Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general Prime minister: Danny Philip
President: Thomas Boni Yayi
Population
584,578
9,598,787
Life Expectancy
74.420 years
60.260 years
Capital City
Largest city
Honiara (population: 56,298)
Cotonou (population: 690,584)
Human Development Index
0.591
0.459
GDP per capita
Literacy Rate
%
34.7%
Corruption Perception Index
2.9
3.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
10.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic
Independence date
Religions
Church of Melanesia 32.8%, Roman Catholic 19%, South Seas Evangelical 17%, Seventh-Day Adventist 11.2%, United Church 10.3%, Christian Fellowship Church 2.4%, other Christian 4.4%, other 2.4%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.2% (1999 census)
Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census)
Languages
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population); 120 indigenous languages
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Exports
External Debt
Exchange Rate
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
Area
28,896 km sq
112,622 km sq
Coastline
5,313 km
121 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather
