Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent.
8,078,314 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
total: 17.7 years male: 17.3 years female: 18.1 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.674% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.44 years male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
68,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
5,800 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and others are high risks in some locations respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)
Nationality:
noun: Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese
Ethnic groups:
African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), other 1% (includes 5,500 Europeans)
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Languages:
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.)
conventional long form: Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Porto-Novo (official capital) geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government)
based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD [Nicephore SOGLO]; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Cauri Forces for an Emerging Benin or FCBE (a coalition of 20 smaller parties); Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU] note: approximately 20 additional minor parties
chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-06-70
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side
general assessment: NA domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
21 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; in practice, volunteers may be taken at the age of 18; both sexes are eligible for military service; conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 21-49: 1,295,230 females age 21-49: 1,301,936 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 21-49: 749,774 females age 21-49: 751,329 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 76,661 females: 75,068 (2005 est.)
two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 26,632 (Togo) (2006)
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations
StumbleUpon
Delicious