Benin

Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991.

• tropical;
• hot, humid in south;
• semiarid in north

• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• poaching threatens wildlife populations;
• deforestation;
• desertification

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

47.2% (male 1,616,138; female 1,585,463)

15-64 years:

50.5% (male 1,665,439; female 1,764,966)

65 years and over:

2.3% (male 65,877; female 89,742) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.73 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Beninese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Beninese

conventional long form:

Republic of Benin

conventional short form:

Benin

local short form:

Benin

former:

Dahomey

local long form:

Republique du Benin

• republic under multiparty democratic rule;
• dropped Marxism-Leninism December 1989;
• democratic reforms adopted February 1990;
• transition to multiparty system completed 4 April 1991

• Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle;
• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme;
• High Court of Justice

• African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN];
• Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU];
• Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI];
• Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Saka SALEY];
• Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA];
• Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI];
• Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO];
• The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]

note: approximately 20 additional minor parties; the Coalition of Democratic Forces, [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI], an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU

chief of mission:

Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-1996

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-6656

chancery:

2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER

embassy:

Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou

mailing address:

01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou

telephone:

[229] 30-06-50

FAX:

[229] 30-06-70

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997);
• note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro

general assessment:

NA

domestic:

fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections

international:

satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable

total:

578 km

narrow gauge:

578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.)

total:

6,787 km

paved:

1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways)

unpaved:

5,430 km (1997 est.)

males age 15-49:

1,509,760

note: both sexes are liable for military service (2002 est.)

females age 15-49:

1,536,036

males age 15-49:

771,373

females age 15-49:

778,730 (2002 est.)

males:

71,278

females:

70,088 (2002 est.)

• Benin and Niger have refered to the ICJ the dispute over l'Ete and 14 smaller disputed islands in the Niger River, which has never been delimited;
• with Nigeria, several villages are in dispute along the Okpara River and only 35 km of the 436 km boundary are demarcated;
• the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tripoint remains undemarcated;
• Benin accuses Togo of moving boundary markers and stationing troops in its territory;
• two villages are in dispute with Burkina Faso

• transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US;
• vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure