CAPITAL CITY OF Benin: Porto-Novo
LANGUAGE OF Benin: French
CURRENCY OF Benin: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF, XAF)
COMMENTS ABOUT Benin: Benin is a country in West Africa.
CitiesPorto-Novo, Abomey, Cotonou, Parakou, Natitingou, Malanville
Electricity: 220
Eat :
Drink : - The beer is cheap and good!
Calling Code : 229
Time Zone : GMT+1
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.
CLIMATE OF Benin: tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north
RELIGION OF Benin: Indigenous beliefs (Animism & Voodoo) 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
POPULATION OF Benin: 7,250,033 - 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 2004 est.)>
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF Benin: The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise 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. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms.