The Country in Brief
Flag / Good to Know / Demography / Socio-economic Indicators / Standard of LivingFlag
Green means Hope, Red represents the Braveness of the Ancestral, and Yellow refers to the country's Natural Resources.
Good to Know
|
Area |
112 620
km2 |
|
Population |
7 513
946 |
|
Capital |
Porto Novo
(160 000 inhabitants) |
|
Main cities :
-
Cotonou
(economic capital) -
Parakou - Abomey |
400 000
inhabitants 66 000
inhabitants 60 000
inhabitants |
|
Political
regime |
parliamentary |
|
Head of State |
President of
the republic since 03/24/1996, Mathieu Kérékou |
|
Official
language |
French |
|
Spoken
languages |
Fon-gbe,
Yoruba, Bariba, Goun-gbe, Aja-gbe, Avizo-gbe |
|
Composition
of the population |
- Fons :
66% - Baribas :
10% - Yorubas :
9% |
|
Religions |
- Animism :
65% - Christianity
:
20% - Islam :
10% -
Others :
5% |
|
Currency |
Franc CFA |
|
National motto |
Brotherhood,
Justice, Labour |
|
National
anthem |
The New Dawn (by
Gilbert Dagnon) |
|
Telephone
dial code |
+229 |
|
Internet
domain |
.bj |
Demography
|
Density |
43.5
inhabitants per km2 |
|
Birth rate |
47.25/1000
inhabitants |
|
Death rate |
13.93/1000
inhabitants |
|
Life
expectancy |
52.24
years old |
|
Fertility rate |
6.72 children
per woman |
|
Population
structure |
0 –
14 years old : 48% (1 324 553 girls and
1 333 673 boys) ; 15
– 64 years old : 49% (1 431 630 women and
1 299 180 men) ; + 65 years
old : 3% (74 119 women and 59 522 men). |
Socio-economic Indicators
|
GNP |
$2.18 billion |
|
GDP per capita |
$397 |
|
GDP structure |
- agriculture :
39% - mines and
industry : 14% - services :
47% |
|
Foreign debt |
$ 1.6 billion |
Standard of Living
|
Literacy rate |
35.5% |
|
Human
Development Indicator |
0.368 |
|
Doctors |
1/10 000
inhab. |
|
Calories
content |
2245 per day
and per person (minimum FAO : 2400) |
|
Cars |
50/10 000
inhab. |
|
Telephones |
40/10 000
inhab. |
|
Televisions |
50/10 000
inhab. |