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| Basic Facts |
| Official name |
Republic of Benin |
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| Capital |
Porto-Novo |
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| Area |
112,622 sq km |
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43,484 sq mi |
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| People |
| Population |
8,294,941 (2008 estimate) |
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| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
2.62 percent (2008 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2025 |
11,911,838 (2025 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2050 |
16,356,458 (2050 estimate) |
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| Population density |
75 persons per sq km (2008 estimate) |
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194 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) |
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| Urban/rural distribution |
| Share urban |
46 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Share rural |
54 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Largest cities, with population |
| Cotonou |
828,000 (2003 estimate) |
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| Porto-Novo |
238,000 (2003 estimate) |
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| Parakou |
144,627 (2000 estimate) |
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| Djougou |
132,000 (1994 estimate) |
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| Ethnic groups |
| African (42 ethnic groups, the largest being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, and Bariba) |
99 percent |
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| Other |
1 percent |
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| Languages |
| French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), Bariba and Somba (most common vernaculars in north), indigenous languages |
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| Religious affiliations |
| Indigenous beliefs |
52 percent |
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| Roman Catholic |
21 percent |
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| Muslim |
20 percent |
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| Protestant |
4 percent |
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| Other |
3 percent |
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| Health and Education |
| Life expectancy |
| Total |
53.9 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Female |
55.1 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Male |
52.7 years (2008 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
76 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) |
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| Population per physician |
22,244 people (2004) |
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| Population per hospital bed |
4,281 people (1994) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
43.2 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Female |
28.4 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Male |
58.8 percent (2005 estimate) |
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| Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) |
3.3 percent (2002-2003) |
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| Number of years of compulsory schooling |
6 years (2002-2003) |
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| Number of students per teacher, primary school |
62 students per teacher (2002-2003) |
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| Government |
| Form of government |
| Multiparty republic |
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| Voting qualifications |
Universal at age 18 |
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| Constitution |
2 December 1990 |
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| Armed forces |
| Total number of military personnel |
4,550 (2004) |
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| Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) |
1.6 percent (2003) |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$4.8 billion (2006) |
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| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$545.10 (2006) |
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| GDP by economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
32.2 percent (2005) |
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| Industry |
13.4 percent (2005) |
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| Services |
54.4 percent (2005) |
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| Employment |
| Number of workers |
3,431,396 (2006) |
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| Workforce share of economic sector |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
64 percent (1990) |
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| Industry |
8 percent (1990) |
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| Services |
28 percent (1990) |
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| Unemployment rate |
Not available |
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| National budget (U.S.$) |
| Total revenue |
$797 million (2006) |
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| Total expenditure |
$641 million (2006) |
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| Monetary unit |
| 1 Communaut* Financière Africaine (CFA) franc, consisting of 100 centimes |
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| Major trade partners for exports |
| India, Nigeria, Indonesia, China, Ghana |
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| Major trade partners for imports |
| France, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo |
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| Energy, Communications, and Transportation |
| Electricity production |
| Electricity from thermal sources |
97.10 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from hydroelectric sources |
2.90 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from nuclear sources |
0 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources |
0 percent (2003 estimate) |
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| Number of radios per 1,000 people |
422 (2000 estimate) |
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| Number of telephones per 1,000 people |
9 (2005) |
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| Number of televisions per 1,000 people |
42 (2000 estimate) |
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| Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people |
1.2 (2003) |
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| Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people |
5 (1999) |
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| Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
8.1 (1997) |
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| Paved road as a share of total roads |
10 percent (2004) |
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| Sources |
| Basic Facts and People sections |
| Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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| Health and Education section |
| Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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| Government section |
| Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. |
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| Economy section |
| Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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| Energy, Communication, and Transportation section |
| Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
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