St Aiden's - Countries of Africa

Home About Contact Audio Books Lit Arts Language Pre-K Free ESL Resources Online Games Book of the Day Maths Gallery

Not to be confused with the Kingdom of Benin, now the
Benin region of Nigeria, or Benin City in that region.
République du Bénin
Republic of Benin
Motto "Fraternité, Justice, Travail" (French)
"Fellowship, Justice, Labour"

Anthem: L'Aube Nouvelle (French) / The Dawn of a New
Day

Capital Porto Novo 6°28′N, 2°36′E
Largest city Cotonou
Official languages French

Government Multiparty democracy
- President Yayi Boni

Independence from France
- Date August 1, 1960

Area
- Total 112,622 km² (101st) / 43,483 sq mi
- Water (%) 1.8

Population
- July 2005 estimate 8,439,0002 (89th)
- 2002 census 6,769,914
- Density 75 /km² (118th3)
194 /sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate
- Total $8.75 billion (140th)
- Per capita $1,176 (166th)
Gini? (2003) 36.5 (medium)
HDI (2004) 0.428 (low) (163rd)

Currency CFA franc (XOF)

Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)

Internet TLD .bj
Calling code +229

Printable Activities, lesson plans and teacher resources

Cotonou is the seat of government.

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.
3 Rank based on 2005 estimate.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in
Western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey (until 1975) or
Dahomania. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the
east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short
coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its
capital is Porto Novo, but the seat of government is
Cotonou.

The name "Benin" has no proper connection to Kingdom of Benin (or Benin City). The name
Dahomey was changed in 1975 to The People's Republic of Benin, named after the body
of water on which the country lies, the Bight of Benin. This name was picked due to its
neutrality, since the current political boundaries of Benin encompass over fifty distinct
linguistic groups and nearly as many individual ethnic groups. The name Dahomey was the
name of the ancient Fon Kingdom, and was determined to be an inappropriate name.
History
Geography
Economy
Benin Government Portal
AllAfrica Benin - News headlines links
Benin Travel Guide from Wikitravel
Rural Poverty in Benin
Benin Photo Gallery
Beninese Women Authors at a glance

A frica S outh A frica C ountries Language Africa Map Crafts & Activities Literature A nimals