (2003 est.): Porto-Novo (official), 231,600; Largest city and seat of government: Cotonou 734,600 Other large cities: Parakou 205,300; Djougou, 184,200 Monetary unit: CFA Franc National name: Republique du Benin Current government officials Languages: French (official), Fon, Yoruba, tribal languages Ethnicity/race: African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 Religions: indigenous 50%, Christian 30%, Islam 20% National Holiday: National Day, August 1 Literacy rate: 34.7% (2006) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $12.1 billion; per capita $1,500. Real growth rate: 4.2%. Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 25.53%. Agriculture: cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts; livestock. Labor force: n.a. Industries: textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement. Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber. Exports: $826.9 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa. Imports: $1.043 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products. Major trading partners: China, India, Ghana, Niger, Indonesia, Nigeria, France, Thailand, Côte d'Ivoire (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 66,500 (2003); mobile cellular: 236,200 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000). Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001). Internet hosts: 879 (2004). Internet users: 70,000 (2003). Transportation: Railways: total: 578 km (2004). Highways: total: 6,787 km; paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways); unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004). Ports and harbors: Cotonou. Airports: 5 (2004 est.). International disputes: 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. Major sources and definitions

Geography

This West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, between Togo on the west and Nigeria on the east, is about the size of Tennessee. It is bounded by Burkina Faso and Niger on the north. The land consists of a narrow coastal strip that rises to a swampy, forested plateau and then to highlands in the north. A hot and humid climate blankets the entire country.

Government

Republic under a multiparty democratic rule.

History

The Abomey kingdom of the Dahomey, or Fon, peoples was established in 1625. A rich cultural life flourished, and Dahomey's wooden masks, bronze statues, tapestries, and pottery are world renowned. One of the smallest and most densely populated regions in Africa, Dahomey was annexed by the French in 1893 and incorporated into French West Africa in 1904. It became an autonomous republic within the French Community in 1958, and on Aug. 1, 1960, Dahomey was granted its independence within the Community.

Gen. Christophe Soglo deposed the first president, Hubert Maga, in an army coup in 1963. He dismissed the civilian government in 1965, proclaiming himself chief of state. A group of young army officers seized power in Dec. 1967, deposing Soglo. In Dec. 1969, Benin had its fifth coup of the decade, with the army again taking power. In May 1970, a three-man presidential commission with a six-year term was created to take over the government. In May 1972, yet another army coup ousted the triumvirate and installed Lt. Col. Mathieu Kérékou as president. Between 1974 and 1989 Dahomey embraced socialism, and changed its name to the People's Republic of Benin. The name Benin commemorates an African kingdom that flourished from the 15th to the 17th century in what is now southwest Nigeria. In 1990, Benin abandoned Marxist ideology, began moving toward multiparty democracy, and changed its name again, to the Republic of Benin.

A Troubled Economy

By the end of the 1980s, Benin's economy was near collapse. As its oil boom ended, Nigeria expelled 100,000 Beninese migrant workers and closed the border with Benin. Kérékou's socialist collectivization of Benin's agriculture and the ballooning bureaucracy further damaged the economy. By 1988, international financial institutions feared Benin would default on its loans and pressured Kérékou to make financial reforms.

Kérékou subsequently embarked on a major privatization campaign, cut the government payroll, and reduced social services, prompting student and labor union unrest. Fearing a revolution, Kérékou agreed to a new constitution and free elections. In 1991, Nicéphore Soglo, an economist and former director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was elected president. Although he enjoyed widespread support at first, Soglo gradually became unpopular as austerity measures reduced living standards and a 50% currency devaluation in 1994 caused inflation. Kérékou defeated Soglo in the 1996 elections and was easily reelected in March 2001. Term limits prevented him from running again. In April 2006, Yayi Boni assumed the presidency. The World Bank and IMF agreed to cancel much of Benin's foreign debt after the country demonstrated significant economic reforms.

See also Encyclopedia: Benin.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Benin

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