Benin

COUNTRY FLAG

COAT OF ARMS

LOCATION MAP

AREA MAP

Government: Presidential Representative Democratic Republic

Current President: Patrice Talon

Economy:

• Underdeveloped. Dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade.

Population: 11,038,805 (2017)

Land Size: 112,622 sq km (43,484 sq miles)

Major Ethnic Groups:

• Fon and related: 39.2%
• Adja and related: 15.2%
• Yoruba and related: 17.3%
• Bariba and related: 9.2%
• Peulh and related: 7%
• Ottamari and related: 6.1%
• Yoa-Lokpa and related: 4%
• Dendi and related: 2.5%
• Other: 1.6% (includes Europeans)
• Unspecified: 2.9%

• Catholic: 27.1%
• Muslim: 24.4%
• Vodoun: 17.3%
• Protestant: 10.4% (Celestial: 5%, Methodist: 3.2%, other Protestant: 2.2%)
• Other Christian: 5.3%
• Other: 15.5%

Language(s):

• French (official)
• Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south)

Links:

• CIA World Fact Book: Benin
• U.S. Department of State: Benin
• BBC News: Benin
• Beninese Embassy in the U.S.
• La Nation (French)