Statistics

National name: Republique du Benin

President: Mathieu K�r�kou (1996)

Area: 43,483 sq mi (112,620 sq km)

Population (2001 est.): 6,590,782 (average annual rate of natural increase: 3.0%); birth rate: 44.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 89.7/1000; density per sq mi: 152

Capital and largest city (1996): Porto-Novo (official), 177,660; Cotonou (de facto capital) 33,212

Other large city (1992): Djougou, 132,192

Monetary unit: Franc CFA

Languages: French (official), African languages

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

Religions: indigenous 70%, Christian 15%, Islam 15%

Literacy rate: 23% (1990)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (1999 est.): $8.1 billion; per capita $1,300. Real growth rate: 5%. Inflation: 3%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 13%. Agriculture: corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock. Labor force: n.a. Industries: textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum. Natural resources: small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber. Exports: $396 million (f.o.b., 1999): cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa. Imports: $566 million (f.o.b., 1999): foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods. Major trading partners: Brazil, Libya, Indonesia, Spain, France, China, UK, Netherlands.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 28,000 (1995); mobile cellular: 1,050 (1995). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998). Radios: 620,000 (1997). Television broadcast stations: 2 (one privately-owned) (1997). Televisions: 60,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): n.a.

Transportation: Railways: total: 578 km (single track) (1995 est.). Highways: total: 6,787 km; paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways); unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.). Waterways: navigable along small sections, important only locally. Ports and harbors: Cotonou, Porto-Novo. Airports: 5 (1999 est.).

International disputes: none.

Geography

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

Republic under a multiparty democratic rule.

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

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

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

K�r�kou subsequently embarked on a major privatization campaign, cut the government payroll, and reduced social services, prompting student and labor union unrest. Fearing a revolution, K�r�kou agreed to a new constitution and free elections. In 1991, Nic�phore Soglo, an economist and former director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was elected president with 67% of the vote.

Although he enjoyed widespread support at first, Soglo gradually became unpopular as austerity measures reduced living standards and a 50% currency devaluation in 1994 caused inflation. K�r�kou defeated Soglo in the 1996 elections, with 52.5% of the vote.

In March 2001, K�r�kou was easily reelected after two of his main opponents withdrew from the race, charging fraud.

See Also: Benin Ministry of Planning and Economic Reconstruction planben.intnet.bj/13a/benin.htm

(Source: www.infoplease.com )

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