GeoFroggy

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Background

Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a West African kingdom that rose to prominence in about 1600 and over the next two and a half centuries became a regional power, largely based on its slave trade. France began to control the coastal areas of Dahomey in the second half of the 19th century; the entire kingdom was conquered by 1894. French Dahomey achieved independence in 1960; it changed its name to the Republic of Benin in 1975. 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. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent, who won a second five-year term in March 2011. Patrice TALON, a wealthy businessman, took office in 2016 after campaigning to restore public confidence in the government.

Location

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo

Area Comparative

Slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Continental shelf: 200 nm

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate

Tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north

Population Distribution

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 shown in this population distribution map

Natural Hazards

Hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March

Environment Current Issues

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)

Environment International Agreements

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

Geography Note

Sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands

Year	2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Map Reference

Africa

Irrigated Land

230 sq km

Area 2020

Total

112,622 sq km
Land

110,622 sq km
Water

2,000 sq km

Coastline

121 km

Geographical Coordinates

9 30 N, 2 15 E

Land use 2020

Agricultural Land
31.3%
Arable Land
22.9%
Forest
40%
Other
28.7%

Terrain

Mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains

Elevation

Mean Elevation: 273 m
Lowest Point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Highest Point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m

Land Boundaries

Total
2,123 km
Burkina Faso
386 km
Niger
277 km
Nigeria
809 km
Togo
651 km

Natural Resources

Small offshore oil deposits
Limestone

Marble
Timber

Benin