Benin
Benin - 1 Country Profile
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Generic Information 

The Republic of Benin is from north to south a long stretched country in West Africa, situated east of Togo and west of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north by Burkina Faso and Niger, in south by the Bight of Benin, in the Gulf of Guinea, that part of the tropical North Atlantic Ocean which is roughly south of West Africa. Benin's coastline is just 121 km (75 mi) long. With an area of 112,622 km² , officially the Republic of Benin, should not be confused with the Kingdom of Benin or Benin City, which is part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  

 

The population numbered 13.35 million inhabitants in 2022 with a fertility index of 5.7 children per woman and a life expectancy of 61.2 years. 

 

The country gained its independence from France on August 1st, 1960, as the Republic of Dahomey. In 1975, its name was changed from Dahomey to Benin, as the political boundaries of the country not only encompass the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Dahomey but cover over fifty distinct linguistic groups and nearly as many individual ethnic groups.  

 

Benin’s official capital is Porto Novo, though the government, the presidency of the republic and diplomatic representations are in Cotonou. 

 

For a generic country overview, please consult the following sources: 

Wikipedia Country Information 

IMF Country Information 

Economist Intelligence Unit* 

Humanitarian Info 

World Food Programme 

UNDP Benin 

Facts and Figures 

Wolfram Alpha 

World Bank 

Population Information 

 

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION 

Benin, a narrow, north-south strip of land in West Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. The country's latitude ranges from 6o30N to 12o30N and its longitude from 10E to 3o40E. It extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, which represents distance of 700 kilometres (about 500 miles). The coastline is estimated at 121 kilometres (about 80 miles), whereas the country measures about 325 kilometres (about 215 miles) at its widest point. It is one of the smaller countries in West Africa: eight times smaller than Nigeria, its neighbour east. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbour to the west. A relief map of Benin shows that it has little variation in elevation. 

TOPOGRAPHY 

Benin can be divided into five natural regions: A coastal area, low, sandy and bounded by lagoons; A plateau zone called "La terre de barre" made of iron clay cut with marshy dips; A silica clayey plateau with wooded savannah extending North of Abomey to the foothills of the Atakora hills; - A hilly region in the Northwest, the Atakora, with elevation ranging from 500 to 800 metres and constituting the water reservoir for Benin and Niger Republics; Niger plains which are vast fertile silica-clayey areas.  

VEGETATION 

The forest thins out considerably in the centre and gives way to grassland. Elsewhere, cultivated crops predominate, including the immense palm groves of lower Benin and the coconut plantations on the 124 kilometres long coastline and along the lagoon.  

 

 

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