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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 |
8,791,832 (2009 estimate) |
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| Population growth |
| Population growth rate |
2.98 percent (2009 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2025 |
13,564,964 (2009 estimate) |
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| Projected population in 2050 |
22,118,545 (2009 estimate) |
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| Population density |
80 persons per sq km (2009 estimate) |
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206 persons per sq mi (2009 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Total |
59 years (2009 estimate) |
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| Female |
60.2 years (2009 estimate) |
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| Male |
57.8 years (2009 estimate) |
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| Infant mortality rate |
65 deaths per 1,000 live births (2009 estimate) |
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| Literacy rate |
| Total |
40.5 percent (2007 estimate) |
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| Female |
27.9 percent (2007 estimate) |
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| Male |
53.1 percent (2007 estimate) |
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| Economy |
| Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) |
$5.4 billion (2007) |
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| GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$601.40 (2007) |
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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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| Monetary unit |
| 1 Communauté 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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| 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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| 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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| Note |
| Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
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