]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo ^# 9 30 N, 2 15 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 112,620 sq km `" 110,620 sq km `# 2,000 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Pennsylvania ^' `! 1,989 km `Y Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km ^( 121 km ^) `$ 200 nm ^* tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north ^+ mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Mont Sokbaro 658 m ^- small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber ^. `' 23.53% `( 2.37% `) 74.1% (2005) ^/ 120 sq km (2003) ^0 hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March ^1 inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands 
]# ^3 8,078,314 `* 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.) ^4 `+ 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940) `, 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) `- 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 17.7 years `. 17.3 years `/ 18.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.674% (2007 est.) ^7 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.019 male(s)/female `, 0.971 male(s)/female `- 0.675 male(s)/female `2 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births `. 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 53.44 years `. 52.28 years `/ 54.63 years (2007 est.) ^= 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 1.9% (2003 est.) ^? 68,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 5,800 (2003 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria, yellow fever, and others are high risks in some locations `s meningococcal meningitis (2007) ^A `3 Beninese (singular and plural) `4 Beninese ^B African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), other 1% (includes 5,500 Europeans) ^C indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% ^D French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 33.6% `. 46.4% `/ 22.6% (2002 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Benin `7 Benin `Z Republique du Benin `[ Benin `\ Dahomey ^H republic ^I `8 Porto-Novo (official capital) `9 6 29 N, 2 37 E `: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `* Cotonou (seat of government) ^J 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou ^K 1 August 1960 (from France) ^L National Day, 1 August (1960) ^M adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 ^N based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president `> 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) `? Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) `> last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 ^R Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice ^S 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] `* approximately 20 additional minor parties ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN `S 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 232-6656 `U [1] (202) 265-1996 ^W `R Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN `_ Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou `` 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou `T [229] 21-30-06-50 `U [229] 21-30-06-70 ^X two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side 
]% ^Y The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. ^Z $8.931 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $4.622 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 4% (2006 est.) ^] $1,100 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 32.8% `A 13.7% `B 53.5% (2006 est.) ^_ 3.211 million (1996) ^a NA% _! 33% (2001 est.) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 3% (2006 est.) _V 19.1% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $836.8 million `F $1.064 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _& cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock _' textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement _( 8.3% (2001 est.) _) 82 million kWh (2004) _* 576.3 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 500 million kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 14,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 4.105 million bbl (1 January 2002) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 1.133 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $-342.7 million (2006 est.) _3 $563.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood _5 China 31.3%, Indonesia 8.1%, India 7.4%, Niger 6%, Togo 4.8%, Thailand 4.8%, Nigeria 4.6% (2005) _6 $927.3 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products _8 France 21.8%, Ghana 7.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 7%, China 6.7%, UK 5.2%, Belgium 4.9%, Togo 4.5%, Thailand 4.2%, Nigeria 4% (2005) _[ $607.3 million (2006 est.) _9 $1.6 billion (2000) _: $342.6 million (2000) _; Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States _< Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 76,300 (2005) _? 386,700 (2005) _@ `G NA `H fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections `I country code - 229; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia _A AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) _B 1 (2001) _C .bj _D 867 (2006) _E 425,000 (2005) 
]' _F 5 (2006) _G `! 1 `b 1 (2006) _R `! 4 `J 1 `b 1 `c 2 (2006) _e `! 578 km `n 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) _H `! 16,000 km `K 1,400 km `L 14,600 km (2005) _b 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) _I Cotonou 
]( _J Army, Navy, Air Force _T 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) _K 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.) _L males age 18-49: 76,661 females: 75,068 (2005 est.) _U 1.8% (2006 est.) 
]) _N 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 _c `o 26,632 (Togo) (2006) _O transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations 