Benin

Geography

Benin is a country in West Africa with a narrow access to the Gulf of Guinea. The land has a total area of 114,760 km² (44,309 mi²) and a total coastline of 121 km (75.2 mi). This land area is approximately 108% of the area of Ohio. Benin is thus the 21st smallest country in Africa and ranked 102nd in the world. Only slightly less than half of all residents (49%) live within cities.

Benin is comparatively low at an average elevation of 273 meters above sea level. The highest elevation in the country (Mont Sokbaro) is 658 meters. There are direct national borders with the four neighboring countries Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. The distance between New York City and the Capital Porto-Novo is about 8,410 km (5,226 mi).

The climate in Benin

In Benin, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 29 and 36 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 40 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 22 °C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for Benin and 8 individual regions

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Fon	46.2 %
Yoruba	12.2 %
Adja	11.1 %
Bariba	8.7 %
Aizo	8.7 %
Somba	6.7 %
Fula	5.6 %
French	0.8 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Celestial Church of Christ	5.0%
Methodists	3.2%
Catholics	27.1%
other Christs	5.3%
other Protestants	2.2%
Muslims	24.4%
Voodoo	17.3%
other	15.5%

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Economy

GDP:	17.14 bn $
Exportations:	3,506.2 M $
Importations:	3,941.9 M $
› Tourism receipts:	240.86 M $
› Debt rate:	49.94 %
› Unemployment rate:	1.7 %
› Inflation rate:	1.73 %
› Corruption index:	43 (bad)
› Energy consumption:	524.1 M kWh

Due to its political and financial situation, Benin is considered one of the least developed countries in the world and is also one of the heavily indebted poor countries.

In terms of revenues, it still ranks 158th in the world and, with an average annual income of 1,350 USD is one of the lower middle-income countries.

Land use

1% Urban areas:	1,447 km²
33% Agricultural areas:	38,169 km²
28% Forest:	31,903 km²
2% Water areas:	2,000 km²
38% Others:	43,240 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	16,000 km
Railways:	438 km
Waterways:	150 km
Commercial harbors:	6
› Airports:	1