Benin

I

Introduction

Benin, republic in western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey. It has a coastline of 121-km (75-mi) on the Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. This wedge-shaped land extends inland, to the north, about 670 km (about 415 mi), making it one of the smaller African countries.

Benin has a tropical climate. Its economy is based primarily on agriculture, and many of the country’s farmers work at a subsistence level. Although Benin experienced considerable economic growth during the 1990s, it remains one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Many different ethnic groups live in Benin. The Fon, along with the closely related Adja, are by far the largest. French is the official language of the country, but Fon and other African languages are widely spoken.

Benin was a colony within French West Africa from 1899 until it gained independence in 1960 as Dahomey. Dahomey was the name of one of the great African kingdoms of the 1700s and 1800s. It was based in Benin.

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A series of military leaders brought many changes of government between 1960 and 1972, when a Marxist regime took charge. The country was renamed The People’s Republic of Benin in 1975. Economic difficulties in the late 1980s led Benin to seek closer ties with the West, and in 1989 the government renounced Marxist ideology. A new constitution and democratic reforms were introduced in 1990. Today, the Republic of Benin is a democracy with a president elected by the people.

II

Land and Resources

Benin can be roughly divided into four geographic zones, from south to north. The coastal strip in the south is a flat sandbank with no natural harbors. Immediately north of the beach is a network of shallow lagoons and swamps. Farther north, the second region is a fertile lowland called the barre country. Valleys run north to south along the region’s rivers, and most of the land is intensively cultivated. The third region is a rocky plateau in northern Benin. Most of the plateau is sparsely covered with grass and shrubs, and the soil is generally infertile. The rugged Atakora Mountains rise in the northwest.

Benin is bordered on the north by Burkina Faso and Niger, on the east by Nigeria, and on the west by Togo. It borders the Gulf of Guinea on the south.

A

Rivers and Lakes

The Ouémé and Kouffo rivers drain most of southern Benin, and the Mono River, which forms part of Benin’s western border with Togo, drains the southwest. The main rivers of northern Benin are the Niger, which forms part of the boundary with the republic of Niger, and its tributaries, the Sota, Mékrou, and Alibori rivers.

B

Climate

Benin's climate is hot and generally humid. It ranges from equatorial in the south to an increasingly arid tropical wet-and-dry climate in the north. The south receives about 1,300 mm (about 51 in) of rainfall a year, mostly from March to July and in October and November. The average monthly temperature in southern Benin ranges from 20° to 34°C (68° to 93°F). During much of the year, sea breezes temper the climate. In the north temperature variations become more marked, and humidity decreases. On average, about 890 mm (about 35 in) of rain falls yearly in northern Benin, mainly from May to September. A dry, dust-laden wind called a harmattan blows from the Sahara into northern Benin from December to March.

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