Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. It is bordered by

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

to the west,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to the east,

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

to the north-west, and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBight of Benin, part of the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

in the northernmost tropical portion of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The capital is

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...

, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of and its population in was estimated to be approximately million. It is a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

nation, dependent on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, and is an exporter of palm oil and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. Some employment and income arise from

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

. The

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

of Benin is French, with indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba,

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

and Dendi also spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Sunni Islam (27.7%), followed by Roman Catholicism (25.5%),

Vodun Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ...

(11.6%), and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. Benin is a member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, the African Union, the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

, the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

, the

South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone The South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (abbreviations: ZPCAS or ZOPACAS; es, Zona de Paz y Cooperación del Atlántico Sur; pt, Zona de Paz e Cooperação do Atlântico Sul; also called the ''Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South A ...

, Francophonie, the

Community of Sahel–Saharan States The Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD; Arabic: ; French: ''Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens''; Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Estados Sahelo-Saarianos'') aims to create a free trade area within a region of Africa. There are ques ...

, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the

Niger Basin Authority The Niger Basin Authority (french: Autorité du Bassin du Niger) is an intergovernmental organization in West Africa aiming to foster co-operation in managing and developing the resources of the basin of the Niger River. The group is referred to ...

. From the 17th to the 19th century, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey, the city-state of Porto-Novo, and other states to the north. This region was referred to as the Slave Coast from the early 17th century due to the high number of people who were sold and trafficked during the Atlantic slave trade to the New World. France took over the territory in 1894, incorporating it into French West Africa as

French Dahomey French Dahomey was a French colony and part of French West Africa from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of the French Union with an increased autonomy. On 4 October ...

. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France. As a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

, Benin has had democratic governments, military coups, and military governments. A self-described

Marxist–Leninist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the

multi-party In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coa ...

Republic of Benin.

Name

During French colonial rule and after independence on 1 August 1960, the country was named Dahomey, after the Kingdom of Dahomey. On 30 November 1975, the country was renamed Benin following a Marxist-Leninist military coup. The Bight of Benin borders the country, and the bight takes its name from the

Kingdom of Benin The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: ') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th ce ...

, located in present-day

History

Pre-colonial

Prior to 1600, present-day Benin comprised a variety of areas with different political systems and ethnicities. These included city-states along the coast (primarily of the Aja ethnic group, and also including

and Gbe peoples) and tribal regions inland (composed of Bariba, Mahi, Gedevi, and Kabye peoples). The

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking s ...

, located primarily to the east of Benin, was a military force in the region, conducting raids and exacting tribute from the coastal kingdoms and tribal regions. The situation changed in the 17th and 18th centuries as the Kingdom of Dahomey, consisting mostly of Fon people, was founded on the

Abomey Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional ...

plateau and began taking over areas along the coast. By 1727, King Agaja of the Kingdom of Dahomey had conquered the coastal cities of

Allada Allada is a town, arrondissement, and commune, located in the Atlantique Department of Benin. The current town of Allada corresponds to Great Ardra (also called Grand Ardra, or Arda), which was the capital of a Fon kingdom also called Allada (t ...

and Whydah. Dahomey had become a tributary of the Oyo Empire, and rivaled but did not directly attack the Oyo-allied city-state of

. The rise of Dahomey, its rivalry with Porto-Novo, and tribal politics in the northern region persisted into the colonial and post-colonial periods. In the Dahomey, some younger people were apprenticed to older soldiers and taught the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the army. Dahomey instituted an elite female soldier corps variously called

Ahosi The Dahomey Mino (Fon language, Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon people, Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today's Benin, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. The ...

(the king's wives), Mino ("our mothers" in

Fongbe Fon (, ) is spoken in Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Gabon by approximately 1.7 million speakers, and is the language of the Fon people. Like the other Gbe languages, Fon is an isolating language with an SVO basic word order. Cultural and le ...

), or the "Dahomean Amazons". This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of "Black

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

" from European observers and 19th-century explorers such as Sir Richard Burton. São João Baptista de Ajudá 1886 (cropped)

The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into transatlantic slavery or killed them ritually in a ceremony known as the Annual Customs. By about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling African captives to European slave-traders. The area was named the "Slave Coast" because of a flourishing slave trade. Court protocols which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s. The decline was partly due to the

Slave Trade Act 1807 The Slave Trade Act 1807, officially An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not abolish the practice of slavery, it ...

banning the

trans-Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

by Britain in 1808, followed by other countries. This decline continued until 1885 when the last slave ship departed the modern Benin Republic for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, which had yet to abolish slavery. The capital

("New Port" in Portuguese) was originally developed as a port for the slave trade. Armed women with the King at their head, going to war-1793

Among the goods the Portuguese sought were carved items of ivory made by Benin's artisans in the form of carved saltcellars, spoons, and hunting horns - pieces of African art produced for sale abroad as exotic objects.

Colonial

By the middle of the 19th century, Dahomey had "begun to weaken and lose its status as the regional power". The French took over the area in 1892. In 1899, the French included the land called

within the larger French West Africa colonial region. France sought to benefit from Dahomey and the region "appeared to lack the necessary agricultural or mineral resources for large-scale capitalist development". As a result, France treated Dahomey as a sort of preserve in case future discoveries revealed resources worth developing. The French government outlawed the capture and sale of slaves. Previous slaveowners sought to redefine their control over slaves as control over land, tenants, and lineage members. This provoked a struggle among Dahomeans, "concentrated in the period from 1895 to 1920, for the redistribution of control over land and labor. Villages sought to redefine boundaries of lands and fishing preserves. Religious disputes scarcely veiled the factional struggles over control of land and commerce which underlay them. Factions struggled for the leadership of great families". In 1958, France granted autonomy to the

Republic of Dahomey The Republic of Dahomey (french: République du Dahomey; ), simply known as Dahomey, was established on 4 December 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy, it had been French Dahomey, part of t ...

, and full independence on 1 August 1960 which is celebrated each year as Independence Day, a national holiday. The president who led the country to independence was

Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin).Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Se''New York Times'' obituary He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what regi ...

Post-colonial

After 1960, there were coups and regime changes, with the figures of

, Sourou Apithy, Justin Ahomadégbé, and

Émile Derlin Zinsou Émile Derlin Zinsou (23 March 1918 – 28 July 2016) was a Beninese politician and physician who was the President of Dahomey (now Benin) from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinso ...

dominating; the first 3 each represented a different area and ethnicity of the country. These 3 agreed to form a Presidential Council after violence marred the 1970 elections. On 7 May 1972, Maga ceded power to Ahomadégbé. On 26 October 1972, Lt. Col.

Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for ...

overthrew the ruling triumvirate, becoming president and stating that the country would not "burden itself by copying foreign ideology, and wants neither Capitalism, Communism, nor Socialism". On 30 November 1974, he announced that the country was officially Marxist, under control of the Military Council of the Revolution (CMR), which nationalized the petroleum industry and banks. On 30 November 1975, he renamed the country the People's Republic of Benin. The regime of the People's Republic of Benin underwent changes over the course of its existence: a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

period (1972-1974); a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

phase (1974-1982); and a phase involving an opening to Western countries and

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberali ...

(1982-1990). In 1974, under the influence of young revolutionaries - the "Ligueurs" - the government embarked on a socialist program: nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy, reform of the education system, establishment of agricultural cooperatives and new local government structures, and a campaign to eradicate " feudal forces" including

tribalism Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution has primarily occurred in small hunter-gatherer groups, as opposed to in larger and more recently settled agricultural societies or civ ...

. The regime banned opposition activities. Mathieu Kérékou was elected president by the National Revolutionary Assembly in 1980, re-elected in 1984. Establishing relations with China,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

, and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, he put "nearly all" businesses and economic activities under state control, causing foreign investment in Benin to dry up. Kérékou attempted to reorganize education, pushing his own aphorisms such as "Poverty is not a fatality". The regime financed itself by contracting to take nuclear waste, first from the Soviet Union and later from France. In the 1980s, Benin experienced higher economic growth rates (15.6% in 1982, 4.6% in 1983 and 8.2% in 1984), and the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin led to a drop in customs and tax revenues. The government was no longer able to pay civil servants' salaries. In 1989, riots broke out when the regime did not have enough money to pay its army. The banking system collapsed. Eventually, Kérékou renounced

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

, and a convention forced Kérékou to release political prisoners and arrange elections.

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...

was abolished as the nation's form of government. The country's name was officially changed to the'' Republic of Benin'' on 1 March 1990, after the newly formed government's

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

was completed. BoniYayi inauguration2006

Kérékou lost to

Nicéphore Soglo Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo (born November 29, 1934) is a Beninese politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2003 to 2015. Soglo was married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, ...

in a 1991 election and became the first President on the African mainland to lose power through an election. Kérékou returned to power after winning the 1996 vote. In 2001, an election resulted in Kérékou winning another term, after which his opponents claimed election irregularities. In 1999, Kérékou issued a national apology for the substantial role that Africans had played in the Atlantic slave trade. Kérékou and former president Soglo did not run in the 2006 elections, as both were barred by the constitution's restrictions on age and total terms of candidates. On 5 March 2006, an election resulted in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

between

Yayi Boni Yayi may refer to * China-Taiwan Yayi Cup, a Go competition *Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presi ...

and

Adrien Houngbédji Adrien Houngbédji (born 5 March 1942) is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party (''Parti du renouveau démocratique'', PRD), one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin ...

. The runoff election was held on 19 March and was won by Boni, who assumed office on 6 April. Boni was reelected in 2011, taking 53.18% of the vote in the first round—enough to avoid a runoff election. He was the first president to win an election without a runoff since the restoration of democracy in 1991. In the March 2016 presidential elections in which Boni Yayi was barred by the constitution from running for a third term, businessman

Patrice Talon Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon (born 1 May 1958) is a Beninese politician and businessman who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016. Early life and career Talon is of Fon origin and was born in Ouidah. He descends from slave trader ...

won the second round with 65.37% of the vote, defeating investment banker and former Prime Minister

Lionel Zinsou Lionel Zinsou (born 23 October 1953) is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank. Early ...

. Talon was sworn in on 6 April 2016. Speaking on the same day that the Constitutional Court confirmed the results, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of 5 years in order to combat "complacency". He said that he planned to slash the size of the government from 28 to 16 members. In April 2021, President Patrice Talon was re-elected, with more than 86.3% of the votes cast, in Benin's presidential

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

. The change in election laws resulted in total control of parliament by president Talon's supporters. In February 2022, Benin saw its largest terrorist attack in history. On 20 February 2022, President

inaugurated an exhibition with 26 pieces of sacred art returned to Benin by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, 129 years after they were looted by colonial forces.

Politics

Its politics take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic in which the

President of Benin The president of Benin () is both head of state and head of government in Benin. The Cabinet of Benin is under the authority of the President, and serves to advise and help formulate strategies. It also liaises with ministries and other governme ...

is both

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

, within a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

is exercised by the government.

Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

is vested in the government and the legislature. The

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is officially independent of the executive and the legislature, while in practice its independence has been gradually hollowed out by Talon, and the Constitutional Court is headed by his former personal lawyer. The political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

in 1991. It was ranked 18th out of 52 African countries and scored best in the categories of Safety & Rule of Law and Participation & Human Rights. In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Benin 53rd out of 169 countries. That place had fallen to 78th by 2016, when Talon took office, and has fallen further to 113th. Benin has been rated equal-88th out of 159 countries in a 2005 analysis of police, business, and political corruption. Its democratic system "has eroded" since President Talon took office. In 2018 his government introduced new rules for fielding candidates and raised the cost of registering. The electoral commission, packed with Talon's allies, barred all opposition parties from the parliamentary election in 2019, resulting in a parliament made up entirely of supporters of Talon. That parliament subsequently changed election laws such that presidential candidates need to have the approval of at least 10% of Benin's MPs and mayors. As parliament and most mayors' offices are controlled by Talon, he has control over who can run for president. These changes have drawn condemnation from international observers and led to the United States government partially terminating development assistance to the country.

Administrative divisions

File:Benin departments named.png, Departments of Benin. poly 452.13 201.00 432.37 175.00 432.37 175.00 429.41 171.04 424.48 166.29 425.49 161.00 425.49 161.00 430.99 145.17 430.99 145.17 430.99 145.17 434.73 139.91 434.73 139.91 434.73 139.91 437.47 133.00 437.47 133.00 438.73 130.04 441.97 126.19 440.84 123.09 440.84 123.09 437.00 117.84 437.00 117.84 437.00 117.84 435.46 114.25 435.46 114.25 435.46 114.25 427.78 103.48 427.78 103.48 423.94 99.85 421.52 100.59 418.00 99.08 418.00 99.08 412.00 95.94 412.00 95.94 407.56 94.53 403.87 97.80 399.21 93.69 393.54 88.68 389.49 74.63 388.41 73.22 386.74 71.06 384.29 70.27 382.33 68.51 382.33 68.51 376.63 61.45 376.63 61.45 376.63 61.45 367.91 53.63 367.91 53.63 367.91 53.63 361.27 49.37 361.27 49.37 358.02 46.48 356.56 40.31 353.39 37.60 350.60 35.21 347.18 36.57 343.28 33.20 338.92 29.44 339.95 23.09 331.00 19.63 323.94 16.91 317.88 24.78 310.00 24.00 310.00 24.00 305.70 33.03 305.70 33.03 305.70 33.03 294.00 34.21 294.00 34.21 294.00 34.21 286.00 36.09 286.00 36.09 286.00 36.09 281.00 36.67 281.00 36.67 281.00 36.67 274.00 39.28 274.00 39.28 274.00 39.28 261.00 42.00 261.00 42.00 264.45 68.19 264.13 56.05 268.00 73.00 275.10 74.53 277.32 79.66 270.00 82.00 268.11 85.35 267.76 85.37 264.00 86.00 264.82 97.35 264.58 93.94 261.00 104.00 259.83 107.27 259.88 108.74 257.86 112.00 257.86 112.00 251.03 121.00 251.03 121.00 248.70 125.78 252.41 127.54 246.93 131.96 232.52 143.59 230.29 142.17 216.58 158.00 214.22 160.72 209.02 165.50 208.65 169.00 208.26 172.72 216.24 185.20 218.42 189.00 218.42 189.00 235.30 219.00 235.30 219.00 240.56 228.57 243.98 230.73 244.00 242.00 244.00 242.00 244.00 291.00 244.00 291.00 244.00 292.99 243.77 296.81 245.02 298.40 246.38 300.12 260.71 301.03 263.00 300.38 266.22 299.47 267.09 297.41 272.00 297.06 280.71 296.45 282.90 301.51 287.17 303.70 289.24 304.76 293.61 305.42 296.00 305.53 298.65 306.04 301.42 306.13 304.00 305.53 308.54 303.99 312.26 300.21 316.00 298.52 319.81 296.63 330.39 296.04 333.86 298.52 335.71 299.95 336.06 301.09 337.00 303.00 337.00 303.00 355.00 303.00 355.00 303.00 355.00 303.00 373.00 301.00 373.00 301.00 373.00 301.00 404.00 292.44 404.00 292.44 404.00 292.44 431.00 290.00 431.00 290.00 431.00 290.00 445.00 288.21 445.00 288.21 445.00 288.21 460.00 288.82 460.00 288.82 460.00 288.82 474.00 284.78 474.00 284.78 474.00 284.78 483.00 283.00 483.00 283.00 482.50 274.60 480.55 277.64 476.39 273.57 474.00 271.25 473.50 268.53 471.93 266.37 470.45 264.35 468.05 263.00 467.11 260.90 465.21 256.64 470.40 249.79 470.70 245.00 470.84 242.80 468.02 232.09 467.01 230.00 465.75 227.38 464.06 226.13 463.31 223.00 462.41 219.20 463.69 215.50 465.00 212.00 458.09 210.88 456.07 206.26 452.13 201.00

Alibori Alibori is the largest and northernmost department (French: ''département'') of Benin. Externally the department borders the countries of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria, and internally the departments of Atakora and Borgou. The department of ...

poly 37.46 246.00 37.46 252.00 37.46 252.00 37.46 252.00 35.31 258.00 35.31 258.00 35.31 258.00 34.40 265.00 34.40 265.00 32.65 269.76 26.21 273.58 24.01 278.00 22.52 281.03 24.08 291.52 24.01 296.00 23.82 305.84 20.15 302.44 20.00 313.00 20.00 313.00 20.00 323.00 20.00 323.00 20.00 325.41 19.78 328.58 21.02 330.70 22.40 333.07 26.70 335.76 29.00 337.42 29.00 337.42 45.00 349.37 45.00 349.37 45.00 349.37 82.00 373.20 82.00 373.20 82.00 373.20 107.00 388.27 107.00 388.27 111.81 390.32 114.39 389.60 118.00 390.63 130.19 394.14 122.76 395.20 140.00 395.00 145.96 394.93 151.03 393.89 156.00 390.36 160.95 386.85 170.76 377.10 176.00 375.13 180.62 373.39 183.60 376.89 194.00 376.76 194.00 376.76 214.00 376.76 214.00 376.76 219.13 375.48 220.35 373.34 230.00 371.40 233.97 370.60 241.83 370.30 243.98 366.77 245.17 364.82 245.08 361.23 244.82 359.00 244.34 354.97 239.47 338.13 237.30 335.17 234.48 331.32 229.02 329.01 229.16 323.00 229.33 316.13 237.71 311.47 240.40 307.72 242.31 305.05 241.99 302.12 241.84 299.00 241.84 299.00 241.84 241.00 241.84 241.00 242.00 238.76 242.09 236.16 241.83 234.00 240.65 230.85 237.02 225.12 235.30 222.00 235.30 222.00 222.42 199.00 222.42 199.00 222.42 199.00 211.72 180.00 211.72 180.00 210.41 177.70 207.70 172.35 205.61 171.02 203.63 169.77 200.33 170.06 198.00 169.83 198.00 169.83 179.00 168.01 179.00 168.01 172.75 168.17 171.85 169.55 167.00 170.24 167.00 170.24 159.00 170.24 159.00 170.24 154.87 170.68 148.54 174.29 145.00 173.97 140.61 173.58 139.06 169.50 137.20 167.84 135.56 166.35 130.21 164.35 128.00 163.80 124.03 162.80 116.29 163.66 113.75 167.22 112.30 169.25 112.92 171.08 110.65 173.37 108.55 175.49 104.72 176.40 103.92 180.04 103.92 180.04 105.00 189.00 105.00 189.00 105.00 189.00 95.00 188.00 95.00 188.00 95.20 190.02 95.78 192.77 94.31 194.45 91.55 197.61 77.91 193.83 74.00 193.00 74.12 200.87 77.74 199.74 75.00 211.00 69.72 208.52 68.74 210.16 64.00 213.00 66.47 221.45 72.00 221.45 70.00 232.00 70.00 232.00 63.00 228.56 63.00 228.56 63.00 228.56 57.00 226.73 57.00 226.73 57.00 226.73 49.00 223.00 49.00 223.00 46.19 229.10 45.52 230.06 49.00 236.00 49.00 236.00 40.00 237.00 40.00 237.00 40.00 237.00 37.46 246.00 37.46 246.00 Atakora poly 457.00 290.83 444.00 290.06 444.00 290.06 444.00 290.06 435.00 291.86 435.00 291.86 435.00 291.86 425.00 291.21 425.00 291.21 425.00 291.21 410.00 293.79 410.00 293.79 410.00 293.79 402.00 294.46 402.00 294.46 390.01 296.62 381.24 303.72 369.00 302.73 362.03 302.17 363.46 303.89 358.00 304.89 358.00 304.89 344.00 304.89 344.00 304.89 338.12 304.96 336.10 304.95 334.00 299.00 330.07 299.00 319.10 298.57 316.00 299.74 311.61 301.39 307.49 307.15 301.00 307.70 297.78 307.97 288.94 306.59 286.17 304.93 282.96 303.00 281.61 300.23 277.00 299.28 267.48 297.31 266.77 302.05 261.99 302.66 261.99 302.66 244.00 302.00 244.00 302.00 243.08 313.35 229.57 314.00 231.24 325.00 232.04 330.24 236.64 331.99 239.44 336.01 241.19 338.53 242.02 342.05 242.86 345.00 244.32 350.15 247.94 360.01 246.57 364.98 244.30 373.20 230.96 372.34 224.00 374.25 215.51 376.59 216.42 381.17 221.00 387.00 215.50 390.69 219.79 394.05 219.41 399.00 219.07 403.42 213.76 408.39 216.95 418.00 221.36 431.25 229.17 432.89 228.89 442.00 228.89 442.00 225.42 471.00 225.42 471.00 224.95 474.53 225.04 479.91 223.07 482.85 220.31 486.96 210.88 486.90 206.10 489.56 200.51 492.67 199.71 502.20 200.09 508.00 200.34 511.83 201.45 517.74 203.85 520.78 206.80 524.50 211.02 524.42 212.39 530.00 213.73 535.43 206.59 553.24 211.74 560.95 217.97 570.28 236.41 563.79 236.00 577.00 236.00 577.00 310.00 577.00 310.00 577.00 312.73 576.99 316.25 577.33 318.43 575.40 320.92 573.20 320.80 569.99 321.32 567.00 322.73 558.85 321.71 561.34 322.24 556.00 322.24 556.00 323.91 547.00 323.91 547.00 324.35 540.98 322.25 532.46 331.00 531.69 332.81 531.53 334.28 532.10 336.00 532.28 341.27 532.85 343.12 529.82 349.00 529.06 353.86 528.43 354.56 530.23 358.00 530.54 361.32 530.83 370.70 528.20 372.73 525.49 374.30 523.40 376.92 513.91 377.58 511.00 377.58 511.00 381.66 497.83 381.66 497.83 381.66 497.83 380.98 486.00 380.98 486.00 380.68 476.61 375.81 477.30 379.29 470.00 383.12 461.98 385.40 466.33 391.98 456.00 396.68 448.63 393.76 447.02 397.31 443.39 401.48 439.14 406.55 441.71 408.94 436.93 410.67 433.46 407.81 429.38 406.94 426.00 405.90 421.94 407.23 418.17 410.22 415.27 412.84 412.73 424.28 408.25 428.00 407.56 433.00 406.65 435.16 409.44 439.24 404.85 441.02 402.86 448.74 392.17 449.44 390.00 452.26 381.29 445.08 373.83 458.00 370.00 458.00 366.84 458.47 359.88 456.98 357.32 455.80 355.29 446.60 348.06 445.26 343.00 444.26 339.23 447.43 333.31 449.10 330.00 452.77 322.74 449.55 322.09 458.00 317.29 459.54 316.42 461.17 315.40 463.00 315.34 465.90 315.25 472.14 319.47 475.00 321.00 475.00 321.00 477.68 312.00 477.68 312.00 477.68 312.00 478.63 305.00 478.63 305.00 478.63 305.00 483.05 295.00 483.05 295.00 483.05 295.00 483.05 285.00 483.05 285.00 483.05 285.00 457.00 290.83 457.00 290.83

Borgou Borgou is one of the twelve departments of Benin. Borgou borders the country of Nigeria and the departments of Alibori, Atakora, Collines and Donga. The capital of Borgou is Parakou. The department of Borgou was bifurcated in 1999, with its ...

poly 204.00 378.09 198.00 378.82 198.00 378.82 195.22 379.01 189.99 378.26 187.00 377.91 183.64 377.52 180.15 375.88 177.00 376.43 168.76 377.87 159.89 391.57 150.00 395.14 145.58 396.38 131.55 396.56 127.00 395.14 119.22 393.40 119.53 391.49 109.00 391.00 109.00 391.00 109.00 409.00 109.00 409.00 109.00 409.00 110.00 424.00 110.00 424.00 110.00 424.00 110.00 444.00 110.00 444.00 109.87 453.63 106.71 453.36 105.91 458.00 105.45 460.61 107.25 464.32 108.00 467.00 114.17 468.97 113.93 474.31 114.00 480.00 114.03 482.98 113.74 487.26 114.72 490.00 116.12 493.90 128.70 508.73 132.09 511.78 135.10 514.48 137.49 514.98 139.44 517.27 139.44 517.27 145.51 528.00 145.51 528.00 147.02 531.73 147.68 545.12 148.17 550.00 148.17 550.00 149.00 608.00 149.00 608.00 152.74 607.83 162.55 606.68 166.00 605.70 170.07 604.54 173.60 601.66 178.00 602.89 181.90 603.99 184.73 607.28 188.00 608.84 191.81 610.65 193.97 609.29 198.00 611.73 201.82 614.05 205.90 619.16 213.00 621.59 221.08 624.36 228.08 622.78 236.00 621.00 236.00 621.00 236.86 599.00 236.86 599.00 236.86 599.00 234.51 587.04 234.51 587.04 234.51 587.04 233.07 582.58 233.07 582.58 232.54 579.04 234.93 575.89 233.77 573.14 232.45 570.01 227.92 569.43 225.00 568.79 219.30 567.55 214.40 566.93 210.64 561.96 202.86 551.69 211.67 541.18 209.85 530.04 208.90 524.19 203.33 524.76 199.99 517.00 196.43 508.71 197.14 494.28 205.04 488.70 209.60 485.47 216.59 484.97 222.00 484.00 222.00 484.00 225.28 454.00 225.28 454.00 225.75 450.23 227.35 441.23 226.58 438.00 224.89 430.85 215.61 424.73 214.21 414.00 213.33 407.25 216.93 404.33 217.52 400.00 217.95 396.84 216.60 394.67 216.66 392.00 216.29 389.21 217.38 387.80 216.66 385.00 216.46 382.76 215.64 382.31 215.00 378.09 208.25 379.58 209.49 378.17 204.00 378.09 Donga poly 318.42 730.00 311.02 715.00 311.02 715.00 311.02 715.00 313.71 704.00 313.71 704.00 313.71 704.00 314.30 696.00 314.30 696.00 314.30 696.00 315.83 688.00 315.83 688.00 315.83 688.00 316.39 680.00 316.39 680.00 316.39 680.00 319.72 668.00 319.72 668.00 319.72 668.00 313.56 646.00 313.56 646.00 313.56 646.00 315.37 640.00 315.37 640.00 315.37 640.00 316.64 633.00 316.64 633.00 316.64 633.00 320.82 619.00 320.82 619.00 320.82 619.00 320.00 612.00 320.00 612.00 320.00 612.00 320.00 603.00 320.00 603.00 320.00 603.00 319.00 591.00 319.00 591.00 319.00 591.00 317.98 580.60 317.98 580.60 317.98 580.60 310.00 579.00 310.00 579.00 310.00 579.00 235.00 579.00 235.00 579.00 235.26 586.63 236.56 584.73 237.67 590.00 239.34 597.46 238.85 605.57 237.67 613.00 237.01 616.76 238.31 618.16 237.10 620.07 234.94 623.47 229.59 623.95 226.00 624.00 221.06 624.06 215.54 624.49 211.00 622.33 205.31 619.62 201.44 614.89 198.00 613.17 194.55 611.45 192.14 612.51 188.00 610.16 184.89 608.40 182.82 605.80 179.00 604.65 173.86 603.11 169.76 606.21 165.00 607.51 158.90 609.18 155.15 609.00 149.00 609.00 149.00 609.00 153.66 623.42 153.66 623.42 153.66 623.42 148.64 636.00 148.64 636.00 148.64 636.00 151.00 649.00 151.00 649.00 151.00 649.00 151.00 722.00 151.00 722.00 151.00 722.00 152.00 735.00 152.00 735.00 152.00 735.00 152.00 755.94 152.00 755.94 166.40 753.42 176.18 756.23 181.00 755.94 187.22 755.43 189.92 751.17 198.00 754.13 201.28 755.33 204.30 757.44 206.59 760.08 208.54 762.34 209.03 764.62 212.12 765.57 217.89 767.35 223.35 763.69 226.00 763.61 228.52 763.53 229.97 765.05 233.00 765.70 235.57 766.25 238.37 765.71 240.90 766.73 240.90 766.73 255.70 777.45 255.70 777.45 257.51 779.06 259.10 781.50 261.30 782.43 263.15 783.21 267.83 783.00 270.00 783.00 272.03 774.71 276.57 773.19 278.40 768.00 279.76 764.17 277.20 755.85 284.10 752.02 286.30 750.80 289.53 751.00 292.00 751.00 292.00 751.00 319.00 751.00 319.00 751.00 319.00 751.00 318.42 730.00 318.42 730.00 Collines poly 292.30 753.00 286.57 752.61 284.39 754.02 281.46 755.92 281.10 759.84 281.08 763.00 281.04 774.80 270.91 774.76 272.27 785.00 272.27 785.00 273.76 791.00 273.76 791.00 275.77 801.74 275.37 806.88 280.47 817.96 283.01 823.47 285.98 822.81 287.98 826.21 288.89 827.76 289.44 832.73 290.00 835.00 292.46 844.84 293.99 846.60 294.00 857.00 294.00 857.00 286.00 857.00 286.00 857.00 286.23 859.87 287.62 869.61 289.01 871.72 290.95 874.68 294.33 874.42 296.69 876.56 298.98 878.65 298.94 881.14 299.00 884.00 299.00 884.00 299.00 913.00 299.00 913.00 299.00 913.00 315.00 912.00 315.00 912.00 315.76 917.70 316.21 927.45 321.00 931.00 321.00 931.00 322.37 924.00 322.37 924.00 322.93 917.23 320.61 905.79 329.00 903.00 329.00 903.00 328.00 894.00 328.00 894.00 318.78 891.20 322.04 885.32 322.64 880.00 322.64 880.00 322.64 872.01 322.64 872.01 322.64 866.54 319.80 866.88 319.03 862.96 317.84 856.92 322.79 851.79 328.00 850.00 326.01 846.41 321.84 843.26 321.74 840.00 321.64 836.40 325.42 834.71 325.69 830.00 325.69 830.00 323.14 814.00 323.14 814.00 323.14 814.00 323.14 796.00 323.14 796.00 323.04 790.35 322.85 788.03 329.00 787.00 329.00 787.00 328.02 776.51 328.02 776.51 328.02 776.51 319.58 765.91 319.58 765.91 319.58 765.91 319.00 753.00 319.00 753.00 319.00 753.00 295.00 753.00 295.00 753.00

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

poly 206.34 763.93 205.43 757.98 198.00 755.65 191.50 753.61 187.31 756.49 184.00 757.05 184.00 757.05 174.00 757.05 174.00 757.05 174.00 757.05 169.00 757.05 169.00 757.05 164.61 756.98 153.74 754.41 152.33 760.22 151.73 762.72 153.77 772.55 154.89 775.00 154.89 775.00 158.36 781.00 158.36 781.00 158.36 781.00 166.66 799.00 166.66 799.00 167.87 801.99 168.54 806.16 170.20 808.63 170.20 808.63 174.52 813.21 174.52 813.21 174.52 813.21 183.37 825.01 183.37 825.01 187.45 831.76 184.90 833.76 187.92 839.99 187.92 839.99 197.31 852.00 197.31 852.00 198.71 854.11 208.31 865.01 210.09 865.98 211.94 866.98 213.96 866.99 216.00 866.83 216.00 866.83 238.00 863.41 238.00 863.41 240.99 862.91 246.45 862.26 249.00 861.03 251.65 859.76 254.75 856.94 257.00 855.00 261.30 861.61 263.82 856.19 272.00 851.00 272.00 851.00 272.00 855.00 272.00 855.00 272.00 855.00 292.00 855.00 292.00 855.00 292.00 855.00 288.00 835.00 288.00 835.00 288.00 835.00 286.41 827.21 286.41 827.21 286.41 827.21 279.70 819.96 279.70 819.96 279.70 819.96 274.37 806.00 274.37 806.00 274.37 806.00 269.43 786.60 269.43 786.60 269.43 786.60 260.30 783.98 260.30 783.98 260.30 783.98 253.83 777.87 253.83 777.87 253.83 777.87 241.55 769.00 241.55 769.00 241.55 769.00 233.00 767.69 233.00 767.69 233.00 767.69 226.00 764.00 226.00 764.00 221.54 767.25 214.37 769.95 209.30 766.15 Zou poly 153.00 804.00 153.00 859.00 153.00 859.00 153.00 859.00 139.00 859.00 139.00 859.00 140.12 869.52 144.79 869.08 146.70 874.04 146.70 874.04 148.00 891.00 148.00 891.00 148.00 891.00 167.00 887.01 167.00 887.01 173.25 884.66 179.78 879.51 187.00 881.43 192.57 882.92 192.27 886.99 195.43 890.37 199.86 895.12 204.70 896.92 211.00 897.00 211.10 886.84 212.56 890.16 215.29 883.00 215.29 883.00 217.11 877.00 217.11 877.00 218.73 873.21 219.32 873.47 220.00 869.07 220.00 869.07 213.00 869.07 213.00 869.07 206.74 868.26 197.27 854.10 193.37 849.09 190.23 845.06 187.66 844.48 185.56 839.00 183.47 833.53 184.76 830.30 182.35 826.01 182.35 826.01 168.00 807.99 168.00 807.99 168.00 807.99 160.57 789.00 160.57 789.00 160.57 789.00 155.00 778.00 155.00 778.00 151.88 784.13 153.00 796.83 153.00 804.00 Couffo poly 257.00 858.00 248.00 863.30 248.00 863.30 248.00 863.30 222.00 868.00 222.00 868.00 221.30 877.09 214.05 887.68 213.30 891.00 213.30 891.00 212.78 897.00 212.78 897.00 212.78 897.00 210.56 904.00 210.56 904.00 210.56 904.00 210.03 909.00 210.03 909.00 209.27 912.47 207.53 913.55 207.11 918.00 206.62 923.23 208.88 928.13 207.61 934.00 206.40 939.60 201.12 945.73 201.38 952.00 201.38 952.00 206.00 968.00 206.00 968.00 222.41 965.82 240.46 961.05 257.00 961.00 262.31 950.04 272.23 953.79 277.61 950.02 281.43 947.33 282.20 940.30 281.95 936.00 281.83 933.85 281.57 933.02 281.00 931.00 274.36 932.39 273.12 930.44 273.00 924.00 273.00 924.00 273.00 901.00 273.00 901.00 273.00 901.00 271.88 889.00 271.88 889.00 271.88 889.00 271.88 880.00 271.88 880.00 270.65 874.76 266.10 871.72 265.57 868.00 265.10 864.74 268.71 860.40 270.00 855.00 262.76 858.36 261.92 862.80 257.00 858.00 Atlantique poly 265.94 871.63 272.70 873.14 274.03 882.00 274.03 882.00 276.00 930.06 276.00 930.06 277.77 929.74 280.02 929.17 281.69 930.06 286.93 933.10 282.45 945.82 281.00 950.00 290.46 952.22 290.49 955.31 294.09 956.25 296.22 956.80 307.99 954.73 311.00 954.27 312.59 954.03 315.15 953.84 316.43 952.83 318.46 951.21 317.93 947.36 318.04 945.00 318.18 941.90 319.74 936.26 319.27 934.17 318.66 931.45 316.47 930.61 315.04 925.00 314.39 922.44 314.16 916.52 312.26 915.00 309.68 912.91 300.38 914.73 297.00 915.00 297.00 915.00 297.00 885.00 297.00 885.00 297.00 885.00 295.98 878.56 295.98 878.56 295.98 878.56 286.74 871.95 286.74 871.95 286.74 871.95 284.00 857.00 284.00 857.00 276.19 857.00 270.53 855.71 267.85 865.00 Ouémé poly 190.28 887.88 191.51 885.48 187.86 884.18 179.49 881.23 172.19 887.47 165.00 890.03 161.26 891.37 159.48 890.71 156.00 891.21 156.00 891.21 149.00 893.00 149.00 893.00 149.00 893.00 144.00 907.00 144.00 907.00 150.92 912.00 146.25 912.89 149.18 917.78 150.76 920.42 153.53 920.93 155.83 922.69 160.20 926.05 161.69 929.71 162.00 935.00 172.27 940.14 174.95 959.54 178.00 970.00 178.00 970.00 161.00 974.00 161.00 974.00 157.16 974.77 154.35 974.62 152.00 978.00 152.00 978.00 204.00 968.00 204.00 968.00 204.00 968.00 199.26 951.00 199.26 951.00 199.26 951.00 205.79 933.00 205.79 933.00 205.79 933.00 205.06 919.00 205.06 919.00 205.06 919.00 210.00 900.00 210.00 900.00 204.65 899.12 198.01 895.52 194.14 891.70

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

poly 278.09 952.30 265.26 954.83 262.14 957.00 260.19 958.36 260.03 959.06 259.00 961.00 259.00 961.00 274.00 960.00 274.00 960.00 274.00 960.00 275.00 956.00 275.00 956.00 275.00 956.00 275.00 960.00 275.00 960.00 275.00 960.00 290.00 957.00 290.00 957.00 290.00 957.00 290.00 955.00 290.00 955.00 287.42 953.90 284.83 952.87 282.00 952.63

Littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

Benin is divided into 12 departments (French: ''départements'') which are subdivided into 77

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

. In 1999, the previous 6 departments were each split into 2 halves, forming the later 12.

Demographics

The majority of Benin's 11,485,000 inhabitants live in the south of the country. The

life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...

is 62 years. About 42 African ethnic groups live in this country, including the

in the southeast (migrated from Nigeria in the 12th century); the Dendi in the north-central area (who came from Mali in the 16th century); the Bariba and the

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

in the northeast; the

Betammaribe The Tammari people, or Batammariba, also known as Otamari or Ottamari, are an Oti–Volta-speaking people of the Atakora Department of Benin where they are also known as Somba and neighboring areas of Togo, where they are officially known as ' ...

and the Somba in the

Atakora Mountains The Togo Mountains is a mountain range which stretches across the central region of the West African country of Togo and across the eastern and western borders of that country into Ghana and Benin. In Ghana, the range is also known as the Akwapim ...

; the Fon in the area around

in the South Central and the Mina, Xueda, and Aja (who came from Togo) on the coast. Migrations have brought other African nationals to Benin that include Nigerians, Togolese, and Malians. The foreign community includes Lebanese and Indians involved in trade and commerce. The personnel of European embassies and foreign aid missions and of nongovernmental organisations and missionary groups account for a part of the 5,500 European population. A part of the European population consists of Beninese citizens of French ancestry.

Religion

In the 2013 census, 48.5% of the population of Benin were Christian (25.5%

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, 6.7%

Celestial Church of Christ The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a church founded in Africa by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It is located in most countries worldwide including the United States and various countries in Africa. History Oshof ...

, 3.4%

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

, 12.9% other Christian denominations), 27.7% were Muslim, 11.6% practiced

, 2.6% practiced other local traditional religions, 2.6% practiced other religions, and 5.8% claimed no religious affiliation.International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Benin
. United States

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...

(14 September 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' A government survey conducted by the

Demographic and Health Surveys The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program is responsible for collecting and disseminating accurate, nationally representative data on health and population in developing countries. The project is implemented by ICF International and is funded ...

Program in 2011-2012 indicated that followers of Christianity were 57.5% of the population (with Catholics making up 33.9%, Methodists 3.0%, Celestials 6.2% and other Christians 14.5%), while Muslims were 22.8%. Traditional religions include local

animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, ...

religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces), and

and Orisha veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the center and south of the nation. The town of

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese Vodun. The 2 largest religions are Christianity, followed throughout the south and center of Benin and in Otammari country in the Atakora, and Islam, introduced by the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...

and Hausa merchants, and followed throughout

and Donga provinces, and among the Yoruba (who also follow Christianity). Some continue to hold Vodun and Orisha beliefs and have incorporated the pantheon of Vodun and Orisha into Christianity. The

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

, a Muslim sect originating in the 19th century, has a presence in the country.

Education

The

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

rate: in 2015 it was estimated to be 38.4% (49.9% for males and 27.3% for females). Benin has achieved universal primary education and half of the children (54%) were enrolled in secondary education in 2013, according to the

UNESCO Institute for Statistics The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the statistical office of UNESCO and is the UN depository for cross-nationally comparable statistics on education, science and technology, culture, and communication. The UIS was established in 1999. ...

. While at a time the education system was not free, Benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 Educational Forum. The government has devoted more than 4% of GDP to education since 2009. In 2015, public expenditure on education (all levels) amounted to 4.4% of GDP, according to the

. Within this expenditure, Benin devoted a share to tertiary education: 0.97% of GDP. Between 2009 and 2011, the share of people enrolled at university rose from 10% to 12% of the 18''–''25 year age cohort. Student enrollment in tertiary education more than doubled between 2006 and 2011 from 50,225 to 110,181. These statistics encompass not only bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. programmes but also students enrolled in non-degree post-secondary diplomas.

Health

The

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

rate in Benin was estimated in 2013 at 1.13% of adults aged 15–49 years.

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

is a problem in Benin, being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children younger than 5 years. During the 1980s, less than 30% of the country's population had access to primary health care services. Benin's

infant mortality rate Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

stood at 203 deaths for every live births. 1 in 3 mothers had access to child health care services. The Bamako Initiative changed that by introducing community-based healthcare reform, resulting in "more efficient and equitable" provision of services. , Benin had the 26th highest rate of

maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...

in the world. According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 13% of women had undergone female genital mutilation. An approach strategy was extended to all areas of healthcare, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.

has surveyed the issue in Benin since 1996.

Geography

Benin map of Köppen climate classification

The north–south strip of land in West Africa lies between latitudes 6° and 13°N, and longitudes 0° and 4°E. It is bounded by Togo to the west,

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesNigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south. The distance from the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south is about . Although the coastline measures , the country measures about at its widest point. 4 terrestrial ecoregions lie within Benin's borders:

Eastern Guinean forests The Eastern Guinean forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. Geography The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from the Gulf of Guinea a few hundred kilometres inland, from western Côte d'Ivoire to ...

Nigerian lowland forests The Nigerian lowland forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southwestern Nigeria and southeastern Benin. The ecoregion is densely populated, and home to several large cities including Lagos, Ibadan, and Benin City. There is still signifi ...

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

, and

West Sudanian savanna The West Sudanian savanna is a tropical savanna ecoregion that extends across West Africa. Geography The ecoregion stretches east and west across West Africa, from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to the Mandara Mountains on Nigeria's eastern borde ...

. It had a 2018

Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...

mean score of 5.86/10, ranking it 93rd globally out of 172 countries. Atakora Benin Batia

Benin shows some variation in elevation and can be divided into 4 areas from the south to the north, starting with the lower-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation ) which is, at most, wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. Behind the coast lies the

-covered plateaus of southern Benin (altitude between ), which are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and Ouémé Rivers. This geography makes it vulnerable to climate change. With the majority of the country living near the coast in lower-lying areas sea level rise could have effects on the economy and population. Northern areas will see additional regions become deserts. An area of flatter land dotted with rocky hills whose altitude reaches extends around Nikki and Save. A range of mountains extends along the northwest border and into Togo; these are the Atacora. The highest point,

Mont Sokbaro Mont Sokbaro (also spelled as SagbaraoTchaboue, B.I. (2015) ''Tourisme et developpement socio-economique dans la commune de Bassila (Benin)''. Université d'Abomey-Calavi) is a hill that is mostly cited as the highest point of Benin, with an eleva ...

, is at . Benin has fields,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s, and remnants of forests. In the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrub and dotted with

baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Trop ...

trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers. In the north and the northwest of Benin, the Reserve du W du Niger and

Pendjari National Park The Pendjari National Park (french: Parc National de la Pendjari) lies in north western Benin, adjoining the Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife and is home to some of the ...

has elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys.. Pendjari National Park together with the bordering Parks Arli and W in

and

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesWest African lion ''Panthera leo leo'' is a lion subspecies, which is present in West Africa, northern Central Africa and India. In West and Central Africa it is restricted to fragmented and isolated populations with a declining trajectory. It has been referred to ...

. With an estimated 356 (range: 246–466) lions, W-Arli-Pendjari harbors the largest remaining population of lions in

. Historically Benin has served as habitat for the endangered

painted hunting dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

, ''Lycaon pictus''; this canid is thought to have been locally

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

. Annual rainfall in the coastal area averages 1300 mm or about 51 inches. Benin has 2 rainy and 2 dry seasons per year. The principal rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less intense rainy period from September to November. The main dry season is from December to April, with a cooler dry season from July to September. Temperatures and humidity are higher along the tropical coast. In Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is ; the minimum is . Variations in temperature increase when moving north through

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and plateau toward the Sahel. A dry wind from the Sahara called the Harmattan blows from December to March, when grass dries up, other vegetation turns reddish brown, and a veil of fine dust hangs over the country, causing the skies to be "overcast". It is also the season when farmers burn brush in the fields.

Economy

Extensive Landwirtschaft im Norden Benins bei Djougou

The economy is dependent on subsistence agriculture,

production, and regional trade. Cotton accounts for 40% of the

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

and roughly 80% of official

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

receipts. Real GDP growth was estimated at 5.1 and 5.7% in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The main driver of growth is the agricultural sector, with cotton being the main export, while services continue to contribute the largest part of GDP mostly because of Benin's geographical location, enabling trade, transportation, transit and tourism activities with its neighboring states. Benin's overall macroeconomic conditions were "positive" in 2017, with a growth rate of around 5.6%. Economic growth was mostly driven by the cotton industry and other cash crops, the Port of Cotonou, and telecommunications. A source of revenue is the Port of Cotonou, and the government is seeking to expand its revenue base. In 2017, Benin imported about $2.8 billion in goods such as rice, meat and poultry, alcoholic beverages, fuel plastic materials, specialized mining and excavating machinery, telecommunications equipment, passenger vehicles, and toiletries and cosmetics. Principal exports are ginned cotton, cotton cake and cotton seeds, cashew, shea butter, cooking oil, and lumber. Access to

biocapacity The biocapacity or biological capacity of an ecosystem is an estimate of its production of certain biological materials such as natural resources, and its absorption and filtering of other materials such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Bio ...

is lower than world average. In 2016, Benin had 0.9 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. In 2016 Benin used 1.4 global hectares of biocapacity per person - their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use "slightly under double" as much biocapacity as Benin contains. As a result, Benin is running a biocapacity deficit. Gossypium sp MS4007

In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's US$307 million

Millennium Challenge Account The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that ...

grant signed in February 2006. The

Paris Club The Paris Club (french: Club de Paris) is a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. As debtor countries undertake ...

and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. An "insufficient" electrical supply continues to "adversely affect" Benin's economic growth and the government has taken steps to increase domestic power production. While trade unions in Benin represent up to 75% of the formal workforce, the informal economy has been noted by the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

(ITCU) to contain ongoing problems, including a lack of women's wage equality, the use of

child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

, and the continuing issue of

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

. Benin is a member of the

Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa OHADA is a system of corporate law and implementing institutions adopted by seventeen West and Central African nations in 1993 in Port Louis, Mauritius before it was revised in 2008 in Quebec, Canada. OHADA is the acronym for the French "''Organisa ...

(

OHADA OHADA is a system of corporate law and implementing institutions adopted by seventeen West and Central African nations in 1993 in Port Louis, Mauritius before it was revised in 2008 in Quebec, Canada. OHADA is the acronym for the French "''Organisa ...

). Cotonou has the country's only seaport and international airport. Benin is connected by 2-lane asphalted roads to its neighboring countries (Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria). Mobile telephone service is available across the country through

operators Operator may refer to: Mathematics * A symbol indicating a mathematical operation * Logical operator or logical connective in mathematical logic * Operator (mathematics), mapping that acts on elements of a space to produce elements of another sp ...

. ADSL connections are available in some areas. Benin is connected to the Internet by way of satellite connections (since 1998) and a single submarine cable

SAT-3/WASC SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cabl ...

(since 2001). Relief of "high price" is expected with the initiation of the Africa Coast to Europe cable in 2011. With the GDP growth rate of 4-5% remaining consistent over 2 decades, poverty has been increasing. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis in Benin, those living under the poverty line have increased from 36.2% in 2011 to 40.1% in 2015.

Science and technology

National policy framework

The

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...

is responsible for implementing science policy. The

National Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

handles planning and coordination whereas the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research and National Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters each play an advisory role. Financial support comes from Benin's National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation. The Benin Agency for the Promotion of Research Results and Technological Innovation carries out technology transfer through the development and dissemination of research results. Benin was ranked 128th in the

Global Innovation Index The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a British ma ...

in 2021, down from 123rd in 2019. The regulatory framework has evolved since 2006 when the a science policy was prepared. This has been updated and complemented by new texts on science and innovation (the year of adoption is between brackets): * a manual for monitoring and evaluating research structures and organizations (2013); * a manual on how to select research programmes and projects and apply to the National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Innovation (2013) for competitive grants; * a draft act for funding scientific research and innovation and a draft code of ethics for scientific research and innovation were both submitted to the Supreme Court in 2014; * a strategic plan for scientific research and innovation (under development in 2015). Equally important are Benin's efforts to integrate science into existing policy documents: * ''Benin Development Strategies 2025'': ''Benin 2025 Alafia'' (2000); * Growt''h Strategy for Poverty Reduction 2011–2016'' (2011); * Phase 3 of the ''Ten-year Development Plan for the Education Sector'', covering 2013–2015; * ''Development Plan for Higher Education and Scientific Research 2013–2017'' (2014). In 2015, Benin's priority areas for scientific research were: health, education, construction and building materials, transportation and trade, culture, tourism and handicrafts, cotton/textiles, food, energy and climate change. Some so-called challenges facing research and development in Benin are: * the unfavorable organizational framework for research: weak governance, a lack of co-operation between research structures and the absence of an official document on the status of researchers; * the inadequate use of human resources and the lack of any motivational policy for researchers; and * the mismatch between research and development needs.

Human and financial investment in research

In 2007, Benin counted 1,000 researchers (in headcounts). This corresponds to 115 researchers per million inhabitants. The "main research structures" are the Centre for Scientific and Technical Research, National Institute of Agricultural Research, National Institute for Training and Research in Education, Office of Geological and Mining Research and the Centre for Entomological Research. The University of Abomey-Calavi was selected by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

in 2014 to participate in its Centres of Excellence project, owing to its expertise in applied mathematics. Within this project, the World Bank has loaned $8 million to Benin. The Association of African Universities has received funds to enable it to co-ordinate knowledge-sharing among the 19 universities in West Africa involved in the project. There are "no available data" on Benin's level of investment in research and development. In 2013, the government devoted 2.5% of GDP to public health. In December 2014, 150 volunteer health professionals travelled to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, as part of a joint initiative by the

(ECOWAS) and its specialized agency, the West African Health Organisation, to help combat the epidemic. The Ebola epidemic has been a reminder of the underinvestment in West African health systems. The Government of Benin devoted less than 5% of GDP to agricultural development in 2010, while the members of the African Union had agreed to commit at least 10% of GDP to this area in the ''Maputo Declaration'' of 2003. They reiterated this goal in the ''Malabo Declaration'' adopted in Equatorial Guinea in 2014. In the latter declaration, they reaffirmed their 'intention to devote 10% of their national budgets to agricultural development and agreed to targets such as doubling agricultural productivity, halving post-harvest loss and bringing stunting down to 10% across Africa'. African leaders meeting in Equatorial Guinea failed to resolve the debate on establishing a common standard of measurement for the 10% target.

Research output

Benin has the third-highest publication intensity for scientific journals in West Africa, according to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded. There were 25.5 scientific articles per million inhabitants cataloged in this database in 2014. This compares with 65.0 for the Gambia, 49.6 for Cape Verde, 23.2 for Senegal and 21.9 for Ghana. The volume of publications in this database tripled in Benin between 2005 and 2014 from 86 to 270. Between 2008 and 2014, Benin's "main scientific collaborators" were based in France (529 articles), United States (261), United Kingdom (254), Belgium (198) and Germany (156).

Transportation

Transport in Benin Benin possesses railway and road infrastructure, as well as two seaports. Benin currently does not have rail connections to other countries, but new proposals seek to change this. Railways Benin has a total of of single track, railway. Ben ...

includes road, rail, water and air transportation. Benin possesses a total of 6,787 km of

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

, of which 1,357 km are paved. Of the paved highways in the country, there are 10 expressways. This leaves 5,430 km of unpaved road. The Trans-West African Coastal Highway crosses Benin, connecting it to

to the east, and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and Ivory Coast to the west. When construction in Liberia and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

is finished, the highway will continue west to 7 other

(ECOWAS) nations. A paved highway connects Benin northwards to

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBurkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

and

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

to the north-west.

Rail transport in Benin Benin has a total of of single track, ( metre gauge) railway. Rail construction began around 1900, with regular services commencing in 1906; rail operation was taken into government control (from private companies) in 1930. Benin does not curre ...

consists of of

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, railway. Construction work has commenced on international lines connecting Benin with Niger and Nigeria, with outline plans announced for further connections to Togo and Burkina Faso. Benin will be a participant in the AfricaRail project.

Cadjehoun Airport Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport is an airport in the Cadjehoun neighborhood of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, in West Africa. The airport is the largest in the country, and as such, is the primary entry point into the country by air, with fligh ...

, located at Cotonou, has direct international jet service to Accra, Niamey,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, and

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

, and other cities in Africa. Direct services link Cotonou to Paris, Brussels, and Istanbul.

Culture

Arts

Beninese literature had an oral tradition before French became the dominant language. Félix Couchoro wrote the first Beninese novel, '' L'Esclave'' (The Slave), in 1929. Post-independence, native folk music was combined with

ian

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...

, French

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

, American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, funk and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, and Congolese

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba. ...

. Biennale Benin, continuing the projects of some organizations and artists, started in the country in 2010 as a collaborative event called "Regard Benin". In 2012, the project became a Biennial coordinated by the Consortium, a federation of local associations. The international exhibition and artistic program of the 2012 Biennale Benin are curated by Abdellah Karroum and the Curatorial Delegation.

Customary names

Some Beninese in the south of the country have Akan-based names indicating the day of the week on which they were born. This is due to influence of the Akan people such as the

Akwamu Akwamu was a state set up by the Akwamu people in present-day Ghana. After migrating from Bono state, the Akan founders of Akwamu settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu led an expansionist empire in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the peak of their ...

and others.

Language

Local languages are used as the languages of instruction in elementary schools, with French introduced after years. At the secondary school level, French is the sole language of instruction. Beninese languages are "generally transcribed" with a separate letter for each speech sound (

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

), rather than using

diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacriti ...

s as in French or digraphs as in English. This includes Beninese

, which in

is written with both diacritics and digraphs. For instance, the mid vowels written ''é, è, ô, o'' in French are written ' in Beninese languages, whereas the

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wi ...

s are written ''ng'' and ''sh'' or ''ch'' in English are written ''ŋ'' and ''c.'' Digraphs are used for nasal vowels and the labial-velar consonants ''kp'' and ''gb,'' as in the name of the

Fon language Fon (, ) is spoken in Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Gabon by approximately 1.7 million speakers, and is the language of the Fon people. Like the other Gbe languages, Fon is an isolating language with an SVO basic word order. Cultural and le ...

''Fon gbe'' , and diacritics are used as

tone marks Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning – that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information and to convey emph ...

. In French-language publications, a mixture of French and Beninese orthographies may be seen.

Cuisine

The cuisine involves fresh meals served with a variety of key sauces. In southern Benin cuisine, an ingredient is corn which has been used to prepare

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

which has been served with

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

- or

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

-based

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

and

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

, and

bush rat The bush rat or Australian bush rat (''Rattus fuscipes'') is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore and one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and New South ...

are consumed. A staple in northern Benin is yams which has been served with sauces mentioned above. The population in the northern provinces use beef and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

meat which is fried in palm or peanut oil or cooked in sauces. Cheese is used in some dishes.

Couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

, rice, and beans are eaten, along with fruits such as mangoes, oranges, avocados, bananas, kiwi fruit, and pineapples. Meals are said to be generally light on meat and generous on

vegetable fat Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fa ...

. Frying in palm or peanut oil is a meat preparation, and

smoked fish Smoked fish is fish that has been cured by smoking. Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative. In more recent times fish is readily preserved by refrigeration and freezing and the smoking of ...

is prepared in Benin. Grinders are used to prepare

corn flour Cornflour may refer to: * Cornflour (in the UK), corn starch, from the endosperm of the kernel of the corn (maize) grain * Corn flour (in the US and elsewhere), very finely ground cornmeal, ground from dried maize See also * Flour * Starch ...

, which is made into a dough and served with sauces. " Chicken on the spit" is a recipe in which chicken is roasted over a fire on wooden sticks.

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

roots are sometimes soaked in a jar with salt water and sliced garlic to tenderize them, then used in dishes. Some people have outdoor mud stoves for cooking.

Sports

In the 21st century,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

was introduced to the country.

Traditional authorities

Benin has numerous non-sovereign monarchies within the country, many of them derivative of pre-colonial kingdoms (such as Arda). Non-sovereign monarchs do not have an official, constitutional role, and are largely ceremonial and subservient to political and civil authorities. Despite this, they play an influential role in local political matters within their particular realms and are often courted by Beninese politicians for electoral support. Advocacy groups such as the

High Council of Kings of Benin The High Council of Kings of Benin ( French: Haut Conseil des rois du Bénin), sometimes simply referred to as the High Council of Kings (French: Haut Conseil des Rois) or HCRB, is a non-governmental organisation that represents the various non-so ...

represent the monarchs nationally.

References

External links

Country Profile
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

Benin
''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

.
Benin
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' *

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

, , Apr 10, 2018. * * commons:Atlas of Benin
Benin Exports

Forecasts for Benin Development
Government
Government of Benin
(official website)

Global Integrity Report: Benin
News media

from Stanford University Trade
World Bank Benin 2010 Summary Trade Statistics
Sports
Baseball
{{Authority control Countries in Africa Economic Community of West African States Former Portuguese colonies French-speaking countries and territories Least developed countries Member states of the African Union Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Member states of the United Nations Republics States and territories established in 1960 West African countries 1960 establishments in Africa

Name

History

Pre-colonial

Colonial

Post-colonial

Politics

Administrative divisions

Demographics

Religion

Education

Health

Geography

Economy

Science and technology

National policy framework

Human and financial investment in research

Research output

Transportation

Culture

Arts

Customary names

Language

Cuisine

Sports

Traditional authorities

See also

References

Further reading

External links