Benin

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

mean elevation:

273 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean; 658 highest point: Mont Sokbaro

• the population is primarily located in the south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast;
• most of the north remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west

• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• water pollution;
• poaching threatens wildlife populations;
• deforestation;
• desertification (the spread of the desert into agricultural lands in the north is accelerated by regular droughts)

party to:

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

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Beninese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Beninese

0-14 years:

42.26% (male 2,445,265 /female 2,347,091)

15-24 years:

20.53% (male 1,184,977 /female 1,143,605)

25-54 years:

30.66% (male 1,759,834 /female 1,717,467)

55-64 years:

3.65% (male 184,453 /female 229,945)

65 years and over:

2.89% (male 128,920 /female 198,947) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

86.1 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

80.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

6 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

16.6 (2015 est.)

• the population is primarily located in the south, with the highest concentration of people residing in and around the cities on the Atlantic coast;
• most of the north remains sparsely populated with higher concentrations of residents in the west

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.76 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.66 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever (2016)

animal contact diseases:

rabies (2016)

respiratory diseases:

meningococcal meningitis (2016)

conventional long form:

Republic of Benin

conventional short form:

Benin

local long form:

Republique du Benin

local short form:

Benin

former:

Dahomey, People's Republic of Benin

etymology:

named for the Bight of Benin, the body of water on which the country lies

name:

Porto-Novo (constitutional capital); Cotonou (seat of government)

geographic coordinates:

6 29 N, 2 37 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1946, 1958 (preindependence); latest adopted by referendum 2 December 1990, promulgated 11 December 1990 (2017)

amendments:

• proposed concurrently by the president of the republic (after a decision in the Council of Ministers) and the National Assembly;
• consideration of drafts or proposals requires at least three-fourths majority vote of the Assembly membership;
• passage requires approval in a referendum unless approved by at least four-fifths majority vote of the Assembly membership;
• constitutional articles affecting territorial sovereignty, the republican form of government, and secularity of Benin cannot be amended (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Benin

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

highest courts:

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of the court president and 3 chamber presidents organized into an administrative division, judicial chamber, and chamber of accounts);
• Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle (consists of 7 members including the court president);
• High Court of Justice (consists of the Constitutional Court members, 6 members appointed by the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court president);
• note - jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice is limited to cases of high treason by the national president or members of the government while in office

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court president and judges appointed by the national president upon the advice of the National Assembly;
• judges appointed for single renewable 5-year terms;
• Constitutional Court members - 4 appointed by the National Assembly and 3 by the national president;
• members appointed for single renewable 5-year terms;
• High Court of Justice "other" members elected by the National Assembly;
• member tenure NA

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel;
• district courts;
• village courts;
• Assize courts

chief of state:

President Patrice TALON (since 6 April 2016); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Patrice TALON (since 6 April 2016); prime minister position abolished

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• last held on 6 March and 20 March 2016 (next to be held in 2021)

election results:

• Patrice TALON elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Lionel ZINSOU (FCBE) 28.4%, Patrice TALON (independent) 24.8%, Sebastien AJAVON (independent) 23.%, Abdoulaye Bio TCHANE (ABT) 8.8%, Pascal KOUPAKI (NC) 5.9%, other 9.1%;
• percent of vote in second round - Patrice TALON 65.4%, Lionel ZINSOU 34.6%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 26 April 2015 (next to be held in April 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - FCBE 30.2%, UN 14.4%, PRD 10.6%, AND 7.6%, RB-RP 7.1%, other 30.1%;
• seats by party - FCBE 33, UN 13, PRD 10, RB-RP 7, AND 5, other 15;
• composition - men 77, women 6, percent of women 7.2%

• Alliance for a Triumphant Benin or ABT [Abdoulaye BIO TCHANE]
• African Movement for Development and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]
• Benin Renaissance or RB [Lehady SOGLO]
• Cowrie Force for an Emerging Benin or FCBE [Yayi BONI]
• Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]
• National Alliance for Development and Democracy or AND [Valentin Aditi HOUDE]
• New Consciousness Rally or NC [Pascal KOUPAKI]
• Patriotic Awakening or RP [Janvier YAHOUEDEOU]
• Social Democrat Party or PSD [Emmanuel GOLOU]
• Sun Alliance or AS [Sacca LAFIA]
• Union Makes the Nation or UN [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI] (includes PRD, MADEP)
• United Democratic Forces or FDU [Mathurin NAGO]

note: approximately 20 additional minor parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Hector POSSET (since 18 January 2017)

chancery:

2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-6656

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-1996

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lucy TAMLYN (since 8 November 2015)

embassy:

Caporal Bernard Anani, 01 BP 2012, Cotonou

mailing address:

01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou

telephone:

[229] 21-30-06-50

FAX:

[229] 21-30-03-84

• two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side;
• green symbolizes hope and revival, yellow wealth, and red courage

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

name:

"L'Aube Nouvelle" (The Dawn of a New Day)

lyrics/music:

Gilbert Jean DAGNON

note: adopted 1960

lowest 10%:

29% (2003)

highest 10%:

29% (2003)

general assessment:

• fixed-line network characterized by aging, deteriorating equipment;
• mobile networks account for almost all internet connections;
• govt. aims to provide telecoms services to 80% of the country, mostly via mobile infrastructure;
• govt. restructures state-owned telcos;
• Mobile Number Portability (MNP) becomes available;
• Benin joins free roaming scheme (2017)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity only about 1 per 100 persons;
• spurred by the presence of multiple mobile-cellular providers, cellular telephone subscribership has increased rapidly, exceeding 79 per 100 persons in 2017 (2017)

international:

• country code - 229;
• landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia;
• long distance fiber-optic links with Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria;
• satellite earth stations - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean);Orange commissions new connection from the ACE submarine cable, connecting Benin with Tenerife (2017)

• state-run Office de Radiodiffusion et de Television du Benin (ORTB) operates a TV station providing a wide broadcast reach;
• several privately owned TV stations broadcast from Cotonou;
• satellite TV subscription service is available;
• state-owned radio, under ORTB control, includes a national station supplemented by a number of regional stations;
• substantial number of privately owned radio broadcast stations;
• transmissions of a few international broadcasters are available on FM in Cotonou (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

112,392 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

805,347 mt-km (2015)

total:

438 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

438 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

total:

16,000 km (2006)

paved:

1,400 km (2006)

unpaved:

14,600 km (2006)

total:

6 (2017)

by type:

other 6 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Cotonou

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Cotonou

• 18-35 years of age for selective compulsory and voluntary military service;
• a higher education diploma is required;
• both sexes are eligible for military service;
• conscript tour of duty - 18 months (2013)