Benin ( Republique du Benin) is a country in Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo. Benin geographic coordinates 9 30 N, 2 15 E; area 110,620 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; land boundaries Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km; coastline 121 km; maritime claims 200 nm; climate tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north; terrain mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains; elevation extremes Mont Sokbaro 658 m; natural resources small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber; land use 79.52% (2001); irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March; environment current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands;

introduction

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. government type republic under multiparty democratic rule; dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989; capital Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of gover; administrative divisions 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou; independence 1 August 1960 (from France); national holiday National Day, 1 August (1960); constitution December 1990; legal system based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Benin population 7,460,025 estimates for this country explicit; age structure 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.); median age 17.01 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.82% (2005 est.); birth rate 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 90 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 50.89 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 1.9% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 68,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 5,800 (2003 est.); major infectious diseases resp; nationality Beninese; ethnic groups African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500; religions indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%; languages French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north); literacy 26.5% (2000);

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