Polity · 1961 CE – present
Republic of Benin
Bénin · République du Benin
Also recorded as Benin
- Peak recorded area
- 116,189 km²
- 1898 CE
- Rulers on record
- 8
- from 1980 CE
- Data series
- 390
- 1961 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. Benin is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
4 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 59 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 14.8Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 61.14years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -7,847persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.39% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 62.61years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 59.68years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 163 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP200 obs · 1820 CE–2019 CE | 2,009int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 24.6Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 2,477.092011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 22.92% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 17.5% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 50.06% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP106 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 0.7206% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.0004CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 3.8Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 7,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure54 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 99Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 55 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 31.45% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 26.47% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 41.83%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.2513hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 4.7Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 3.5Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.501index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.329index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.287index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.777index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | 7index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 55 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Tech Railway Line Km132 obs · 1862 CE–1993 CE | 579km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.695index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Passenger Km101 obs · 1860 CE–1987 CE | 120passenger-km1987 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm68 obs · 1900 CE–1993 CE | 240tonne-km1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production56 obs · 1931 CE–1993 CE | 5MGWh1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 116.04per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
8 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Mathieu KérékouPresident of the Republic of Benin1980 CE – 1991 CE
- Nicéphore SogloPresident of the Republic of Benin1991 CE – 1996 CE
- Thomas Boni YayiPresident of the Republic of Benin2006 CE – 2016 CE
- Pascal KoupakiHead of Government2011 CE – 2013 CE
- Lionel ZinsouHead of Government2015 CE – 2016 CE
- Patrice TalonHead of State2016 CE –
- Patrice TalonHead of Government2016 CE –
- Mariam Chabi TalataVice President of Benin2021 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Patrice TALON (since 6 April 2016); head of government: President Patrice TALON (since 6 April 2016); cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
- Ethnic groups
- Fon and related 38.4%, Adja and related 15.1%, Yoruba and related 12%, Bariba and related 9.6%, Fulani and related 8.6%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4.3%, Dendi and related 2.9%, other 0.9%, foreigner 1.9% (2013 est.)
- Natural resources
- small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber
- Economy
- robust economic growth; slightly declining but still widespread poverty; strong trade relations with Nigeria; cotton exporter; COVID-19 has led to capital outflows and border closures; WAEMU member with currency pegged to the euro; recent fiscal deficit and debt reductions
Language & currency
- Currency
- Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF)
Memberships
- 14-member Defense Pact (1961)Military alliance · member1961 CE – 1964 CE
- ECOWASECOWASEconomic bloc · founding member1975 CE –
- 16-member Non-Aggression Pact (1977)Historical alliance · member1978 CE – 1981 CE
- 16-member Defense Pact (1981)Military alliance · member1981 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1990 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Benin is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.