Benin

Introduction

Background

Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Definitions and Notes

Geography

Location

Geographic coordinates

Map references

Area

comparison ranking: total 102

Area - comparative

Land boundaries

Coastline

Maritime claims

Climate

Terrain

Elevation

Natural resources

Land use

Irrigated land

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Population distribution

Natural hazards

Geography - note

People and Society

Population

comparison rankings: total 74; male 74; female 74

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religions

Age structure

2024 population pyramid:

This is the population pyramid for Benin. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends. <br/><br/>For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Dependency ratios

Median age

comparison ranking: total 223

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 4

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 3

Death rate

comparison ranking: 97

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 75

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas - population

Sex ratio

Mother's mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 8

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 16

Life expectancy at birth

comparison ranking: total population 213

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 5

Gross reproduction rate

Drinking water source

Health expenditure

Physician density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

comparison ranking: 142

Alcohol consumption per capita

comparison ranking: total 145

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 163

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

comparison ranking: 26

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

Child marriage

Education expenditure

comparison ranking: Education expenditure (% GDP) 122

Literacy

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Environment

Environmental issues

International environmental agreements

Climate

Land use

Urbanization

Carbon dioxide emissions

comparison ranking: total emissions 130

Particulate matter emissions

Methane emissions

Waste and recycling

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Government

Country name

Government type

Capital

Administrative divisions

Legal system

Constitution

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties

Diplomatic representation in the US

Diplomatic representation from the US

International organization participation

Independence

National holiday

Flag

National symbol(s)

National color(s)

National anthem(s)

National heritage

Economy

Economic overview

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

comparison ranking: 122

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 13

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 182

GDP (official exchange rate)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

comparison ranking: 28

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

comparison rankings: agriculture 22; industry 151; services 154

GDP - composition, by end use

Agricultural products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

comparison ranking: 13

Labor force

comparison ranking: 73

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 14

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

comparison ranking: total 179

Population below poverty line

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

comparison ranking: 81

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Remittances

Budget

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 140

Exports

comparison ranking: 143

Exports - partners

Exports - commodities

Imports

comparison ranking: 144

Imports - partners

Imports - commodities

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 66

Exchange rates

Energy

Electricity access

Electricity

comparison rankings: installed generating capacity 151; consumption 156; exports 101; imports 81; transmission/distribution losses 76

Electricity generation sources

Coal

Petroleum

Natural gas

Energy consumption per capita

comparison ranking: 165

Communications

Telephones - fixed lines

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 217

Telephones - mobile cellular

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 70

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

comparison ranking: total 163

Transportation

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports

comparison ranking: 159

Railways

Merchant marine

comparison ranking: total 165

Photos of Benin